How many species are there? The honest answer is nobody knows
We've named about 1.5 million species and estimate millions more. The gap isn't only undiscovered animals — "a species" is harder to define than it sounds.
- taxonomy
- species
- science
Latest
What a protected area actually protects
A line on a map is not a fence. Why the world can hit its "protected" targets while wildlife keeps declining inside the lines.
Written here
The trouble with calling a species "invasive
Non-native, invasive, naturalised — the labels do real work and are used loosely. A guide to what they mean and why the lines are contested.
- ecology
- invasive species
- definitions
How to read the Red List, and the mistakes almost everyone makes
The IUCN categories aren't a rarity scale. A guide to reading them properly — and to not mistaking "no data" for "no problem".
- conservation
- IUCN
- species
Keystone species: a powerful idea, often misused
Not every important animal is a keystone species. What the term actually means, where it came from, and why it gets stretched past breaking.
- ecology
- keystone species
- concepts
How extinction gets declared, and why it takes so long
Proving a species is gone is harder than it sounds. The delay is deliberate — and it's why "rediscovered" species keep making the news.
- conservation
- extinction
- IUCN
Flagship, umbrella, indicator: the species we choose to save others
The panda isn't protected only for its own sake. A guide to the strategic roles conservation assigns to particular species — and the risks of each.
- conservation
- strategy
- species
Rewilding, and the arguments it raises
Letting nature take back control sounds simple. In practice rewilding is a set of contested choices about which nature, and whose land.
- conservation
- rewilding
- debate
How small is too small? The question of minimum viable populations
A species can be doomed while thousands still live. Why conservation biologists worry about genetics and chance, not just headcount.
- conservation
- genetics
- populations
Why counting wild animals is so hard
When a headline says "only 4,000 remain", where does the number come from? The methods behind the counts, and why they sometimes disagree.
- science
- populations
- methods
How animals get their scientific names
Behind every two-word Latin name sits a preserved specimen, a strict rulebook, and a surprising amount of history. How the system works, and why it matters.
- taxonomy
- naming
- science
Why migratory animals are the hardest to protect
An animal that crosses a dozen borders needs all of them to hold. Why migration turns conservation into a problem no single country can solve.
- conservation
- migration
- connectivity
Conservation triage: choosing what to save
There isn't enough money to save everything. Whether conservation should openly decide what to let go is one of the field's most uncomfortable debates.
- conservation
- ethics
- policy
Extinct in the Wild": the category almost no one understands
Between "still here" and "gone" sits a strange state — species that survive only because we keep them alive. What it means, and why it's so hard to leave.
- conservation
- extinction
- captivity
Radar
Published elsewhere. Links open on the original site.
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This desert oasis is a biological wonderland. Trump’s border wall threatens to destroy it
Environmental groups are sounding the alarm over plans that threaten a desert spring that’s home to rare fish and turtles and sacred to the O’odham people Quitobaquito Springs in…
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Wound odors may unlock better traps for flesh-eating New World screwworm
Jessica Metcalf's work stinks. Literally. But the Colorado State University professor's research may be key to protecting livestock and wildlife from a flesh-eating parasite.
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Khuiusi Khisêtjê helped his people recover their land and future in the Xingu
The plane sprayed the soy fields beside the forest. Residents of Khikatxi said the single-engine aircraft appeared several times during each harvest and passed over Wawi…
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The Guardian view on ponds: these freshwater havens need a law of their own | Editorial
Small pools don’t get the same attention as polluted rivers or seas. But they have a vital role to play in boosting nature Frogs; newts; small fish such as minnows and…
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Conservationists got delayed access to court-ordered inspection of Nairobi National Park
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has been accused of harassing co-petitioners in a case challenging the relocation of the Nairobi Animal Orphanage to make it part of the larger…
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California solar project threatens Mojave wildlife corridor, scientists say
The Mojave Desert may look like a flat, brown stretch of nothing between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. But threading through its rocky mountain ranges is an intricate network of…