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The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus; also known as the Spanish lynx), which inhabits the shrublands of southwestern Spain and Portugal, was on the verge of extinction at the beginning of the twenty-first century. At that time, this wild cat species was…

By July 6, 2018, beaches on the eastern coast of St. Vincent—an island located in the southeastern Caribbean Sea (Lesser Antilles)—were covered nearly one-meter deep with rotting brown algae (seaweed), known as Sargassum, posing multiple problems…

Destructive blooms of Karenia brevis, a dinoflagellate species of algae that imparts a red color to ocean waters when the microorganisms grow and accumulate to unusually high quantities, are causing unprecedented environmental and ecosystem damage…

Trophic ecology is the general study of the structure of feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem. These feeding or trophic relationships are often represented as food webs or food chains. One very important phenomenon of trophic…

Biocontrol, or biological control, is the natural or applied regulation of populations of pest organisms—especially insects—through the role or use of natural enemies. In other words, biocontrol uses living organisms to reduce and eliminate pest…

In 2016, animal researchers and geneticists concluded that the giraffe (genus Giraffa), once thought to consist of a single extant species (Giraffa camelopardalis), comprises four distinct species: the northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis),…

Global climate change affects all areas of the Earth, with some regions experiencing greater impacts than others. In particular, the Arctic treeline—that is, the southern limit of the Arctic Bioclimate Zone—is being affected to various degrees by…

Survival prospects for the honeybee (Apis mellifera) look increasingly promising as entomologists and beekeepers have reported a dramatic increase in the population numbers of these essential insects in North America and Europe. Honeybees, which are…

Forests absorb and store carbon. If this ability is hampered, then levels of atmospheric carbon will increase and global temperatures will rise, leading to potentially drastic climatic changes. In particular, deforestation (the permanent elimination…

Mangrove forests are taxonomically diverse assemblages of trees and shrubs that form the dominant plant communities in tidal, saline wetlands along sheltered tropical and subtropical coasts. They have several ecological and physical functions that…