The Irish Sea is one of the UK’s most economically and ecologically important marine regions. Supporting everything from biodiversity and renewable energy to fisheries and coastal communities, it is under increasing pressure from pollution, climate change, and intensive human use. At the forefront o…
The Great Lakes are one of the best places to spend the July 4th weekend. And, if you’re like us, plastic pollution at the beach isn’t a part of your […]
The post 9 Tips for a Plastic-Free Summer Holiday at the Beach appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
At the Alliance for the Great Lakes, we believe that impact doesn’t always come from the spotlight—it comes from showing up, speaking out, and staying the course. Every year at our […]
The post Meet the 2025 Wavemaker Honorees appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
As summer kicks into high gear on the Fourth of July, Netflix is releasing a new series highlighting the beauty, importance and diversity of shark species around the globe. Set to be released on July 4, All the Sharks is the first series where shark lovers travel the world to photograph as many shar…
Following Invasive Species Week last week, and for the start of the the Big Rock Pool Challenge: National BioBlitz, MBA Associate Fellow, Dr John Bishop, explains the basics of understanding non-native species and the threats they pose to our native coastal marine life. What are invasive (non-native…
It often starts the same way. A pair of gloves. A trash receptacle. A stretch of shoreline that’s seen better days. When our volunteers show up, something shifts. They bring […]
The post 5 Reasons Why Our Volunteers Are the Heart of the Alliance appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
A lifelong believer in the power of education, Mayela Padilla Manasjan recognized early on that a college degree could open doors to opportunity. She earned her undergraduate degree in Environmental Systems from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego in 2003, followed by a Master of Sci…
CHICAGO, IL (May 23, 2025) – Today, the state of Illinois announced that it closed on the acquisition of a nearly 50-acre parcel of property in Will County needed for […]
The post Brandon Road Invasive Carp Barrier Land Transferred appeared first on Alliance for the Great Lakes.
We revisit a conversation with PhD student Melissa Díaz-Morales and Director of the Lankester Botanical Gardens, Dr. Adam Karremans to look at how flies have managed to influence the evolution of the largest subtribe of orchids in the world - the pleurothallids. This remarkable group of orchids is h…
Go looking for information on rare plant population health and it can be surprisingly hard to come by. Plant monitoring, especially over the long term, is a challenge and data have not always kept up with the need. Dr. Michelle DePrenger-Levin and her colleagues at the Denver Botanic Gardens are doi…
Plants obviously need water to survive, but how do they interact with water in a more physical sense? How plants like trees capture and distribute precipitation can have massive consequences for ecosystem and societal processes. From soil formation to stormwater management, understanding wet plants …
Plants are habitat! This means that to restore ecosystems, we would be wise to start with plants. Such is the case for the spruce-fir forests of southern Appalachia, which are among the rarest habitat types on the continent. Join me and Kelly Holdbrooks of the Southern Highlands Reserve as we explor…
Tuna, opah, and billfishes such as marlins and swordfish are among the 0.1% of fish species that are warm-blooded. Evidence by an international team of researchers led by UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography reveals that they developed that trait to keep up with new neighbors millions …
Visit the Sonoran Desert and you too will fall in love with its beauty and diversity. It is truly one of the most incredible places on earth. Dr. Ben Wilder agrees which is why he has dedicated his life to understanding the history of the Sonoran flora and using that knowledge to help ensure it has …
The odds of encountering a prickly pear cactus (Opuntia spp.) in your lifetime is high no matter where you live. That is how abundant, diverse, and charismatic these cacti truly are. For all of their intrigue, so much about these spiny succulents remains a mystery. Trying to understand their diversi…
Deserts are difficult places for any organism to survive, let alone plants. Despite the challenges, rich a unique floras have evolved in deserts all over the world which support myriad other forms of life. Restoring these communities in human-disturbed areas is critical in solving so many ecological…
Who hasn't marveled at the fossilized remains of a dinosaur? Though their lineage lives on today in the form of birds, historically, dinosaurs were once far more diverse. Needless to say, they shaped the world around them just as much as the world shaped them, and this certainly included interaction…
Marissa Saenger is a fourth-year PhD student studying climate sciences at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. Saenger grew up in Clarence, N.Y., and received her undergraduate degree in environmental science and engineering with a minor in environmental policy at Harvard College. Pr…
Columbus, OH (May 21, 2025) — Rep. Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus) and Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel (R-Columbiana) introduced important legislation designed to eliminate all lead water lines that still exist in […]
The post Environmental Organizations Celebrate Bipartisan Bill to Remove Ohio’s Lead Serv…
Sedges (genus Carex) can be an intimidating group of plants to get your head wrapped around, but it doesn't have to be that way. One key element to understanding them is knowing what to look for, which is why I am so excited to talk about a new book/key to the oval sedges - “Carex of Illinois and Su…
Mangrove forests are dynamic places and so too are the people that study them. From carbon capture and peat formation, to restoration and hydrology, these coastal habitats offer curious minds plenty to ponder. Join me and Dr. Luke Lamb-Wotton as we explore the wonderfully complex world of these coas…
Wildfires are familiar to those living on Earth today, but what about in the past? How does one go about studying ancient wildfires through deep time? Some of the answers lie in coal deposits. Join me and Dr. Ian Glasspool as we explore how he studies wildfire events dating back hundreds of millions…
My guest today is Melissa Díaz-Morales from the Jardín Botánico Lankester in Costa Rica and her work focuses on orchid pollination. Orchids are known for their deceitful pollination syndromes and Melissa has spent the last few years working on a lady slipper orchid known as Phragmipedium longifolium…
Changes in biodiversity are happening all over the globe. From losses to homogenization, understanding the affects of biodiversity change are paramount to understanding how ecosystems function. Nowhere is this more apparent than with plants. Join me and ecologist Dr. Jake Grossman as we explore the …
Fossils offer some of the best evidence of how diverse various branches of the tree of life once were. They help us understand speciation and extinction as well as biogeography. Dr. Steve Manchester has spent much of his career using fossilized seeds to understand the ancient histories of flowering …
You have the opportunity to stand up for wetlands today by telling EPA just how beneficial and important wetlands are for our communities. The Clean Water Act (CWA) protects the “waters of the United States.” This consequential term, referred to by its acronym “WOTUS,” has been heavily redefined and…
The New England Aquarium incorporates trends from North America’s largest seafood expo into ocean conservation efforts.
The post The Coolest Things We Saw—and Tasted—in Responsible Seafood at SENA 2025 appeared first on New England Aquarium.
How does one breath life into an extinct tree only known from fossils? There are a lot of answers to this question, but my guest today decided to go digital. Tim Stonesifer is the Assistant Director for Media Technology at Colby College and the person responsible for creating the 3D reconstruction o…
Note: This analysis reflects the Israel-Iran ceasefire announced on June 23, 2025. While the immediate crisis has eased, the insights highlight ongoing opportunities for biofuels in a volatile energy market.
See how a new study from Ocean Conservancy examines the impact of IMPAA
The post How Will IMPAA Impact Shipping Trade Routes? appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
Our UK coastline is under threat, and now the Marine Biological Association (MBA) is calling on ocean lovers of all ages to take part in the Big Rock Pool Challenge: National BioBlitz 2025, a nationwide citizen science effort to monitor the health of the UK’s coastline and track the spread of invasi…
Today, family and friends gathered at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography to celebrate the hard work and achievements of more than 200 graduating students. The Scripps Recognition Ceremonies held on Pawka Green honored the dedication, perseverance and accomplishments of graduates foll…
River Network announces nearly $3.3 million to local organizations and Indigenous communities for tree planting and maintenance projects, increasing health and happiness nationwide. River Network, a national nonprofit that grows and strengthens local water, justice, and river advocates across the Un…
One cannot overemphasize the importance of plant/pollinator interactions. The world as we know it would not exist without these complex components of ecology. Getting good data, and more importantly, making those data useful is important in conserving and restoring plants and their pollinators. Join…
The black belt prairie is a crescent-shaped grassland ecosystem curving through Mississippi and Alabama that supports high biodiversity. Sadly, like grasslands across the globe, the black belt prairie ecosystem continues to be carved up into increasingly smaller chunks of habitat. What is left often…
Mosses, liverworts, and lichens live in a world of their own. Not unlike the trees they grow on, these tiny organisms must play out the dramas of obtaining the water, nutrients, and light they need to survive, they are just doing so on a much smaller scale. At the same time, they are supporting thei…
Understanding the relationships among plants can reveal so much about the history of our planet and the mechanisms of evolution. This is why Dr. Peter Quakenbush has spent so much time trying to understand the genus Medinilla. You might be most familiar with Medinilla magnifica as a popular housepla…
The intricate, hidden processes that sustain coral life are being revealed through a new microscope developed by scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.The diver-operated microscope — called the Benthic Underwater Microscope imaging PAM, or BUMP — incorporates pulse amplitu…
Congress and the administration are rolling back protections and jeopardizing ocean health
The post The Latest Offshore Oil and Gas Policies that Threaten Our Ocean appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
The Marine Biological Association (MBA) is calling on members of the public to get involved this UK Invasive Species Week (12–19 May 2025) in safeguarding the UK’s precious marine environments from harmful invasive species (also known as non-native species).
World Oceans Month is more than just a calendar event. It’s a chance to celebrate the beating heart of our blue planet—and to remember how closely our lives are connected to the ocean’s health, especially the ecosystems within it. Coral reefs might only cover a small fraction of the ocean floor, but…
Every year, the New England Aquarium rehabilitates and releases hundreds of endangered sea turtles. Meet two of them!
The post Patient Stories from Our Sea Turtle Hospital: Hercules and Athena appeared first on New England Aquarium.
Seeing the drastic effects that deforestation has had on the Amazon, many Amazonian nations have begun to coordinate responses for stronger environmental protection, resulting in increased political and financial commitments for conservation initiatives in the Amazon. In 2023’s Belém Declaration (an…
We’re proud to announce that we’ve earned the 2025 Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency, the highest level of recognition for nonprofit accountability and openness! At Amazon Conservation, we believe that protecting the Amazon rainforest goes hand in hand with building trust. That’s why we make it a…
Conservation Biologist Sara Johnson returns to the podcast to talk about some of the botanical rabbit holes we have been exploring in recent weeks. We discuss ash (Fraxinus spp.) and rose (Rosa spp.) diversity and wax poetic about our time experiencing the majesty of the Great Southern Brood of peri…
Getting struck by lightning is always thought of as a bad thing, but what if it wasn't? Trees can't get up and escape when storms roll in and the chances of one getting struck by lightning increases as they grow taller. For at least one species of tropical tree, getting struck could actually be bene…
Fossil hunting is like playing the lottery, your odds of hitting big are infinitesimal, but it can happen. Such was the case for Dr. Bob Gastaldo and colleagues when they unearthed the remains of Sanfordiacaulis densifolia, an extinct tree from the Carboniferous Period unlike anything we have ever s…
Predators like wolves are an integral part of ecosystem health. Moreover, their interactions with their herbivore prey can have major consequences on plant communities. Join me and Dr. Sarah Hoy as we discuss decades worth of data on wolf-moose-plant interactions on Isle Royale and learn how wolves …
Sharks don’t just rule the ocean with speed and strength—they also come equipped with an incredible hidden ability: a sixth sense that helps them detect electromagnetic fields in water. This built-in superpower is thanks to tiny gel-filled canals on their snouts called ampullae of Lorenzini. These …
Article photo: Cristina Mittermeier By Bea San Juan Silva | March 28, 2025 South Africa’s oceans are teeming with biodiversity, from vibrant coral reefs to rich fish populations. To protect these vital ecosystems, the country has established a network of 42 marine protected areas (MPAs) – 41 in the …
Bees run the gamut from generalists to specialists. Whereas the generalists visit a variety of plants for the resources they need, many specialists exist on a single species. Such is the case for at least 20 different bees living in Southwestern North America who specialize on the pollen of the creo…