Biodiversity stories
Since the beginning of time, we’ve told stories to make sense of the world. Here, biodiversity comes to life through articles that blend science, wonder, and curiosity. These stories inform without overwhelming, explain without oversimplifying, and bring you closer to what keeps life in balance: the intricate beauty of nature.
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Wind farms: a resource to be carefully designed
New guidance on how to make this green energy source compatible with marine ecosystems
Offshore wind farms are a very promising source of green energy-but they can have a major impact on marine ecosystems. To address this limitation, a study published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews-in which researchers from the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station, the Polytechnic University of Marche and other Italian universities participated-outlines specific criteria for conducting a robust environmental impact assessment (EIA) while complying with the principle of “Do no significant harm.”
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Mushrooms in flight
By mapping the air of various parts of the planet, scientists have gathered strategic data on the mushroom kingdom
The world map of fungi can be found — in the air. The approach of an international team, coordinated by the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, that saw scientists take air samples in various parts of the planet to discover the secrets of fungi is entirely innovative.
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The plastic world of the Mekong River (and beyond)
Scientists’ warning: new ecosystem linked to waste threatens health of freshwater streams
It’s called a “plastisphere,” and it could send rivers reeling. Composed of bacteria, microalgae, and fungi (sometimes even macroorganisms), the ecosystem that forms and thrives on the surface of plastic waste could have a significant impact on the entire functioning of freshwater streams: depletion of dissolved oxygen in the water, potential introduction of disease, and alteration of the overall health of the river system are just some of the possible consequences of this new tiny population.
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Remote sensing: an aid for forests
Thanks to the data provided by satellite, it is possible to monitor the spread of ink disease
According to research published in the journal Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, and conducted by a group of scientists in which CNR-Iret and the University of Tuscia took part, satellite remote sensing data may prove to be of great use in detecting forest damage produced by ink disease.
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eDNA: studying biodiversity without capture
Thanks to the environmental DNA method, it is possible to investigate fish biodiversity without collecting fish
Studying fish biodiversity does not require catching fish. That’s according to research published in Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, and conducted by scientists from the Ogs (National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics) together with Arpa Fvg and Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, which showed the effectiveness of a new method, called eDNA.
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Butterflies: the long flight over the Atlantic
Widespread on all continents, the thistle vanessa is capable of extraordinary migrations
A study published in Nature Communications, conducted by an international research team, confirms the extraordinary ability of thistle vanessa butterflies(Vanessa cardui) to undertake transatlantic migrations.
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Nocturnals by force: animals that avoid tourists
If visitors crowd the forests, animals find strategies to escape them. But they pay the price
Once a place of silence and solitude, mountains are now a favorite destination for those who enjoy nature tourism – which, however, invades, in spite of itself, the habitat of many animal species. A study published in the scientific journal Ambio, conducted by the University of Florence and MUSE – Trento’s Museum of Science, investigates the long-term effects of mountain tourism on local mammal communities.
