Biodiversity
Site news
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A study on species competing to consume insect larvae provides insights into “priority effects”, or how the order and timing of different species shape biological communities.
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A Stanford-led effort combines bluefin tuna tag data and historical catch records to reconstruct the evolution of the fishery in the context of extensive movement and mixing.
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The Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability’s annual competition recognizes images capturing natural beauty, researchers in action, and important topics in sustainability research.
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For their final project in a natural capital course, students Megan Chen and Zoe Rehnborg created a “zine” on the many values of public parks.
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A new study finds old-growth forests in Sweden store far more carbon than the industrial tree plantations that are rapidly replacing them, with soil accounting for most of the difference. Protecting undisturbed areas could do more to mitigate climate change than previously thought.
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As oceans warm and ecosystems shift, Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station is helping detect trouble early – and prevent collapse before it starts.
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The Stanford ecologist traces quiet shifts in the natural world – and how they circle back to human health. PhD student Phil Roberge takes us on a tour of his lab.
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To analyze for risk of schistosomiasis, a debilitating parasitic disease, Giulio De Leo and collaborators used AI to transform local field work into satellite-powered disease mapping in Senegal.
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Jennifer Brophy uses genetic tools to help plants adapt to climate change. Lately, she has focused her efforts on improving crops to reduce the need for chemical pesticides that can contaminate air and water.
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For Earth Systems master’s student Tom Ramsay, an internship focused on assessing the natural capital of wetlands in Uruguay inspired new interests and career ambitions.
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A microbiologist discusses her research into the robust lipid membranes of ancient microbes to reveal secrets about Earth’s environmental past and future.
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Our list includes a mix of favorites, high-impact stories, and some of our most-read research coverage from the past year.
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Adam Pellegrini engages in collaborations and field experiments across the globe to examine how ecosystems respond to global change and predict their resilience to major disturbances, such as wildfires, droughts, and disease outbreaks.
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Gretchen Daily, professor of biology and faculty director of the Stanford Natural Capital Project, discusses valuing nature’s benefits to people and scaling an initiative to 75 countries in this episode of the Stanford Ecopreneurship podcast.
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Natural Capital Project scientists offered up holistic development solutions at the 30th UN climate conference, where there was growing recognition of nature’s role.
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Stanford researchers are studying how changing weather patterns, rising temperatures, and ecological shifts affect the global food system, while developing ways to improve food security for all.
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An analysis of shark tooth shapes, a proxy for body size and diet, reveals species with specialized traits are most at risk of extinction. The findings are the latest example of the biodiversity crisis affecting the tree of life’s most distinctive branches. Unless threats like overfishing are addressed, “you end up with a more boring world.”
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New analysis of isotopes preserved in ancient seafloor sediments suggests oxygen levels in Earth’s deep ocean stabilized at modern-day levels long after the rapid burst of evolution that gave us most major animal groups.
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Projects in Armenia, the People’s Republic of China, the Cook Islands, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka have integrated nature’s benefits to people in policy, lending, and operational decisions.
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Climate change has already contributed substantially to the global burden of dengue fever, a new study finds. Over 260 million people live in places where dengue incidence is expected to more than double due to climate change by mid-century. The findings could help with public health planning and developing ways to mitigate such risks.
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Stanford researchers discovered that a nearly forgotten variety of black peas from the northwest Himalayas in India is genetically distinct from other peas and outperforms them.
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Erin Mordecai, a senior fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, studies mosquitos to understand how climate change is affecting the spread of infectious diseases and uses mathematical modeling to predict future outbreaks.
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Scientists have long known that biodiversity has increased over geological time, but corresponding trends for the sheer abundance of living things have never been calculated, until now. The findings add to data suggesting that conserving biodiversity is essential for the health of humans and our planet.
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A new water market model for the Colorado River basin could improve water security and restore ecosystems amid intensifying shortages.
