| Is That Species Endangered? The Obama administration is moving to accelerate Endangered Species Act listing decisions for hundreds of plants and animals, some of which have languished on a waiting list for more than 25 years.At issue are 250 or so "candidate species," a designation that offers no legal protections for affected species and is intended to be temporary. But nearly 100 species have been on the ESA waiting list for more than 10 years, and 73 have been waiting more than 25 years, according to the Center for Biological Diversity , an advocacy group. [More] rss.sciam.com |
Nearly extinct giraffe subspecies enjoys conservation success The rarest of the nine giraffe subspecies, the West African giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis peralta ), almost didn't make it to the 21st century. After years of being poached and losing habitat to development, only 50 of these animals were left in Niger in 1996, and the animal's future seemed bleak. [More] rss.sciam.com |
Stay otter there: California sea otters cross over to the forbidden zone Few things in my life have brought me as much joy as watching sea otters play in the waters near Monterey, Calif. So when I heard this week that the frisky yet endangered critters may be slightly expanding their habitat, I figured everyone would think that was good news. [More] rss.sciam.com |
Giant spitting worm not so giant--or prone to spitting--after all? For the last few years, environmental groups have been calling for the protection of the giant Palouse earthworm ( Driloleirus americanus ), an incredibly rare species (seen only a few times in the past 110 years) that was said to be more than a meter long, smell like lilies and spit at its attackers.But now scientists have, for the first time since the 1980s, found two live Palouse earthworms, and it looks like the legend doesn't live up to the hype. [More] rss.sciam.com |
New, Yet Familiar Everything evolves. Plant and animal species adapt to their environments. Rocks, under heat or pressure, shift form. Earth revolves around a sun that traces its arc of existence through the ever changing cosmos. And with this issue, Scientific American introduces the latest design and content adjustments in its 165-year history, ready to embrace the next 165.Longtime readers will see much that is familiar in the magazine and its Web site, www.ScientificAmerican.com , from the classic design to the hallmark informational graphics. As always, collaborations with scientists--as authors of the feature articles and as sources for top journalists--inform everything we do. [More] Plant - Species - Scientific American - Magazine - Earth rss.sciam.com |