A campaign to protect one of the planet’s only expanding kelp forests takes shape CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Diving in the Great African Seaforest, with its tightly packed towering kelp stipes that can rise up to 9 meters, or 30 feet, from the seabed, is a surreal experience, even…

South Africa is home to one of the world's only expanding kelp forests, yet most of it lacks protection.

Researchers are now documenting the thousands of species within the Great African Seaforest to drive new conservation efforts.

@alexandratalty.bsky.social reports for #Mongabay.

To tackle trafficking in gibbons, experts probe what drives demand “When we first got Joy, we thought she was a monkey,” says Esther. A hunter had come to her village in the Malaysian state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo, to sell wild meat. He showed Esther (not…

Gibbon trafficking has hit record highs, but experts say a "one-size-fits-all" solution won't work.

While buyers in Malaysia act out of a misplaced love for animals, in India, gibbons are often kept as status symbols. Tackling demand requires strategies tailored to these motivations.

Learn more!

Paul Kelly - You Can't Take It With You YouTube video by Paul Kelly

youtu.be/-c_3a6xTmP4?...

Auschwitz II-Birkenau.
Fences of the BIIa section, which became the men’s quarantine camp.

Learn more about this part of the camp from our short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrmhQTZePtg

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Photo: https://www.instagram.com/tevkaandem/

Why Needle Length Matters Shorter pine needles help conifers move water when water is scarce

Why Needle Length Matters
www.botany.one/why-needle-l...

Shorter pine needles help conifers move water when water is scarce
#Botany #PlantScience

🎨 David Hockney

Listening to forests reveals signs of recovery beyond tree cover Can listening to forests help us understand if the life inside them is thriving? Apparently, yes. Giacomo Delgado likens it to a doctor examining heart health. “A doctor has listened to many people’s…

Can you hear forest recovery? In Costa Rica, scientists analyzed 16,000 hours of audio to measure the success of payments for ecosystem services.

The data shows that naturally regenerated forests now sound more like protected primary forests than pastures, signaling a true return of biodiversity.

This is figure 4, which shows global hotspots of SWI susceptibility and changes in recharge and groundwater withdrawals.

Coastal groundwater is under growing threat. A paper in Nature Water reports an analysis of about 480,000 wells, which shows declining water levels in over 20% of coastal areas, increasing the risk of saltwater intrusion from rising seas. go.nature.com/4cwFIIE 🌊🌍🧪

Rehab center opens for Brazil’s golden-headed lion tamarins amid urban sprawl threat Brazil has opened its first rehabilitation center for golden-headed lion tamarins, an endangered monkey species threatened by urban expansion and the loss of agroforestry farms to monocrop…

The golden-headed lion tamarin’s range has shrunk by 42% since 1992. To combat a 60% population decline, a new Brazilian center is rehabilitating tamarins displaced by urban sprawl.

The goal: move them from dangerous city streets back into the native forests they need to survive.

Learn more! 👇️

Salty, Oily Drinking Water Left Sores in Their Mouths. Oklahoma Refused to Find Out Why. State regulators discovered strong signs of oil pollution, including high levels of salt and toxic metals, in one family’s drinking water. But for two years, they repeatedly delayed basic tests to fin...

Oklahoma regulators discovered strong signs of oil pollution, including high levels of salt and toxic metals, in one family’s drinking water.

But for two years, they repeatedly delayed basic tests to find the culprit — then closed the case.

(Published Feb. with @readfrontier.bsky.social)

A chimpanzee’s rhythmic drumming with floorboards hints at origins of instruments Drumming and singing at the same time is impressive, whether you’re Karen Carpenter, Ringo Starr or a chimpanzee. Japanese researchers report that Ayumu, a 26-year-old male chimpanzee and alpha of…

A chimpanzee in Japan has been recorded using floorboards as instruments to perform drumming.

Researchers analyzed 89 sessions, finding the beats followed structured patterns. The behavior hints that music may have evolved from vocal emotional expressions.

Liz Kimbrough reports for #Mongabay.

1951: France, Germany, Italy and the three BENELUX countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) sign in Paris the founding act of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which will be the precursor to the EEC and the European Union.

Dois ciclones afetam o Brasil nesta quinta-feira (16), saiba o que esperar A quinta-feira será marcada pela presença de dois ciclones no Atlântico Sul que afetam o tempo sobre o Brasil.

🌀⛈️ Dois ciclones afetam o Brasil nesta quinta-feira; saiba o que esperar.

👉 Os detalhes da previsão com Denis Garcia:

Chuvas no Brasil podem podem chegar aos 150 mm nos próximos 6 dias; saiba onde chove Um conjunto de sistemas meteorológicos (ciclone e ZCIT) formam tempestades no Brasil ao longo dos próximos dias. Confira os estados mais afetados.

www.tempo.com/noticias/pre...

Come away with practical insight into how environmental investigations get done across regions and beats. @mongabaylatam.bsky.social @mongabayid.bsky.social

Register now!
👉️ forms.gle/xB4KajthCZrU...

What does it actually take to report on nature crime?

Join us for the 'How to Cover Nature Crime' webinar with Daniela Quintero Díaz, Richaldo Hariandja, and moderated by @mikedigirolamo.bsky.social.

📅 May 5, 2026 | 12:00 UTC

Learn more!
👉️ mongabay.cc/HtRoNC

Benzoxazinoids (BXs) modulate soil microbiota to promote foliar disease resistance | Plantae Plant roots exude organic compounds such as benzoxazinoids (BXs) to the surrounding soil. BXs modulate soil microbiota, which in turn regulate plant growth. In this study, Stengele et al.

Plant Science Research Weekly --  Benzoxazinoids (BXs) modulate soil microbiota to promote foliar disease resistance (New Phytologist) @kschlaeppi.bsky.social @lisathoenen.bsky.social (Summary by Yee-Shan Ku) buff.ly/sbRQtLR

#PlantaePSRW

They Needed Treatment for Drug Addiction. The Company They Turned to May Have Used Them to Commit Fraud. Kentucky’s largest drug rehab center touts a Christian message and a selfless commitment to helping others. But internally, the organization prioritized money over the well-being of its clients and st...

Allegations against Kentucky’s largest drug rehab center claim that it knowingly falsified medical records to collect $16 million in Medicaid payments for group meetings.

With @kentucky.com

Trump posts image of himself as Jesus Or a doctor, depending how gullible you are

anntelnaes.substack.com/p/trump-post...

Election denier pushing sweeping Trump anti-voting order makes bid for attorney general Ticktin’s chances of becoming attorney general are practically nonexistent.

Peter Ticktin — a longtime Trump ally and attorney for convicted election denier Tina Peters — has publicly declared his bid to serve as attorney general with an agenda that reads like a greatest hits collection of election conspiracy theories. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

In Brazil, unfinished water project leaves Indigenous villages without safe water RAPOSA SERRA DO SOL, Brazil — Turned upside down on the dirt floor, next to an artisanal flour mill, a huge water tank catches the eye of those passing through the Bem Viver community, in the Raposa…

Only 47% of Indigenous villages in Brazil’s North Region have proper drinking water infrastructure. Forced to use contaminated rivers and improvised wells, thousands face serious health risks.

Learn more in this report by Felipe Medeiros and Adriana Amâncio for #Mongabay.
mongabay.cc/m1TChD

Tens of people went to see VP JD Vance at today’s Turning Point USA event

 🎥 Jake Traylor

Word of the Week: Miarolitic Mineral Matters #1030

Mineral Matters # 1030 - Word of the Week: Miarolitic
#mineralmatters #minerals #🧪
open.substack.com/pub/mineralm...

Researchers find ‘remarkable’ hot-pink insect in Panama rainforest In March 2025, biologist Benito Wainwright and his colleagues were searching for katydids — leaf-mimicking insects related to crickets and grasshoppers — in the rainforest of Barro Colorado Island in…

A new study reveals a rare pink morph of the katydid Arota festae in Panama.

Observed changing from hot pink to green in two weeks, the insect may be mimicking the "delayed greening" of tropical plants. Scientists say the find highlights the complex evolution of rainforest biodiversity.

This is figure 1, which shows a high-resolution environmental model of pesticide risk across Peru, designed to support spatial cancer epidemiology.

An analysis in Nature Health reveals spatial patterns of pesticide exposure and liver tissue-derived molecular signatures across Peru, establishing links between pesticide usage and cancer insurgence at the national scale. go.nature.com/41hOBAK 🧪

This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer to Pay for Lifesaving Care. Here’s How to File It. When a health insurer refuses to pay for your treatment, you may have the right to have the denial reviewed — and potentially overturned — by an independent provider. Here are six steps experts sugges...

Insurance companies can often be aggressive with their denials because “they don’t expect people to come back,” one health care advocate said.

The lesson is simple, another expert told us: “Appeal, appeal, appeal, appeal. That’s all you have.”

Repeated failures expose gaps in Indonesia’s nickel waste management JAKARTA — In February 2026, videos circulating on social media showed a mass of mining waste rushing downslope like thick mud, engulfing excavators and bulldozers within seconds as operators…

Indonesia’s nickel boom is generating massive volumes of toxic waste, but safeguards are lagging.

Poor implementation and heavy rainfall have led to deadly disasters. Watchdogs now call for a halt to new facilities until stronger protections are in place.

Hans Nicholas Jong reports for #Mongabay.