The term wet market is often laced with negative undertones, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the majority of these markets like the one featured above in Taipei, Taiwan pose very little risks to human health and biodiversity, according to a new study by Princeton University researchers.
Deep down in the ocean, valuable raw materials are stored, such as nodules of manganese. These resources could help meeting our increasing demand for rare metals. In addition to the nodules, there is another treasure down there: A complex ecosystem we barely understand. Researchers from Bremen and the Netherlands have discovered that sponges settling on the nodules provide a home for many other animals. Without nodules, diversity in these deep-sea regions would be significantly lower.
The researchers found incompatibilities between mammals and amphibians in the relation between body size and extinction risk.
The researchers found that the females of smaller amphibians, such as rain frogs (Eleutherodactylus), produce a smaller number of offspring per clutch.
Credit: Andrew Plumptre
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo (June 9, 2021) - A new study led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has updated the global population estimate for the Critically Endangered Grauer s gorillas (
Gorilla beringei graueri) - the world s largest gorilla subspecies- to 6,800 individuals from a previous global estimate of 3,800 individuals. This revised estimate comes from recent field surveys conducted in one of this animal s largest remaining strongholds, in areas that were previously inaccessible for surveys. However, these gorillas continue to be heavily impacted by ongoing insecurity, and by human incursion into their remaining habitat in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.