Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 5, 2026

Florida May Play a Bigger Role in Monarch Butterfly Survival than Previously Thought

Xerces Society reported

Xerces biologist Ray Moranz has used new tracking technology to reveal that monarchs that spend the winter in Florida are a more integral part of the eastern migratory population than previously thought, changing what scientists know about one of the world’s most studied butterfly species.

Learn more

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 4, 2026

East Bay Regional Parks Upcoming Events

See the calendar of upcoming events for the East Bay Regional Parks at https://www.ebparks.org/calendar

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 4, 2026

A Fungus that Hijacks and Controls Carpenter Ants

Science Daily  reported

The fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis infects carpenter ants in tropical forests, hijacks their nervous system to compel them to climb to a precise height and humidity, locks their mandibles onto a leaf vein, then sprouts a stalk from the ant’s head to rain spores onto colony-mates passing below.

Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, a fungus that creeps along the forest floors of Thailand, Brazil, and the Amazon basin, gets into a carpenter ant through a single spore that lands on its cuticle, drills inward with enzymes, and then spends the next two to three weeks doing something biologists still cannot fully explain: it takes the wheel. The ant keeps foraging, keeps grooming, keeps responding to nestmates. Then, on a schedule the fungus appears to dictate, it leaves the trail, climbs down from the canopy to a leaf roughly 25 centimeters above the ground on the north side of a sapling, bites into the central vein with a grip that will not release, and dies. A stalk grows out of the back of its head within days and begins raining spores onto the foraging trail directly below.

Read more at https://spacedaily.com/j-the-fungus-ophiocordyceps-unilateralis-infects-carpenter-ants-in-tropical-forests-hijacks-their-nervous-system-to-compel-them-to-climb-to-a-precise-height-and-humidity-locks-their-mandibles-onto-a-l/

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 3, 2026

Upcoming CNPS Events

See the calendar of upcoming events of the California Native Plants Society at https://www.cnps.org/events

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 3, 2026

A new fanged frog species that builds mud nests on the forest floor

Monga Bay reported

  • Scientists have described a new species of fanged frog, Limnonectes motijheel, from Namdapha Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh.
  • This is the first recorded species in India where males call from within cup-shaped nests on the forest floor covered by leaf litter.
  • This discovery highlights the region’s rich biodiversity that remains underexplored, as well as the need to monitor and protect overlooked amphibian habitats.

Read more Researchers describe a new fanged frog species that builds mud nests on the forest floor

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 2, 2026

Upcoming Events at East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden

See upcoming events at East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden at events.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 2, 2026

France adds 157,000 hectares of protected forest as nature preserves

Euro News reported

France aims to protect an additional 250,000 hectares of forest by 2030, including 180,000 hectares in French Guiana.

From the rainforests of French Guiana to ancient woodlands in eastern France, thousands of hectares of forest are gaining new protections.

Read more at France adds 157,000 hectares of protected forest as nature preserves face pressure elsewhere

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 1, 2026

Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Events

See a list of all active events and virtual events of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy at Events in the Parks | Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 1, 2026

Theodore Payne Foundation  Upcoming Events 

Theodore Payne Foundation inspires and educates Southern Californians about the beauty and ecological benefits of California native plant landscapes.We are located on 22 acres of canyon land in the northeast corner of the San Fernando Valley. Our full-service native plant nursery, seed room, book store, art gallery, demonstration gardens, and hiking trails are open to the public year round. We offer garden tours and classes for adults and families, as well as field trips to TPF and in-classroom programs for children. Friendly on-leash dogs are welcome and there is no admission charge!

See upcoming events at  Theodore Payne Foundation Events – Upcoming Activities and Tickets | Eventbrite

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | July 1, 2026

Ornithologists Describe New Bird Species from Remote Indonesian Islands

Sci New reported

A small songbird inhabiting the Babar Islands, in the Banda Sea, Indonesia, has been identified as a new species after a duo of researchers discovered that its distinctive song sets it apart from its closest relative. Named the cheerful fantail (Rhipidura laguceria), the bird had previously been treated as identical to the cinnamon-tailed fantail (Rhipidura fuscorufa), found 135 km (84 miles) to the east on the Tanimbar Islands.

Read more at Ornithologists Describe New Bird Species from Remote Indonesian Islands

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 30, 2026

Bright purple seal appears on Bay Area beach, baffling state park officials

SF Gate  reported on this unusual sighting at Ano Nuevo State Park

Last week, park docents at Bight Beach discovered an elephant seal sporting a “strange” shade of bright purple from its flippers to its tail. This was no mishap involving Violet Beauregarde and a certain chocolate factory, however. While docents initially thought the source of the strange coloring may have been a diet of sea urchins or a more troubling cause, such as internal bleeding, they soon found the answer.

Read more and see photo at Bright purple seal appears on Bay Area beach, baffling state park officials

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 30, 2026

Physicists Discover How Slime Mold ‘Makes Decisions’ Without a Brain

Science Alert reports

Slime molds are slippery, nebulous beings.

They’re not true molds. They’re not even fungi. For most of their lives, they exist as either plasmodia or amoebae, and they refuse to be held back by the rigid structures that govern other life forms.

Slime molds are also renowned for somehow, without brains or even nervous systems, exhibiting behavior that could be described as intelligent.

Read more Physicists Discover How Slime Mold ‘Makes Decisions’ Without a Brain

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 29, 2026

Albanian ‘Flamingo Revolution’ Aims to Stop Kushner-Backed Resort on Protected Delta

The Revelator reported

Conservationists say the crisis exposes a pattern of broken promises around the celebrated Vjosa Wild River National Park.

In late April, heavy machinery began moving into the Pishë Poro-Narta protected landscape on Albania’s Adriatic coast without permits or public notice. Bulldozers and excavators felled coastal pine trees, flattened sand dunes, and cut new roads through previously untouched habitat. Then, barbed wire fences went up along the shoreline.

Read more at Albanian ‘Flamingo Revolution’ Aims to Stop Kushner-Backed Resort on Protected Delta

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 29, 2026

A Beginner’s Guide to Types of Rock: Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorhpic – Earth.com

Earth.com reported

Just as biologists must distinguish between different kinds of animals, geologists depend on being able to classify different types of rocks.

Read on www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/a-beginners-guide-to-types-of-rock-igneous-sedimentary-and-metamorhpic/

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 29, 2026

700,000-year-old squirrel poop helps scientist recreate an ancient world

Popular Science reported

A treasure trove of prehistoric squirrel poop is painting a picture of a lost world. Some of the oldest DNA ever discovered and sequenced lies deep inside these ancient rodent droppings. That fossilized poop (or coprolite) is full of 700,000-year-old environmental DNA from numerous plants, insects, microbes, and large mammals that once lived in Canada’s Yukon, many of which are long gone. A study published today in the journal Nature Communicationsdescribes the findings.

Read more at 700,000-year-old squirrel poop helps scientist recreate an ancient world

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 28, 2026

Are Crows Really Our Friends?

From Audubon

The popular corvids often get to know their local humans. We probe if these relationships go deeper. Follow along.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 28, 2026

Mangrove Loss Worldwide Is Now Reversing—with More, Denser Forests Than 20 Years Ago

The Good News Network reported

In what is both literally and figuratively a “landmark” study, research has shown that mangrove forest destruction has not only stopped in the last 20 years, but reversed—the world has more than it did at the turn of the century.

Additionally, the degree of age and robustness among intact mangrove forest, known as “closed canopy” forest, has increased far more.

Read more at Mangrove Loss Worldwide Is Now Reversing—with More, Denser Forests Than 20 Years Ago

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 27, 2026

Hidden bird species discovered in Japan after DNA reveals a stunning secret | ScienceDaily

ScienceDaily reported

A bird long thought to be a single rare species in Japan has turned out to be two. Scientists discovered that the elusive Ijima’s Leaf Warbler and a newly identified Tokara Leaf Warbler look almost identical, but their DNA and songs reveal they are distinct species. The finding marks Japan’s first new bird species discovery in more than 40 years and highlights how modern genetic tools are uncovering hidden biodiversity that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Read on www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260620100430.htm

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 27, 2026

Indonesian parrot, seen once in a century, reappears in mountain forest

Reuters reported

For the past century, the Blue-fronted Lorikeet was one of Indonesia’s most elusive birds, known only from a 2014 photographic record and a handful of ​museum specimens, with a lingering hope that it had not vanished. After days of climbing through sharp limestone, biting insects and ‌difficult mountain terrain, a flash of green feathers high on Buru’s highest peak showed that this dazzlingly colourful parrot was still there.

Read more Indonesian parrot, seen once in a century, reappears in mountain forest

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 26, 2026

Regional Parks Botanic Garden Photos June 22 and 23, 2026 part 2

Photographed in the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA on June 22 and 23, 2026.

The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a California native plant garden. It is located within Tilden Park in the hills above Berkeley, California, It is a 10-acre garden includes many of the state’s rare and endangered plants and a place for visitors to wander among trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses from plant communities throughout the state. There are free weekend and holiday tours.  Admission and parking are free. For more information about the garden visit the Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 26, 2026

New York Black-crowned Night-Heron is in Trouble

New York City Bird Alliance reported

Harbor’s signature birds is disappearing. We have until 2037 to keep it here.
Drawing on more than 40 years of nesting survey data in New York-New Jersey Harbor, NYC Bird Alliance scientists have published peer-reviewed evidence that the population of Black-crowned Night Heron, historically the most abundant wading bird in the harbor, has fallen 55% in 22 years.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 25, 2026

Regional Parks Botanic Garden Photos June 22 and 23, 2026 part 1

Photographed in the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA on June 22 and 23, 2026.

The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a California native plant garden. It is located within Tilden Park in the hills above Berkeley, California, It is a 10-acre garden includes many of the state’s rare and endangered plants and a place for visitors to wander among trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses from plant communities throughout the state. There are free weekend and holiday tours.  Admission and parking are free. For more information about the garden visit the Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 25, 2026

In an Australian city, birds are collecting handcuffs, medicine jars and banknotes. This is why

Discover Wildlife reported

What do an Australian banknote, a fluorescent mouth guard and a pair of handcuffs have in common? No, it’s not some Australian Rules football-related bank heist. The answer is they are all items used by city-dwelling Australian bowerbirds to impress the local females.

A new study in Queensland reveals that city-dwelling male great bowerbirds are using human items to impress females.

Read more at In an Australian city, birds are collecting handcuffs, medicine jars and banknotes. This is why

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 24, 2026

How to Get the Biggest Mental-Health Boost from 15 Minutes Outdoors

Time Magazine reported

You don’t need to go on a 10-mile hike or sign up for a wilderness retreat to tap into nature’s many benefits. A 2025 meta-analysis in Nature Cities found that spending just 15 minutes outside, even in a city, is enough to make a meaningful difference.

“Nature disconnects you from the things you’ve been stressing about and puts you in the present moment,” says study co-author Anne Guerry, co-executive director of the Natural Capital Alliance at Stanford University. Her team evaluated 78 experimental studies including some 6,000 people. “That’s not just looking at associations, but actually doing experiments”—stronger evidence than the usual research linking leafy neighborhoods to better moods.

Among the study’s findings: Exposure to urban nature reliably brought down anxiety, depression, stress, anger, and fatigue, while increasing vitality, vigor, positive mood, and restorative effect. While longer sessions outside (45 minutes and more) produced the biggest gains in stress reduction and vitality, shorter exposures still delivered real effects.

Read Article at How to Get the Biggest Mental-Health Boost from 15 Minutes Outdoors

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 23, 2026

How goat’s rue inspired super drug for everything from diabetes to obesity

Guardian reported

Goat’s rue or French lilac, Galega officinalis, is a wild plant and often grown in gardens for its clusters of attractive lilac or white flowers. For a long time the plant was also used to treat diabetes. Its key ingredient was later identified as galegine, which lowers blood glucose levels but has toxic side-effects.

Eventually galegine led to the development of the synthetic drug metformin, now the classic treatment for treating diabetes by controlling blood sugar. Metformin has none of the toxic side effects of galegine and is now one of the most prescribed drugs in the world. But for many years metformin was vilified and banned in many countries because of its association with galegine.

Read more https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/20/plantwatch-how-goats-rue-inspired-super-drug-for-everything-from-diabetes-to-obesity

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 22, 2026

Sonoma discovery proves sunflower sea stars survived in California

SF Gate reported

Scientists just announced that they found 18 sunflower sea stars on the Sonoma Coast near Sea Ranch.

Read on www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/endangered-sea-star-species-22310934.php

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 22, 2026

When Humans Went Away, the Wildlife Strayed

DNYUDS reported

Humans do not have to cut down trees or build roads to disrupt wildlife. Their mere presence in a landscape can change how wild animals use space and resources, according to a new analysis of human and animal movements during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The researchers paired GPS tracking data from 37 species of wild birds and mammals with cellphone location data across the United States. For two-thirds of those species, the presence of humans appeared to affect how much geographic space the animals used or h

Read more When Humans Went Away, the Wildlife Strayed

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 21, 2026

Multimillion-dollar wildlife bridge in NorCal gets first travelers ​

SF Gate reported

Why did three mule deer just cross Route 97 in Siskiyou County? The answer: California has built a new $20 million overpass dedicated for wildlife.

The deer, caught on a trail camera in late May, are the first confirmed animals to travel the wildlife overcrossing, which Caltrans is slated to complete by the fall. A bobcat may have padded across the unfinished project in January, but the footage of the passage wasn’t definitive.

Read more at Multimillion-dollar wildlife bridge in NorCal gets first travelers

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 20, 2026

What Species Are San Francisco’s Parrots? It’s Complicated.

Bay Nature reported

 

Genomic research suggests they’re their own thing. That’s probably thanks to one bold bird.

Read more What Species Are San Francisco’s Parrots? It’s Complicated.

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Posted by: Sandy Steinman | June 20, 2026

California’s lost attempt to build a 10th national park

Toyon National Park and Whitestone National Park were both proposed to protect the Santa Monica Mountains.
— Read on www.sfgate.com/la/article/malibu-national-park-22297918.php

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