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A dozen ocean species new to science could already be threatened by climate change, scientists find.

Crisp packets, cup lids and wet wipes among the more mundane objects commonly encountered

A full-size disco ball, a plastic Christmas tree and a double mattress were among the more unusual objects found by volunteers cleaning up the UK’s beaches this autumn.

The most common polluting items retrieved in the Marine Conservation Society’s annual clean of coastal areas were pieces of plastic or polystyrene, plastic takeaway cup lids and wet wipes.

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In their latest scan of emerging global biological conservation issues, experts assess the 15 most urgent risks society needs to address

If it did nothing else, the emergence of Covid-19 a year ago underlined for all of us the importance of anticipating and preparing for – and, as appropriate, steering the course of – things that might happen in the future.

That is, in a nutshell, the goal of the 2021 horizon scan of emerging global biological conservation issues recently published in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution by the Cambridge University conservation biologist William Sutherland and a team of 24 other conservation practitioners and researchers from around the world.

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National Trust review has warned that the climate emergency is clearly leading to more erratic conditions

It was a year of extremes as far as the weather was concerned: pounding rain, violent summer storms, some mild winter months and periods of searing sunshine.

An annual audit of how this year’s weather has affected flora and fauna in the UK has concluded that it was, to say the least, a challenging 12 months.

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Hurricanes, floods and wildfires wreaked havoc, causing deaths and a huge financial impact.

Not all frogs 'ribbit' — some sound like a motorbike changing gears or a tennis ball being hit. This summer, keep your eyes and ears out for these Aussie frogs. Jodi Rowley, Curator, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Biology, Australian Museum Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Borrowing has risen unsustainably during the pandemic among businesses, the government and consumers

As we look forward to 2021, there is much to be hopeful for. Vaccines pending, much of normal life will return and the economy can recover even more quickly than predicted by the Bank of England and the Treasury’s independent forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility.

While bedding in a Brexit deal will prove to be difficult in the weeks and months after 1 January, there is the prospect of businesses beginning to see through the fog of uncertainty that has clouded the past four years.

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Catherine Nakalembe won this year's Africa Food Prize for pioneering work using satellite images.

Lockdowns around the world have led to record falls in CO2 emissions. But will this lead to long lasting change?

Necropsy reveals 80% of the thousands of songbirds that died suddenly showed typical signs of emaciation

• Birds ‘falling out of the sky’ in mass die-off in south-western US
• Read more in our series Biodiversity: what happened next?

The mass die-off of thousands of songbirds in south-western US was caused by long-term starvation, made worse by unseasonably cold weather probably linked to the climate crisis, scientists have said.

Flycatchers, swallows and warblers were among the migratory birds “falling out of the sky” in September, with carcasses found in New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Arizona and Nebraska. A USGS National Wildlife Health Center necropsy has found 80% of specimens showed typical signs of starvation.

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Researchers surprised by reappearance of species without aid of reintroduction scheme

Native oysters have unexpectedly returned to the shores of Belfast Lough after more than 100 years, researchers have discovered – though scientists are still unsure how they got there.

Ostrea edulis, the European flat oyster, is listed as threatened and/or declining by the Ospar conservation scheme and is the focus of numerous biodiversity projects around Europe. But now it has impressed scientists by establishing itself in Belfast Lough without the aid of a reintroduction programme.

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Memories of Brazil’s dictatorship as plan threatens biodiverse home of three indigenous communities

Brazilian activists have voiced alarm over their government’s plans to bulldoze a 94-mile highway through a biodiverse corner of the Amazon along the border with Peru that is home to at least three indigenous communities.

The planned road is an extension of the BR-364, a 2,700-mile highway that links São Paulo with the Amazon state of Acre, and would connect the town of Cruzeiro do Sul with the Peruvian border town of Pucallpa.

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Lewis Hamilton isn't just the world's most successful F1 driver, he's also a key backer of a new off-road electric vehicle racing series called Extreme E.

Record-breaking astronaut Scott Kelly talks about living in space and his desire to go back.

The good projects have already been identified and interest rates are low. We could speed up the electricity transition by decades. Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Officials seek a criminal probe after photos of 540 deer and boar corpses are shared on social media.

Five of the animals are reportedly already dead, with coastguard operation under way

A group of whales have been washed up on a beach in east Yorkshire.

According to the Yorkshire Examiner, nine whales have been washed up on a beach between Tunstall and Withernsea.

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Canadian government’s speed restrictions are not enough to prevent deaths of endangered animals, researchers say

For North Atlantic right whales, collisions with large cargo vessels are one of the deadliest threats to an endangered population. But new research from Canada has found even under the government’s current maritime speed restrictions, strikes are likely to be fatal.

In a new paper published in Marine Mammal Science, biologists found that collisions between large vessels and whales at a speed of just 10 knots had an 80% chance of producing a fatality.

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The winners and runners-up of this year’s competition, announced at the recent Nature Talks photo festival in the Netherlands

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Donations from individuals and charities to green causes more than double since 2016

Philanthropic donations to environmental causes have more than doubled in value in the UK as the climate crisis and unprecedented biodiversity loss attract increasing attention from individuals and charities.

The amounts of money given to support efforts to tackle climate change and nature loss range from £5,000 to millions of pounds, and the focus of the funding is as broad.

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