Feed aggregator

Feeding birds from flat surfaces such as tables could be contributing to spread of finch trichomonosis, says charity

The RSPB has withdrawn flat bird feeders from sale on its website amid warnings they could be spreading deadly diseases to finches.

The charity has said feeding birds from flat surfaces such as tables could be contributing to the spread of illnesses such as finch trichomonosis, which has been blamed for the plummeting greenfinch population.

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Exclusive: England and Wales proposals expected to follow Scottish consultation amid fears British farmers are being undercut

Ministers may lift a ban introduced during the BSE crisis on the use of animal remains in feed for farmed chickens and pigs over fears that foreign producers are undercutting British farmers.

A consultation on permitting the use of processed animal protein (PAP) from poultry, pigs and insects has opened in Scotland, and it is understood that proposals will be made for England and Wales in the coming months.

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Experts say marsupial mole DNA shows they are closely linked to bandicoots and bilbies and their ancestors likely evolved in a rainforest environment

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New research into one of Australia’s most specialised and bizarre animals has revealed the marsupial mole’s biology is as unusual as its appearance.

University of Melbourne researchers, who led the study, extracted DNA from a museum specimen then sequenced and analysed its genome to uncover the evolutionary secrets of the golden-haired species, about which “almost nothing is known”.

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A group of international researchers, led by the University of Kent's Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, has developed a framework for improving biodiversity monitoring while reducing associated costs.

The Indonesian government has announced plans to convert 20 million hectares of forest into agricultural land, triggering loud concerns from environmental organisations.

EU carbon allowances followed natural gas prices lower on Wednesday, dropping to trade near technical support levels despite weekly position data showing that investment funds ramped up their buying last week and now hold the largest net long position in 22 months.

Indonesia is looking to protect 5 million hectares of forest land by forming a task force that will drive recognition of customary land holders, the Customary Territory Registration Agency (BRWA) said this week.

The UK’s biodiversity net gain (BNG) legislation’s burdensome requirements for small sites will cause the scheme to fail without action, said a survey by a professional body of ecologists published Wednesday.

These tiny organisms matter. They have been used to map dark matter and improve transport networks, and they’re living all around us

A few years ago, I started looking at the underside of logs and it changed my life. I found a secret carnival of the most bodacious and interesting organisms I had ever seen. Bubbles of candy-pink gloss on stilts (Comatricha nigra), bunches of rainbow iridescence on toffee strings (Badhamia utricularis), bouffants of raspberry parfait (Arcyria denudata) – and those are just a few that have appeared on bits of wood in our urban garden.

Slime moulds, or myxomycetes, spend part of their life cycle as what are known as fruiting bodies – which look a bit like tiny mushrooms, hence why they were once classified as fungi (they’re actually in the kingdom Protista). Often you will find them, at this stage, in a colony – or, well, I’d suggest galaxy, sweetshop or funfair would be more accurate for a collective noun.

Lucy Jones is the author of Matrescence, Losing Eden and The Nature Seed

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Bangladesh has included a list of project activities under Article 6.4 mechanism of the Paris Agreement in its latest submission to the UNFCCC, even as it prepares a positive and negative list for Article 6 projects that will be incorporated in its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

A recent study has highlighted the careful balance Australian policymakers must strike between growing the country’s renewable energy capacity and electrifying much of its natural gas demand.

Diminutive bird breeds in Alaska and Arctic Canada and sightings in Britain are rare enough to attract a crowd

If you’d asked me which rare bird I might see in Somerset in early January, the least sandpiper would have been very low on my list. Yet on a fine, bright, chilly morning here it was: running along the edge of the water like a clockwork toy, probing the mud for food with its stubby bill.

This species is well-named. It is the world’s smallest wading bird, just 13-15cm long and weighing less than 30 grams – about the same as a house sparrow. Even its scientific name, minutilla, is Latin for “very small”. Standing next to a dunlin and a teal, it made them look enormous.

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Steve Reed to announce focus on making farming ‘more profitable and sustainable’ at Oxford Farming Conference

The government is aiming to reset its relationship with farmers with what it describes as a “new deal” for the industry.

Farmers have protested in their tens of thousands after controversial changes were made to agricultural inheritance tax and the EU-derived subsidy scheme.

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The US Department of Treasury (DOT) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released on Tuesday final federal guidance on eligibility for income tax credits in the investment and production of clean electricity, days before the start of President-elect Donald Trump’s second term.

The Alberta Technology Innovation and Emission Reduction (TIER) programme’s spot price continued to fall during the last month of 2024, while supply kept on an upward trajectory, according to a report published Monday.

Countries without net-zero targets could play a pivotal role in limiting climate change through the adoption of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), according to a new study.

The new House Energy and Commerce subcommittee chair introduced a bill on Friday targeting changes to the Clean Air Act (CAA) that could reduce permitting barriers for industrial operations.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Tuesday announced the appointment of over 30 members to an advisory council for a newly established federal programme that helps rural stakeholders participate in the voluntary carbon market (VCM).

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation from Canada's top seat could have little impact on the country’s carbon markets, or the broader clean fuels market, according to a new report by a US-based analytics group.  

Active worker bumblebees were spotted in Scotland over the Christmas break.