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New data on the Wyoming sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) population reveals bird numbers will likely decline in the coming year based on an analysis of sage grouse wings provided by hunters. In 2016, there were 0.9 chicks per hen, down from 1.7-1.8 documented in 2014 and 2015. This ratio is near the low of 0.8 chicks per hen noted in 2012. The 10-year average, from 2006-2015, was 1.2 chicks per hen. Grouse numbers declined in most of those years. Researchers following radio-marked sage grouse across the state also reported low nest success and chick survival in 2016.

This study presents a wide-scale investigation of neonicotinoid insecticides used across the range of agricultural activities from fifteen surface water sites in southern Ontario. Using statistical analysis, the correlation of individual compounds with land use was investigated, and the relationship between neonicotinoid occurrence and hydrologic parameters in calibrated water courses was also assessed. Of the five neonicotinoids studied, imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam exhibited detection rates above 90% at over half the sites sampled over a three year period (2012–2014).

Ecological communities are increasingly exposed to natural and anthropogenic stressors. While the effects of individual stressors have been broadly investigated, there is growing evidence that multiple stressors are frequently encountered underscoring the need to examine interactive effects. Pesticides and infectious diseases are two common stressors that regularly occur together in nature. Given the documented lethal and sublethal effects of each stressor on individuals, there is the potential for interactive effects that alter disease outcomes and pesticide toxicity.

Over the past decade, biologists in the United States have been tracking the rise of a deadly disease affecting snakes. Exactly where it came from, how it spreads and what it means for infected snake populations are all still rather mysterious. Now, a new report has revealed the disease is popping up in far more places – and in more snake species – than we thought. Snake Fungal Disease (SFD) is a skin condition that first caught scientists' attention back in 2006, when it struck a population of timber rattlesnakes in New Hampshire, cutting their numbers dramatically.

Researchers report three new species of the world’s smallest salamander from the remote mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. They also warn that the rare creatures are already in danger of dying out. The three new species are from the enigmatic genus Thorius, the adults of which are smaller than a matchstick. They are, in fact, the smallest four-legged tailed organism on Earth, and their miniaturized bodies are highly unusual for vertebrates, with structures for feeding being among the most prominent.

Bryan Pijanowski, professor of landscape ecology in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University and director of the Discovery Park Center for Global Soundscapes, is the focus of an in-depth story now posted on the CNN website. John Sutter, a columnist for CNN Opinion focusing on climate change and social justice, accompanied Pijanowski and a team of researchers to the Costa Rican rainforest, where they recorded the sounds of amphibians in danger of extinction as part of the Center for Global Soundscapes’ Vanishing Soundscapes initiative.

The common toad is in decline across much of the UK and needs better protection, say conservationists. Data from toad patrols - volunteers who move toads across busy roads - shows the toad population has fallen by more than two-thirds since the 1980s. Once common in the British countryside, the amphibian is now on the brink of qualifying for protection as a vulnerable species, a study suggests. Silviu Petrovan, from the UK charity Froglife, said the information came from Toads on Roads - volunteer patrols established in the early 1970s to move toads over busy roads.

The Caribbean's island geography makes it a highly biodiverse region. It is home to approximately 6,500 plant, 150 bird, 470 reptile, 40 mammal, 170 amphibian and 65 fish species not found anywhere else in the world. The global wildlife trafficking crisis threatens many of these species, which are used, often illegally, as pets, medicine, food, jewellery, clothing, souvenirs and household decorations.

In her recent Environmental Protection Report entitled Small Steps Forward, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Dianne Saxe, called upon the government to put words into action to monitor biodiversity, combat wildlife declines, control invasive species, and follow through on better forest fire management. The large-scale loss of biodiversity is a crisis in Ontario and around the world. Ontario's most "at risk" species are snakes, turtles and freshwater mussels. However, many freshwater fishes, birds and mammals are also experiencing alarming declines.