Climate Change

Researchers have analyzed tracking data for 5,775 birds across 39 species of albatrosses and large petrels -- threatened seabirds whose ranges span many countries and the high seas -- to estimate how responsibility for their protection should be distributed among nations and international organizations. The authors note that albatrosses and large petrels from all

Rising temperatures could trigger Earth's terrestrial ecosystems to transition from carbon sinks to carbon sources in the next 20 to 30 years, according to data from the world's largest continuous carbon monitoring network. The researchers suggest that up to half of land ecosystems could reach this tipping point - when plants begin to release carbon into the atmosphere.

The frequency of combined droughts and heatwaves -- which are more devastating when they occur in unison -- has substantially increased across the western US and in parts of the Northeast and Southeast over the past 50 years, according to a new study. The findings also suggest areas that experience compound dry-hot extremes are growing less scattered and more connected, resulting in larger impacted regions that place enormous strain on regional and national relief efforts.

Herbivores -- not predators -- may face a higher risk of extinction among mammals, birds, and reptiles, according to a new study of more than 44,000 living and extinct species. The findings suggest herbivores have consistently suffered the highest threat of extinction in the present day, the recent past, and the late Pleistocene - more so than species from any other position.

Adélie penguins in continental East Antarctica, covered more ground in less time by swimming instead of walking as they searched for prey during an unusually ice-free 2016-2017 breeding season, according to a new study. Without the need to locate cracks in sea ice for breathing, the penguins - considered a sentinel species that can warn of the environmental effects

A new Special Collection of Science Advances papers will delve into how pandemics such as COVID-19 affect -- and are affected by -- global environmental conditions, underscoring the interconnectedness of