Tag: genetics

Elephant seals have had a spectacular journey from the brink of extinction, and they may owe it to a group of “supermoms” responsible for most of the reproduction. In a...

While the federal government has been working for 30 years to recover the endangered red wolf (Canis rufus) in North Carolina, opponents argue that red wolves are more coyote (Canis...

Researchers have launched the first large-scale laboratory release of mosquitos genetically engineered using a gene editing technique that some biologists believe holds promise for combating an array of problems, from...

When Canadian ornithologist Percy Algernon Taverner examined the goshawks of Haida Gwaii in 1940, he noticed something unusual about them. The birds on these rugged islands, about 70 kilometers off...

Habitat fragmentation is splintering California’s mountain lion (Puma concolor) populations, researchers found. As urbanization between Los Angeles and San Diego spreads across landscapes historically used by mountain lions, it is...

Red wolves (Canis rufus) were thought to be extinct in the wild, outside of a reintroduced population in North Carolina. But a pair of recent studies have found coyote (Canis...

Some 1.4 million white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) roam in Missouri today, but less than a century ago, their numbers had dwindled to the verge of extirpation. It would be understandable,...

How do butterflies get their colors? For one species, a single gene controls whether the spots on their wings are white or yellow. Using gene editing tools, biologists with the...

Endangered native Hawaiian waterbirds like the Hawaiian gallinule (Gallinula galeata sandvicensis) and the Hawaiian coot (Fulica alai) have benefited from habitat on national wildlife refuges and other protected wetlands, ultimately...

Eastern massasauga rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus) are declining throughout most of their range, but in Illinois, a 10-year genetics study found a lack of inbreeding among the rattlers there, offering hope...