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Conservation Ecology Center News

A small wood turtle stands in a pile of fallen leaves in a forest
May. 23, 2022
Meet the Researchers Working to Save Wood Turtles
Wood turtles are one of the most endangered freshwater turtles in North America. To ensure a future for these reptiles, scientists first need to understand where wood turtles remain and how many are...
A bobcat walking through an area with tall shrubs and grasses on a sunny day
Sep. 20, 2021
How I Study Elusive Prairie Bobcats
Find out how Smithsonian researchers are using camera traps to study bobcats on the Northern Great Plains.
A swift fox wearing a GPS tracking collar walks through grasses in the open prairie of North-central Montana
Sep. 10, 2021
Learning About Swift Foxes from What They Leave Behind
Sometimes, science stinks — literally! In Montana, researchers are setting up “scat traps" to attract swift foxes, so they can learn from the droppings the foxes leave behind.
A bird, called a yellow-billed cuckoo, with a long tail and a yellow bill perches on a branch in a tree
Jan. 12, 2021
How Ecologists are Using Sound to Detect an Elusive Bird
Cuckoos are extremely secretive birds and difficult to spot. Researchers are developing a tool, using remote sound recorders and artificial intelligence, to help detect them.
A swift fox with a small body, bushy tail and tall, pointed ears stands on a mound of dirt on an open prairie. The fox is wearing a lightweight GPS collar around its neck.
Jan. 07, 2021
How Tribes and Conservation Partners are Bringing Swift Foxes Back to Their Historic Range
In the midst of the pandemic, as the story goes, a team set out to bring swift foxes back to a land they had disappeared from more than 50 years ago. Learn more in this update from landscape...
American bison on the American Prairie Reserve in Montana.
Nov. 09, 2020
I Spent the Summer Studying a Herd of Bison, And Here’s What I Learned
Spending your days with a herd of bison is an idyllic way to pass a summer. I would know, because most of my days from May to August were spent observing the behaviors of a herd of about 300 bison in...
A 75-million-year-old lobster fossil. The ridges of its fossilized shell are visible in the piece of rock.
Sep. 11, 2020
Bison and Lobsters: Neighbors Separated by 75 Million Years
Ecologist Andy Boyce discovered a lobster fossil near his field site in Montana, evidence that long ago this area of the Northern Great Plains was once the floor of a shallow sea.
A black-tailed prairie dog stands on its hind legs in short grasses on the plains of Montana
Jul. 02, 2020
Ecologists Dig Prairie Dogs, And You Should Too
At their field site in north-central Montana, ecologist Andy Boyce and intern Andrew Dreelin are learning more about how black-tailed prairie dogs change the landscape and support the many species...
a grove of trees with several dead, leafless trunks
Apr. 30, 2020
One in Four Tree Deaths in Blue Ridge Mountains Linked to Invasive Species
New research from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and Shenandoah National Park finds that invasive species of forest insects and pathogens contributed to about a quarter of the tree...
A small fox, called a swift fox, standing on Montana's grassy plains under a cloudy sky. The photo was captured by a camera trap.
Apr. 24, 2020
Working Toward Swift Fox Reintroduction
Landscape ecologist Hila Shamon lives and works in Montana, where she studies the prairie and its wildlife. Over the last year and a half, she has been working with Fort Belknap Indian Reservation...
Two bison with thick fur, big shoulder humps, large heads and short, curved horns stand in grass and shrubs at American Prairie Reserve in Montana
Apr. 01, 2020
Fantastic Beasts of the Great Plains
Smithsonian ecologists worked with American Prairie Reserve staff to fit bison with GPS ear tags. Their movement study will help researchers understand how bison move and use the landscape at the...
Three plains zebras stand in tall grasses in Laikipia Kenya. The zebras stand in a line, and rolling hills with trees and buildings can be seen in the background.
Feb. 12, 2020
Growing Livestock Numbers Threaten One of the Last Refuges for Large Wild Herbivores in Kenya
Across Laikipia County in central Kenya, endangered species like the reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s zebra and African wild dog, coexist alongside rapidly growing numbers of people and livestock. A...
A shorebird, called a long-billed curlew, with a long, slender, curved bill, and mottled brown feathers flies over grasslands in Montana
Oct. 22, 2019
Hiding in Plain Sight: Tracking the Long-billed Curlew
Long-billed curlew are shorebirds that spend their summers breeding in the grasslands of Montana. Smithsonian ecologists are equipping them with GPS trackers to learn more about their movements.
American black bear and cub in Washington State.
Oct. 17, 2019
Science Snapshot: Animals on Candid Camera
In September 2019, the Smithsonian scientists launched Snapshot USA, a nationwide camera trap survey effort in the hopes of capturing the first-ever “snapshot” of wildlife across the U.S.
A coyote stands between grasses and shrubs at the American Prairie Reserve in Montana
Oct. 04, 2019
Connecting with Coyotes on the Prowl
In Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, eastern coyotes join the ranks of top predators, along with black bears and foxes. Still, these clever canines face threats in their native habitat. Using GPS collars...
A camera trap photo of a hoofed animal (called a pronghorn) with thick fur, big ears and large, flattened antlers walking across the wide-open grasslands of the American prairie
Aug. 12, 2019
Studying Animals in Extreme Landscapes
How can you begin to study something as vast and diverse as the American prairie? Find out in the latest blog from landscape ecologist Hila Shamon who is stationed at American Prairie Reserve in...
A bird called a long-billed curlew flies across a blue sky. Its wings are outstretched and its long, thin, curved bill is open.
Jul. 31, 2019
The Birds Are Back in Town
All seasons on the prairie are special. But spring is just a little more special than the rest, as every day birds return for summer breeding season.
Kristina Anderson-Teixeria
Jul. 18, 2019
SCBI Scientist Kristina Anderson-Teixeira Receives Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
Kristina Anderson-Teixeira—a forest ecologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s (SCBI) Conservation Ecology Center and at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Center for...
A herd of bison running through grasslands in Montana. One of the bison is wearing a GPS tracking collar around its neck.
May. 08, 2019
Tracking Bison Across the Grasslands of Montana
Landscape ecologist Hila Shamon spent the first two weeks of April working with American Prairie Reserve to place GPS collars on plains bison.
Global Health Program veterinarian Dr. Maureen Kamau and cheetah cub Pink.
Apr. 19, 2019
Because of Her Story
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute's dedicated staff are at the forefront of shaping the world’s understanding of animals and their habitats. Wildlife conservation is...
Grasslands of the American Prairie Reserve in Montana under a bright blue sky with a few whispy clouds on a sunny day
Feb. 08, 2019
Welcome to the American Prairie Reserve
Conservation ecologist Andy Boyce lives on the American Prairie Reserve in Phillips County, Montana. It's rugged, it's wild and it's one of the only places left on Earth where scientists have the...
American bison graze on the American Prairie Reserve in Montana.
Feb. 08, 2019
Where the Bison Roam
Ecologist Bill McShea shares how the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s collaboration with American Prairie Reserve will help scientists better understand how changes to the grasslands...
The head and neck of a giraffe wearing a GPS tracker
May. 04, 2018
The Mysterious Disappearance of Reticulated Giraffes
What is causing the disappearance of reticulated giraffes across the plains where they were once plentiful? Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists and partners are on the case.
A recently burned forest at the base of a mountain. The forest is burnt in the foreground and gets progressively greener in the background toward the mountain.
Mar. 27, 2018
Using Mathematical Models to Save Forests
Smithsonian scientists and partners have developed a mathematical model to help understand why certain landscapes are especially vulnerable to losing their forests and the species that rely on them,...
An Asian elephant wearing a GPS satellite collar in a forest in Myanmar
Mar. 13, 2018
Smithsonian Scientists Find Elephant-poaching Crisis Emerging in Myanmar
Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute have found that poaching is an emerging crisis for Asian elephants in Myanmar. They published their findings March 13 in PLOS ONE.