News about Biodiversity

Iconic savanna mammals face genetic problems due to fences and roads

Wildebeest migrations have become a rarer sight in Africa as humans continue to interrupt their historic migratory routes with roads, fences, cities, livestock and farmland. This has led to genetic decay in those herds…

A new family tree revises our understanding of bird evolution

A team of researchers from the Bird 10,000 Genomes (B10K) consortium has reported a new bird family tree that promises to reshape our understanding of avian evolution. Published in Nature on April 1st, 2024, the study…

Economist: Tens of billions of dollars in forest products are being overlooked

Are we missing the forest for the trees? More than timber grows in forests – including products worth many tens of billions of dollars. Because these goods go unrecorded in official trade statistics, their economic valu…

Major study reports that people and environment both benefit from diversified farming, while bottom lines also thrive

Mixing livestock and crops, integrating flower strips and trees, water and soil conservation and much more: Massive new global study led by the University of Copenhagen and University of Hohenheim, has examined the…

Gene flow in giraffes and what it means for their conservation

Giraffes, with their bizarre body plan, have always held a special place in the minds of evolutionary biologists and non-experts alike. In a new study, led by a team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen,…

Economists: Ecosystems have higher monetary value than previously calculated

Current economic practice systematically underestimates the value of nature, according to an international group of economists. Writing in the journal Science, they propose a new calculation formula.

CPSC conference 2024

Registration for the CPSC conference Translational agriculture – from model plants to crops in Copenhagen Aug 21st to 23rd, 2024 is now open

Birds have been adapting to human activity for millennia

Roughly 14,500 to 10,500 years ago, in the transition from the last glacial period, Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic peoples harvesting vegetation from the wetlands of eastern Jordan created a habitat for birds that would…

Global Health Researcher Spotlight: David Nogués Bravo

The School of Global Health's Global Health Research Spotlight series focuses on global health researchers from the University of Copenhagen.

Orchid study reveals essential plant-fungal relationships in Danish conservation area

In a new study conducted in a high-diversity conservation area in eastern Denmark, researchers have unveiled the intricate relationships between three co-occurring orchid species and their associated low-abundance…

Orchid study reveals essential plant-fungal relationships in Danish conservation area

In a new study conducted in a high-diversity conservation area in eastern Denmark, researchers have unveiled the intricate relationships between three co-occurring orchid species and their associated low-abundance…

New study on global biodiversity hotspots

Based on millions of distribution data, researchers reveal unexpected patterns that may redefine our understanding of global hotspots of biodiversity.

Carsten Rahbek receives Distinguished Fellow Award

Professor Carsten Rahbek received the 2024 IBS Distinguished Fellow Award at the biennial conference in Prague.

Islands in the Indian Ocean: Development and Biodiversity

In the latest news Associate Professor Stig Jensen, after a visit to the island state delves into the islands of the Indian Ocean focusing on their biodiversity, development, and the impact of colonization today. The…

How did the bushpig cross the strait? A great puzzle in African mammal biogeography solved by genomics

Africa has a huge diversity of large mammals, but their evolutionary relationships and movement across the continent over time often remain a mystery. A new scientific study led by researchers from the University of…

Fighting for Biodiversity in Africa

In an article published in Danish Journal Udenrigs, Associate Professor Stig Jensen, details the fight for biodiversity in Africa. With an increasing threat of extinction to multiple animal species on the continent,…

An updated floristic map of the world

In Nature Communications by Liu, Y., ..., Borregaard, M.K., ... Rahbek, C. and Wang, Z. (2023)

Diversification of flowering plants in space and time

In Nature Communications by Dimitrov, D., ..., Nogués-Bravo, D., ..., C, Rahbek & Wang, Z. (2023)

New beetle species has bottle-opener shaped genitalia: Now that calls for a Carlsberg!

Six new beetle species have been discovered in South America by researchers at the University of Copenhagen. Among them is one with a distinctively shaped sexual organ that has led the researchers to name it after globa…

Apply now for the EnvEuro MSc program 2024

Application for the EnvEuro MSc program in "Environmental Science - Soil, Water and Biodiversity" is now open Application deadline for 2024 is found here notice different deadlines for each university

Postdoc: We must not forget humans in our effort to protect animals and nature 

The practice of nature conservation has historically oppressed people to protect nature. We need nature conservation to take cultural diversity as well as biodiversity into account, says postdoc Federica Bocchi.

MATRIX annual meeting November 23

Registration is open now

Earth Beyond six of nine planetary boundaries

In Science Advances by Richardson, K., Steffen, W., Rockström, J., et al. (2023)

Brain-altering parasite turns ants into zombies at dawn and dusk

It takes over the brains of ants, causing them to cling to the tops of blades of grass where they can be eaten by cattle and deer. The common liver fluke has an exceptional life cycle as it moves through snails, ants an…