Smithsonian researchers have identified the genetic relationships among all the Hawaiian honeycreeper species that were known to exist—and have subsequently faced major losses—since the arrival of Europeans to the islands. The study, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) and the National Museum of Natural History, places extinct and extant species of this famously diverse group of birds in their evolutionary context, informing diversity loss studies and potential conservation priorities.

Many threatened or understudied oak tree species are at risk of extinction in Southeast and East Asia, where more than half of their native range is subject to sharply increasing human pressure. Should these species of oak disappear from the wild, most of them do not have a single backup in a managed botanical collection anywhere in the world.

Those are among the findings in the first comprehensive Conservation Gap Analysis of Select Native Asian Oaks, conducted by scientists at The Morton Arboretum alongside collaborators in the region. Oaks are a crucial species that anchor entire ecosystems—supplying food and shelter for humans and wildlife alike—and by addressing vast disparities in data about these at-risk trees, this report informs the most practical next steps for conserving them.

Syracuse University biologists connect humpback whale song structure to diving behavior for the first time, a breakthrough that could allow researchers to infer whale behavior from acoustic recordings and better monitor the effects of human activity in the ocean.