Brittany Steff | Freelance Science Writer | Species Richness / Brittany Steff |

Global Wildlife Conservation • 19th July 2019

Eritrean Gazelles: Once Lost, and Now Found in Their Namesake Country

Like a mirage in the desert, a long-missing gazelle species has reappeared as if from thin air in Eritrea. The Eritrean Gazelle is an endangered species that lives within the horn of Africa, primarily along the Nile River. But for more than 80 years, no Eritrean Gazelles had been reported in Eritrea. That changed this April when GWC associate Futsum Hagos was conducting a wildlife survey.

CleanChoice Energy • 16th April 2019

Protecting Our National Parks from Climate Change

The National Park systems includes more than just Yosemite and Yellowstone—one of the approximately 2,000 National Parks or Federal Land Sites are probably near you. Supporting National Parks and switching to renewable energy are two ways you can protect the parks from climate change.

CleanChoice Energy • 31st January 2019

Top 6 Tips to Get Through the Winter: Lessons from Nature

Thousands of years ago, humans took their cues from the animals around them—building shelters, increasing their wrappings, and staying out of the weather as much as possible. Doing the same can help you survive the cold and save the planet at the same time.

Global Wildlife Conservation • 21st January 2019

The Superheroes Of The Squirrel World: Flying Squirrels

Say the word “squirrel” and everyone pictures nearly the same thing: bushy tail, buckteeth, ornery personality, and a propensity for burgling their way into people’s birdfeeders. However, there’s another type of squirrel; a more exotic, arguably cooler cousin that lurks like ninjas in the night: the flying squirrels. Nocturnal, big-eyed, and tuft-eared, flying squirrels live throughout the world, including in the eastern United States and the northwest coast.

Global Wildlife Conservation • 2nd November 2018

Cosmopolitan Small Cats Make A Splash in Sri Lanka

If it swims and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. But if it swims, quacks like a duck, fishes, and looks like a miniature Leopard—it’s a Fishing Cat.

Global Wildlife Conservation • 23rd October 2018

Tiny Lost-And-Found Toad Becomes Harbinger Of Hope

Six years ago a conservation biologist and his friend, a herpetologist, hiked into a little-explored rainforest in northern Ecuador to conduct the first-ever survey of reptiles and amphibians in the site. On the very first night in the field, they stumbled upon a tiny toad about 100 meters from their cabin—a toad that left them perplexed. It was the long-lost (and now found) Tandayapa Andes Toad (Rhaebo olallai), found in a place the species hadn’t been found before, in a region that is staggeringly remote and difficult to explore.

Global Wildlife Conservation • 22nd October 2018

Tracking The Treasures of Pu Mat National Park

In the mountains of north-central Vietnam, Pu Mat National Park perches on more than 900 square kilometers of rugged, forested mountainous terrain in the Annamite Mountains on the border with Laos. It is one of the most remote areas in the country—and is consequently a refuge for a number of Southeast Asia’s imperiled wildlife, including the Annamite Striped Rabbit, the Large-antlered Muntjac, and one of the rarest of all large terrestrial mammals: the Saola.

Global Wildlife Conservation • 15th October 2018

Red List Of Reasons For Hope

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is a living document. It aims to track the status of hundreds of thousands of species of plants, animals, and other organisms representing all the ecosystems on the planet. It is, in many instances, the last and most definitive word on how a species or population is doing at any given time.

Global Wildlife Conservation • 15th October 2018

Taking The Temperature Of Wildlife Health Across The Planet

Popularly called the “Barometer of Life,” the Red List is a massive publication organized and published by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Since the mid-1990s, IUCN’s Red List has been the decisive list tracking the health, conservation progress, and likelihood of survival or extinction of thousands of plants, animals, and fungi. This list then guides conservation action for these species and the places they live all over the globe.

CleanChoice Energy • 9th October 2018

Fall Gardening Tips: Fighting Climate Change with Dirt

Gardening—whether in a yard, a city garden, or in a balcony container—can be an enjoyable way to get in touch with nature. And caring for the soil you use for gardening can also help fight climate change.

CleanChoice Energy • 15th September 2017

The Science Behind Species Conservation

How are scientists helping to save animal and plant species in a warming world? Climate change is the biggest threat most animal species face, often more problematic than pollution, development, poaching, or invasive species. A conservationist’s job—to preserve species—is daunting. But creative, indefatigable scientists are coming up with ways to preserve biodiversity for future generations.

Smithsonian Zoogoer • 15th March 2016

Beyond the Black and White

What's black and white and adored all over? A giant panda, of course. Giant pandas are more recognizable than any human celebrity. But panda cubs like Bei Bei and Bao Bao are more than just pretty (adorable) faces. They’re also part of an inspiring conservation success story

Smithsonian Zoogoer • 15th December 2015

Bringing Up Baby

Bringing up a baby is a nearly universal experience of stress, worry, planning, surprise, pain, exhaustion, and joy. While the babies at the Zoo have scales, fuzz, or feathers rather than sweet-smelling baby skin, the stories of their births are strikingly similar.

Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute • 15th October 2015

Saving Threatened Corals

All of the world's coral face global threats from ocean warming and acidification making coral reefs one of most extinction-prone ecosystems on the planet. The algae that live inside the coral are an important link in this process, and Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists are working to protect corals by preserving algae vital to their survival.

Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute • 28th September 2015

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Study Finds Forest Giants Suffer Worst During Droughts

In a study published Sept. 28 in the journal Nature Plants, a team led by Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientists found that bigger trees suffer the most during droughts, regardless of location or forest type. The team analyzed 40 droughts in 38 forests across the globe, searching for size-related patterns in growth and mortality.

Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute • 29th June 2015

Citizen Scientists Help Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Track Cats and Coyotes

The phrase "tracking" usually conjures up images of biologists hacking through the bush, using footprints or radio collars to find animals. But a team of Smithsonian scientist tracks animals another way: using an army of volunteer citizen scientists and camera-traps in a revolutionary program called eMammal.

Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute • 29th April 2015

SCBI Researchers Use Frozen Testes Tissue To Generate Sperm

Researchers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute have generated mature sperm from frozen testicular tissue for the first time. Their findings were published in PLOS ONE today. The technique, called xenografting, has been successful in several domestic species but has never been done with frozen tissue before.

Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute • 8th April 2015

New Rescue Lab for Endangered Amphibians Opens in Panama

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute scientists working together as part of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project opened a new safe haven for endangered amphibians today, April 8. The state-of-the-art, $1.2 million amphibian center at STRI's Gamboa field station is the largest amphibian conservation facility of its kind in the world.

Smithsoniain Zoogoer • 15th March 2015

Small Mammals, BIG DEAL

Their bodies may be tiny, but there's nothing insubstantial about these animals' or their personalities.

Smithsonian Zoogoer • 15th December 2014

Red Panda Burning Bright

They look like living plush toys. A long luxurious tail, flame-bright fur, overlarge ears, a snuggly cat-like size, and an impish mask framing expressive eyes. Despite their recent dramatic upswing in popularity, much red panda, also sometimes called the lesser about red pandas still remains a mystery.

BRITTANY STEFF | Freelance Science Writer

Eritrean Gazelles: Once Lost, and Now Found in Their Namesake Country

Protecting Our National Parks from Climate Change

Top 6 Tips to Get Through the Winter: Lessons from Nature

The Superheroes Of The Squirrel World: Flying Squirrels

Cosmopolitan Small Cats Make A Splash in Sri Lanka

Tiny Lost-And-Found Toad Becomes Harbinger Of Hope

Tracking The Treasures of Pu Mat National Park

Red List Of Reasons For Hope

Taking The Temperature Of Wildlife Health Across The Planet

Fall Gardening Tips: Fighting Climate Change with Dirt

The Science Behind Species Conservation

Beyond the Black and White

Bringing Up Baby

Saving Threatened Corals

Small Mammals, BIG DEAL

Red Panda Burning Bright

Spe·cies rich·ness (noun)