The Isla del Coco Marine Reserve, located off the coast of Costa Rica, is experiencing several environmental challenges including rising sea surface temperature (SST), coral reef bleaching, coastal erosion, and loss of cloud coverage above its cloud forest. These challenges not only threaten the well-being...

The Cheat River, primarily located in northeast West Virginia, experiences major flooding events that negatively impact nearby communities. Poor water quality due to acid mine drainage and excess sediment loads during flood events threaten the health of communities and numerous...

Iowa dedicates 92% of its land to agriculture, leaving the state economically and culturally vulnerable to drought. Current climate trends show increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation levels, which are environmental factors that put stress on vegetation and force farmers to...

Estuaries are vital ecosystems that serve important ecological functions. The Marine Life Protection Act aims to protect these ecosystems by establishing a network of marine protected areas (MPAs), in part by requiring regulatory agencies to monitor estuary extent and health...

North American beavers (Castor canadensis) are returning to Massachusetts after overhunting decimated their populations in the 1700s. Current regulations have allowed this species to recolonize, resulting in increasingly prevalent human-beaver conflicts. These ecosystem engineers can quickly change their environment through...

Landslides and flooding are reoccurring environmental hazards that lead to health risks and economic burdens in the urban areas of Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky. These communities share underlying natural and artificial conditions that make them vulnerable to these hazards...

The Charles River watershed intersects 35 municipalities within the Boston Metropolitan Area and has a population of 1.2 million, making it one of the most densely populated watersheds in New England. In recent years, the watershed has observed higher...

La Amistad International Peace Park in the Talamanca Mountains and Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica are home to two isolated jaguar (Panthera onca) populations. As agricultural and urban land uses have expanded in Costa Rica...

The mesquite (Prosopis sp.) forests in Northwestern Peru have had a significant increase in tree mortality in the past fifty years. Within this time frame, 17% of the forest extent was lost and the forest saw an average annual declination...

The Patuxent Reservoirs Watershed, in Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland, is a significant source of water supply for the greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The Patuxent Reservoirs Watershed Protection Group Technical Advisory Committee (PRWPG TAC) monitors water...