Kelp forests cover 25% of the world’s coastlines and contain high biodiversity rates around the world. But they have been in decline in recent years, leaving many species without a food source and a home, and resulting in a great shift in the ecosystem. Restoration of these forests has proved to be difficult, as researchers must address the numerous causes driving deforestation while simultaneously attempting to restore kelp populations. This review will discuss recent research on methods taken to restore kelp forests in different areas of the world.

Each fall more than a billion birds transverse California’s Central Valley as they travel south along the Pacific Flyway. As these birds travel down the valley, many stop in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region south of Davis where thousands of bird-watchers come to meet them. The article guides prospective bird-watchers on the plethora of parks, preserves, and roadside stops in the areas surrounding Davis for observing all of the aural and visual wonders birds have to offer.

Some of California’s iconic freshwater fishes such as sturgeon, salmon, and trout are anadromous. This means that they are born in freshwater, migrate to the ocean as adults, and return to freshwater to spawn. Several species face extinction or severe decline within the next century, an endangerment facilitated by the presence of man-made dams. This review will discuss how dams affect anadromous fishes through habitat fragmentation, reduction in water quality, and the spread of disease.

As the Anthropocene extinction crisis unfolds, effective monitoring of what biodiversity we have left is increasingly imperative. Emerging as an unlikely ally is sound, which, with the help of new technological advances, we can listen to gain clues about the ecology of wildlife with minimal disturbance to the environment. This feature explores the world of this new art of listening–passive acoustics– and how it could revolutionize ecology and conservation.

The recent deaths of large groups of vultures in the 2020s via anthropogenic toxins have sparked concern and highlighted the need for urgent action to protect one of the most endangered avian groups in the world. Understanding the underlying reasons why vulture poisonings occur and how the decline of vultures impacts wildlife and human communities helps inform what steps we can take to protect and restore their populations. One of the most well-documented vulture declines is that of the South Asian vulture population in 2012, which primarily impacted three Old-World species of vulture endemic to the region. Understanding the South Asian vulture population collapse and the subsequent conservation efforts can help prevent the same from happening to other vulture populations around the world.