The concept of biodiversity, which usually serves as a shorthand to refer to the diversity of life on Earth at different levels (ecosystems, species, genes), was coined in the 1980s by conservation biologists worried over the degradation of ecosystems and the loss of species, and willing to make a case …

In 2011, at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 20 targets were established to address and mitigate biodiversity loss across the globe by 2020. Unfortunately, none of the targets were globally met. The last Convention on Biological Diversity National Report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands …

The relationship between race and biology is complex. In contemporary medical science, race is a social construct that is measured via self-identification of study participants. But even though race has no biological essence, it is often used as variable in medical guidelines (e.g., treatment recommendations …

Humanity has created a world where many people can live in relative wealth at the same time (7.2% of all people who have ever lived are alive right now!) It 's fantastic that mass communication has made global inequality painfully visible, resulting in increasingly one humanity. But at the same time, …

The Netherlands is a densely populated and economically developed country. Coastal areas are important for aquaculture, agriculture, harbors, and urban development. Coastal habitats mainly exist on the south Delta coast and the north Wadden sea, hosting a great biological diversity. The Netherlands had …

A long-standing hypothesis in ecology and evolution is that trichromatic colour vision (the ability to distinguish red from green) in frugivorous primates has evolved as an adaptation to detect conspicuous (reddish) fruits. This could provide a competitive advantage over dichromatic frugivores which …

DNA-based identification through the use of metabarcoding has been proposed as the next step in the monitoring of biological communities, such as those assessed under the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Advances have been made in the field of metabarcoding, but challenges remain when using complex samples. …

Ecocentrism has roots in environmental philosophy, which questions the conceptual dichotomy between humans and the environment, acknowledging nonhuman species' right to flourish independently of human interest (Naess 1973). Generally, ecocentrism refers to a planet- and nature-centered as opposed to …

Coral reefs are one of the most important ecosystems in the world, in terms of both biological diversity and economy. These ecosystems are under a great amount of threats (e.g. climate change, pollution, coastal development and overfishing), which can lead to reef degradation and decrease of three-dimensional …

There is mounting evidence that efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of human activity on climate and biodiversity have so far been unsuccessful. Explanations for this failure point to a number of factors discussed in this article. While acknowledging cognitive dissonance as a significant contributing …