…and other interesting new research that crossed our paths in the past few weeks, including a look at ecotourism land grabs.

Names matter. When we fear something, it becomes psychologically easier to withhold empathy for it or, worse, kill it. Nobody feels sorry for the devil.

First used as a bioweapon four decades ago, anthrax outbreaks continue to worsen as the country gets warmer and wetter.

Started by one of Yukon’s most colorful characters in the 1960s, the Yukon Wildlife Preserve still helps rehabilitate injured animals and sends a message about living with wildlife.

The problems facing the ocean sometimes feel overwhelming. But like surfers we can look for the perfect wave — and ride it to protect these vital ecosystems.

“Collectors” threaten these tiny bats, whose big ears can’t protect them from the humans loving them to death.

The historic act, which recognized a river as a legal entity, deliberately moves away from litigation and places community decision-making at its center.

Science says many types of animals can serve as “umbrella species.” But donors and the public pay the most attention to tigers, orangutans and other charismatic megafauna.

A single Franciscan manzanita plant nicknamed Francie, the last of its kind from the wild, charts an unlikely comeback in San Francisco.

One species she discovered, a critically endangered plant, eluded modern researchers for decades but has recently been rediscovered — as has Barber herself.