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National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

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To Restore Montana’s Prairie Streams, Smithsonian Researchers Are Thinking Like Beavers

Smithsonian researcher Maya Rayle is studying whether artificial beaver dams can revive the stream valleys of the Great Plains.

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To Help Save Wildlife, Ecologists Learn A.I. Skills at the National Zoo’s Science Campus

In a unique class hosted at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, early-career ecologists learned to apply emerging technologies to power conservation breakthroughs.

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Do Shade-Grown Coffee Farms Have a Higher Value Than Carbon Markets Recognize?

Coffee farms with mature shade trees store far more carbon than planting new trees can capture, a new study reveals.

Bobcat caught on camera trap walking through brush and scrub on Montana's grasslands

How I Study Elusive Prairie Bobcats

Camera traps reveal how bobcats navigate the Northern Great Plains

Swift fox pups huddled together at dusk on Montana's grasslands

Why Researchers Are Scouring Montana's Grasslands for Swift Fox Scat

Scientists can learn a lot from what an animal leaves behind

Long-billed curlew in flight

GPS Tracking Technology Allows Scientists to Fly With Curlews on Their Epic Migrations

Researchers are unraveling the mystery of how migratory birds achieve their amazing flights

A bison on the Northern Great Plains.

I Spent the Summer Studying a Herd of Bison, And Here’s What I Learned

From May to August, I spent most days observing a herd of about 300 bison in Montana.

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