Conservation

Wild turkey populations in Missouri have taken a nosedive in the past 15 years. Biologists say the declines are connected to dwindling numbers of baby turkeys statewide.

The number of trumpeter swans spotted at the Audubon Center at Riverlands in West Alton has swelled in recent decades, from just five in 1991 to nearly 900 last year.

Creating wetlands in farm country can reduce the severity of flooding downstream. The Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative and Ducks Unlimited have partnered to create more wetlands in the Mississippi River basin.

Missouri's black bears were decimated in the early 20th century, but have come back in recent years. With an estimated 800 bears now living in the state, the Department of Conservation is holding a regulated hunt to help with population control.

Hunters and trappers believe they are close to having the nuisance animals under control in southern Missouri.

Fewer than 20 American red wolves live in the wild throughout the U.S., all in a refuge in North Carolina. Two Missouri-born wolves were flown there last month to join the population, providing a critical source of new genetic diversity.

Missouri Botanical Garden garden researchers delve into the center's conservation efforts in Madagascar. Ecologist Adam Smith studied the island's deforestation and found that all of Madagascar's rainforests could disappear by 2080. Botanist Jeannie Raharimampionona explains how MoBot's protected sites in Madagascar aim to combat this prediction.

The American paddlefish is native to the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The species has been around since the Cretaceous period, some 65 million years. Each spring anglers launch their boats on the Osage River in mid Missouri in pursuit of these big river fish.

St. Louis Zoo researchers enlisted the help of a team of Boykin spaniels to search for three-toed box turtles in a quest to find out more about the emerging ranavirus, which causes respiratory disease among reptiles and amphibians.

St. Louis Zoo President and CEO Jeffrey Bonner plans to retire by the end of the year. Zoo officials credit Bonner with leading the organization’s fundraising and conservation efforts.