1. Connecting with the natural world
Michael Gross 
Current Biology 
Volume 24, Issue 14, Pages R629-R632 (July 2014)
DOI: /j.cub
Copyright © Terms and Conditions

2. Forest connection: Listening devices built from discarded smartphones and solar panels can alert authorities in real time to poaching and illegal logging activity in their vicinity. Here the founder of the organisation, Topher White, adjusts a device installed for demonstration purposes. In the field, the instruments are placed higher up in the trees and camouflaged. (Photo: courtesy of Rainforest Connection (
Current Biology  , R629-R632DOI: ( /j.cub )
Copyright © Terms and Conditions

3. Taking off: Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly popular in ecology and conservation, helping both to prevent criminal damage to the environment and to shepherd animals like this elephant away from harm. (Photo: courtesy of ESCAPE Foundation (
Current Biology  , R629-R632DOI: ( /j.cub )
Copyright © Terms and Conditions

4. Healthy growth: Volunteer teams connected via the My Tree Tracker app help to monitor the health of the ‘urban forest’ in several US cities. (Photo: courtesy of Gitte Venicx/Earthwatch Urban Forest Program (
Current Biology  , R629-R632DOI: ( /j.cub )
Copyright © Terms and Conditions

5. From above: Satellite images help researchers to monitor the health of crucial ecosystems, such as coastal mangrove wetlands. This false composite Landsat 5 image shows Mnazi Bay, between Tanzania and Mozambique. (Image: Clare Duncan, Zoological Society of London.)
Current Biology  , R629-R632DOI: ( /j.cub )
Copyright © Terms and Conditions