Citizen Science Tuesday connects you to projects that benefit conservation. This week: take a voyage with the mariners of oldWeather and improve data for climate models.

What does it mean to be smart about pursuing conservation objectives? Timm Kroeger presents the how and why of maximizing conservation “return” on investments.

Seafood certification and working with the fishing industry often benefits biodiversity far more than traditional protected-area approaches, says Ray Hilborn.

Also in our best of the web: punk frogs, sea serpents on video, sadistic trolls (really), Masai fencing innovation, and Peter Matthiessen remembered

Both adaptation and mitigation strategies will help farmers in the tropics deal with climate change. The problem? These strategies are often pursued separately, reducing their effectiveness in meeting broader conservation goals.

They’re the largest fish in the world, not to mention one of the most fascinating. Marine blogger Alison Green jumps into the clear waters of the Gulf of California for a close encounter.

The recent news of a “pulse flow” in the Lower Colorado River has highlighted a steadily growing trend in freshwater conservation along “working” rivers – restoring elements of natural flow regimes. A new paper reviews such flow experiments and their effects on ecological restoration.

Citizen Science Tuesday connects you to projects that benefit conservation. This week: track the reproductive success of birds and improve understanding of challenges they face with NestWatch. Who doesn’t want to spend time watching baby birds?

Louisiana’s Atchafalaya River Basin isn’t just “Swamp People” — it’s 1 million acres of amazing biodiversity and heavily engineered nature covered by decades of science. Learn why the Conservancy’s Bryan Piazza just had to write a book about it.

Also in our best of the web: rattlesnake wrangling, high-end environment news, art meets climate science, and an endangered mammal that looks like an artichoke

What’s the future of conservation science? Look no further than this year’s NatureNet Science Fellows cohort — with specialties from ocean pollution to nanotechnology to conflict over water.

When it hatches, this species is the size of a pinhead but will grow to be the heaviest bony fish in the ocean—and the weirdest. Meet the Mola mola.

Our new series connects you to citizen science projects that benefit conservation. First up: record when trees bloom and wildflowers blossom to help Project BudBurst track the effects of climate change.

The IPCC’s new report on climate change puts coral reefs front and center. Is there still time to save them? The Nature Conservancy’s Mark Spalding walks us through the science.

Don’t assume that being a locavore or eating organic automatically makes you a better conservationist, says scientist Stacy Philpott. The data on food sustainability might surprise you.