For the first time in U.K. history, an alien species (meaning one that is not native to the area) will be let loose in the kingdom to combat the growth of another species—also introduced.

Millions of sap-sucking psyllids (Aphalara itadori) will be imported into the U.K. to fight the Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), an invasive species first introduced during Victorian times that has since become an ecosystem-choking threat. Alien species are considered "invasive" once they become difficult to control and squeeze out native species.

According to a report in Britain's Daily Mail, knotweed "grows through concrete and asphalt, damages buildings and walls, weakens flood defenses, and crowds out other plants." The U.K. spends $2.4 billion annually fighting the plant.

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Nine months after it created its first list of protected endangered species, the government has added 15 more to the list, including what has been billed as "the world's least-known bird."

The bird, the large-billed reed warbler (Acrocephalus orinus), had only been observed in nature twice—once back in 1867—before its nesting habitat was found in Afghanistan in 2006.

Afghan law automatically protects any new species discovered within its borders.

The 15 newly protected species were evaluated by the new Afghanistan Wildlife Executive Committee, which includes among its advisors the Bronx, N.Y.–based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). In a prepared statement Peter Zahler, deputy director of WCS's Asia Program, praised the additions to the list: "By formally protecting the large-billed reed warbler as well as other wildlife, Afghanistan's National Environment[al] Protection Agency has shown a strong commitment to conserving its natural heritage—even during these challenging times."

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The yellow-spotted bell frog (Litoria castanea), last observed in 1970s, has long been thought to be extinct in the wild. Scientists believed it was probably a victim of the deadly chytrid fungus that has devastated amphibian populations around the world.

But last year, Luke Pearce, a fisheries conservation officer in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), thought he saw a yellow-spotted bell frog in an isolated stream where he was looking for another endangered species. He returned a year later with herpetologist David Hunter of the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water. Together, they found a population of around 100 adult frogs.

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The exact population for lesser flamingos (Phoenicopterus minor) in Tanzania is hard to come by, but estimates range from 1.5 million to 2.5 million birds. That might seem like a lot, but the species has faced a dramatic decline in numbers in recent years, enough for the IUCN to classify the birds "near threatened" on its Red List of Threatened Species.

The decline comes in no small part from ecological disturbances by humans at the lesser flamingo's three major breeding sites in Africa, typified by plans (since scuttled) to build a soda ash mining plant on Lake Natron. At least 75 percent of the world's lesser flamingos breed there, making the lake's health vital to the species's survival.

Last week, Tanzania announced an action plan to help protect flamingos not just within its own borders, but in neighboring countries. The plan, developed with the assistance of Cambridge, England–based BirdLife International, includes conducting new scientific research on the flamingos, managing local water resources, and instituting cooperation between African nations—a rarity for that continent.

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Florida has set March 8 through April 17 as a special python-hunting season in an attempt to control several species of invasive reptiles, which are wreaking havoc on the south Florida ecosystem.

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What does it take to encourage endangered species to breed? In the case of two frog species living at Bristol Zoo Gardens in England it takes creating a very special environment, and not just one that plays romantic music.

Bristol Zoo just finished building AmphiPod, a high-tech facility that "will allow us to adjust the temperature, humidity and day length to create the perfect conditions to encourage the frogs to breed," said Tim Skelton, the zoo's curator of reptiles, in a prepared statement.

In addition to mimicking the frogs' natural habitat, AmphiPod will also help to protect them against disease, including the deadly chytrid fungus that is rapidly devastating frog populations around the world.

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It's not exactly easy to study the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) in the wild, but new evidence suggests that while we've been worrying about tigers, gorillas and other obviously rare species, the great white has been quietly disappearing from the oceans.

We already knew that shark species around the world have experienced dramatic declines in recent years, with some species down 97 percent or more. But great whites were not effectively studied until now.

There are currently just 3,500 tigers in the wild around the world, but "the estimated total population of great white sharks in the world's oceans is actually less than the number of tigers," Ronald O'Dor, senior scientist at the Census of Marine Life, said last week at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The census is an international effort currently involved in a decadelong study of ocean biodiversity.

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The bat-killing fungal infection known as white-nose syndrome (WNS) has spread into Tennessee for the first time. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has confirmed that infected bats were found in Worley's cave in Sullivan County, where they had been hibernating.

Most Tennessee caves were closed to visitors last spring to try to prevent WNS from reaching the state's bats. That effort may have come too late.

WNS has killed hundreds of thousands of bats in the U.S. since it was discovered in New York State just three years ago, including large numbers of endangered Indiana bats (Myotis sodalis). Vermont has lost at least 95 percent of its bats since WNS was first observed within its borders.

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Hundreds of brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) have been found sick or dead off the California coast in the past month, the victims of a mysterious ailment that has scientists baffled.

When found alive, the birds appear hungry and disoriented. But necropsies performed on dead pelicans found that they had been eating, so the casualties don't appear to be from lack of prey. But their stomachs did contain unusual prey, like squid—not the sardines and anchovies they normally dine on.

Many of the pelicans also appear to have some sort of unidentified residue on their feathers, which may affect the feathers' insulating ability. "When we wash them, you can tell something is coming off. The water is discolored, like when you wash really dirty clothes," Jay Holcomb, director of the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) in Cordelia, Calif., told The Mercury News. "That's not normal."

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A critically endangered fish whose swim bladder is believed to cure illnesses has been caught and sold for more than $500,000 in China.

The 135-kilogram Chinese bahaba (Bahaba taipingensis), the first fish of its species caught in at least a year, was thought to be more than 50 years old. A fishery in Guangdong Zhanjiang purchased the fish for 3.45 million yuan.

According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the Bahaba's swim bladder "is highly appreciated for its medicinal properties and as a general tonic for health." Its use in traditional Chinese medicine resulted in the species being heavily overfished, to the point where any catch is widely reported in China's media.

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