Ecology Research News

September 5, 2024

Top Headlines

At-Risk Butterflies More Likely to Survive With Human Help

Sep. 4, 2024 — Some of the butterflies most in danger of fluttering out of existence fare better when their habitats are actively managed by humans, a recent study found. Scientists have long warned that insect populations worldwide are falling rapidly due to the ...

Open Wide: Human Mouth Bacteria Reproduce Through Rare Form of Cell Division

Sep. 2, 2024 — New research has uncovered an extraordinary mechanism of cell division in Corynebacterium matruchotii, one of the most common bacteria living in dental plaque. The filamentous bacterium doesn't just ...

How Baleen Whales Have Adapted Over the Past 50 Million Years

Aug. 22, 2024 — The largest dataset of cetacean genes ever collated has helped scientists deep dive 'into the blue' to fathom the 'triumph' of baleen whale evolution. The new study explores the key genetic adaptations of these diverse whale species around the ...

Oxygen Produced in the Deep Sea Raises Questions About Extraterrestrial Life

Aug. 26, 2024 — Rocks are generating 'dark oxygen' in an area being explored for deep-sea ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:17pm EDT

Are Crops Worldwide Sufficiently Pollinated?

Aug. 26, 2024 — Scientists have analyzed crop yields of more than 1,500 fields on six continents, and found that production worldwide of important, nutritionally dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and ...

Study Finds Salamanders Are Surprisingly Abundant in Northeastern Forests

Aug. 26, 2024 — Two recent amphibian-focused studies shed light on the ecological importance of red-backed salamanders, while confirming that proactive measures would prevent costly impacts from a wildlife disease ...

Mobile Species Are 'Glue' Which Connect Different Habitats Together

Aug. 21, 2024 — A groundbreaking study conducted across 30 field sites in the southwest UK has revealed the importance of incorporating varied habitats into the landscape at ...

Scientists Condition Crocodiles to Avoid Killer Cane Toads

Aug. 13, 2024 — Scientists have trialled a new way to protect freshwater crocodiles from deadly invasive cane toads spreading across northern ...

Forest Loss Intensifies Climate Change by Increasing Temperatures and Cloud Level, Which Leads to Decrease of Water

Aug. 19, 2024 — Researchers report that deforestation during the last two decades induced a higher warming and cloud level rise than that caused by climate change, ...

It's a Rave: Underground Acoustics Amplify Soil Health

Aug. 16, 2024 — Barely audible to human ears, healthy soils produce a cacophony of sounds in many forms -- a bit like an underground rave concert of bubble pops and clicks. Special recordings made by ecologists show ...

Nearly 25% of European Landscape Could Be Rewilded, Researchers Say

Aug. 15, 2024 — Europe's abandoned farmlands could find new life through rewilding, a movement to restore ravaged landscapes to their wilderness before human intervention. A quarter of the European continent, 117 ...

As Human Activities Expand in Antarctica, Scientists Identify Crucial Conservation Sites

Aug. 15, 2024 — Establishing Key Biodiversity Areas in the Southern Ocean will be vital for safeguarding the ecosystem from the impact of human activities, ...

Warming Waters and Nutrient Overload: A Dangerous Combination Threatening Our Rivers and Lakes

Aug. 15, 2024 — New international research found that food webs are becoming less complex in warmer, nutrient-rich ...

Impact of 700 Years of Inuvialuit Subsistence Hunting on Beluga Whales

Aug. 14, 2024 — An international team of researchers analyzed beluga whale bones retrieved from archaeological sites in the Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada, to shed light on the sustainability of ...

Lake Erie Walleye Growth Is Driven by Parents' Size, Experience

Aug. 14, 2024 — Parent size and the conditions in which actively spawning adults lived are the most influential factors affecting growth of Lake Erie walleye, a new study has ...

Study Reveals Urban Trees Suffer More from Heat Waves and Drought Than Their Rural Counterparts

Aug. 13, 2024 — A recent study details how trees in New York City and Boston are more negatively impacted by heat waves and drought than trees of the same species in nearby rural forests. The finding highlights the ...

Pit-Building Venom Mixers

Aug. 13, 2024 — Researchers show that the adaptation of antlions to their ecological niche has also changed their venom. They compared the venom system of antlion and closely related green lacewing larvae. Antlions ...

Forest Restoration Can Boost People, Nature and Climate Simultaneously

Aug. 12, 2024 — Forest restoration can benefit humans, boost biodiversity and help tackle climate change simultaneously, new research ...

Combined Effects of Plastic Pollution and Seawater Flooding Amplify Threats to Coastal Plant Species

Aug. 2, 2024 — A new study highlights how a combination of environmental stressors -- namely plastic pollution and seawater flooding -- can increase the threats faced by plants in some of the planet's critical ...

Mass Extinction 66 Million Years Ago Triggered Rapid Evolution of Bird Genomes

July 31, 2024 — Study finds that the mass extinction caused by an asteroid about 66 million years ago led to critical changes in bird genomes that ultimately sparked the incredibly diversity living ...

New Zealand's Flightless Birds Are Retreating to Moa Refuges

July 25, 2024 — Researchers have found New Zealand's endangered flightless birds are seeking refuge in the locations where six species of moa last lived before going ...

The Ocean Is Becoming Too Loud for Oysters, Research Finds

July 24, 2024 — Baby oysters rely on natural acoustic cues to settle in specific environments, but new research reveals that noise from human activity is interfering with this critical ...

Butterflies Accumulate Enough Static Electricity to Attract Pollen Without Contact

July 23, 2024 — Butterflies and moths collect so much static electricity whilst in flight, that pollen grains from flowers can be pulled by static electricity across air gaps of several millimeters or ...

Tropical Plant Species Are as Threatened by Climate Change as Widely Feared, Study Confirms

July 22, 2024 — Biologists who set out to better understand the effects of climate change on plant species in tropical mountain regions found that even small variations in temperature and moisture can have massive ...

The Most Endangered Fish Are the Least Studied

July 17, 2024 — The most threatened reef fishes are also the most overlooked by scientists and the general public. Scientists measured the level of human interest in 2,408 species of marine reef fish and found that ...

Reef Pest Feasts on 'Sea Sawdust'

July 17, 2024 — Researchers have uncovered an under the sea phenomenon where coral-destroying crown-of-thorns starfish larvae have been feasting on blue-green algae bacteria known as 'sea ...

Discovery of a Hybrid Lineage Offers Clues to How Trees Adapt to Climate Change

July 17, 2024 — The discovery of a hybrid population of poplar trees in western Wyoming has provided insight into how natural hybridization informs the evolution of many plant species, according to researchers. They ...

Logged Forests Can Still Have Ecological Value -- If Not Pushed Too Far

July 17, 2024 — Researchers have analysed data from 127 studies to reveal 'thresholds' for when logged rainforests lose the ability to sustain themselves. The results could widen the scope of which forests ...

'Sacrifice' of Virus Data Clears the Path to Open a Disease Discovery Pipeline

July 17, 2024 — Tens of millions of still-unknown or misunderstood viruses can cause diseases -- including new pandemics -- and affect the health of valuable terrestrial and marine environments. Now a new pipeline ...

Scientists Use Machine Learning to Predict Diversity of Tree Species in Forests

July 16, 2024 — Researchers used machine learning to generate highly detailed maps of over 100 million individual trees from 24 sites across the U.S. These maps provide information about individual tree species and ...

Researchers Find That Frogs Can Quickly Increase Their Tolerance to Pesticides

July 16, 2024 — Although there is a large body of research on pests evolving tolerances for the pesticides meant to destroy them, there have been considerably fewer studies on how non-target animals in these ...

Unlocking the Mystery of Preexisting Drug Resistance: New Study Sheds Light on Cancer Evolution

July 15, 2024 — The evolution of resistance to diseases, from infectious illnesses to cancers, poses a formidable challenge. Despite the expectation that resistance-conferring mutations would dwindle in the absence ...

History Shows That Humans Are Good for Biodiversity... Sometimes

July 15, 2024 — Humans have been an important driver of vegetation change over thousands of years, and, in some places, had positive impacts on biodiversity, according to a new ...

Loss of Oxygen in Lakes and Oceans a Major Threat to Ecosystems, Society, and Planet

July 15, 2024 — Oxygen is a fundamental requirement of life, and the loss of oxygen in water, referred to as aquatic deoxygenation, is a threat to life at all levels. In fact, researchers describe how ongoing ...