Ecology Research News

May 9, 2025

Top Headlines

May 8, 2025 — New report shows drastic decline in endangered primates and calls for conservation ...

Just 30 Species of Tree Dominate World's Most Diverse Savanna

May 8, 2025 — Scientists have found that a mere 30 species of trees in the Cerrado -- the world's largest and most floristically diverse savanna -- account for nearly half of all its trees. The 'hyperdominance' by a few species could help researchers understand ...

Halo Patterns Around Coral Reefs May Signal Resilience

May 5, 2025 — A new study links grazing halo patterns in coral reefs, as well as those in other patchy habitats, to the spatial patterns of the shelter habitat itself. The researchers found that grazing halos are distinct when the coral is clustered but merge ...

Fewer Parasites in the Indian River Lagoon Signal Big Ecosystem Problems

May 7, 2025 — Parasites are crucial indicators of ecosystem health, and their absence can signal trouble. Once pristine, Florida's Indian River Lagoon (IRL) now faces pollution and algal blooms that have damaged essential habitats like seagrass beds. New research ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:49pm EDT

Food as Medicine: How Diet Shapes Gut Microbiome Health

May 6, 2025 — Researchers show how mice fed a Western-style diet are not able to rebuild a 'healthy,' diverse gut microbiome following antibiotic treatment. These mice were also more susceptible to infection by ...

Replanted Rainforests May Benefit from Termite Transplants

May 6, 2025 — Termites -- infamous for their ability to destroy wood -- are rarely welcomed into rainforests that have been painstakingly replanted. But a new paper suggests that termite transplants may be ...

How Are They Biting? High Speed Video Reveals Unexpected Jaw Movements in Reef Fish

May 5, 2025 — Some reef fish have the unexpected ability to move their jaws from side to side, biologists have discovered. This ability -- which is rare among ...

New Pests and Diseases Will Cut UK Tree Growth

Apr. 28, 2025 — The arrival of new plant pests and diseases is likely to severely damage UK trees and woodlands in the coming decades, new research ...

Chip-Shop Fish Among Key Seabed Engineers

Apr. 28, 2025 — Many of the fish we eat play a key role in maintaining the seabed -- and therefore our climate, new research ...

Intensifying Farmland Can Sometimes Degrade Biodiversity More Than Expansion

May 1, 2025 — The intensification of existing farmland can sometimes be more harmful to local biodiversity than expanding the area covered by agricultural land, ...

Invasive Rats and Rainforest Mammals Are Sharing Gut Microbes as Urban Areas Grow

May 1, 2025 — As urban development continues to creep further into Earth's oldest and most diverse rainforests, a study reveals native and invasive small mammals ...

Once Bitten, Animals Develop Resistance That Shrinks Tick Population

Apr. 30, 2025 — Just in time for tick season, new research is shining a light on how animals develop resistance to tick bites, which points toward the possibility of developing more effective vaccines against the ...

Deciphering the Migratory Behavior and Connectivity of Mediterranean and Atlantic Cory's Shearwaters

Apr. 30, 2025 — A good wildlife management plan must include information on their migratory processes if the conservation of a species, particularly an endangered ...

From the Front Garden to the Continent: Why Biodiversity Does Not Increase Evenly from Small to Large

Apr. 30, 2025 — The number of species does not increase evenly when going from local ecosystems to continental scales -- a phenomenon ecologists have recognized for ...

When Sea Stars Fall, Sea Otters Rise: Sea Otters Benefit from Prey Boom Triggered by Loss of Ochre Sea Stars

Apr. 30, 2025 — In 2013, a sea star wasting syndrome decimated populations of Pisaster along the west coast of North America and along the Monterey Peninsula in California, where this study was conducted. The orange ...

Elephant Instead of Wild Boar? What Could Have Been in Europe

Apr. 28, 2025 — Even under today's climatic conditions, the long-extinct straight-tusked elephant could still live in Europe. This is the conclusion of a recent study. For this finding, the research group ...

Family First: Scientists Reveal Long-Tailed Tits' Remarkable Family Bonds

Apr. 28, 2025 — Forget fleeting friendships the social secrets of the long-tailed tit has revealed an extraordinary level of family commitment even during migratory journeys. Birds that babysit: scientists reveal ...

Want to Understand Grasslands? Look at the Bigger Picture

Apr. 28, 2025 — New research asks how local and regional factors determine the makeup of plant species in grasslands. Researchers from a restoration ecology lab are attempting to solve a longstanding question in ...

Keeping Tabs on Native Woodlands in Times of Flood and Drought

Apr. 24, 2025 — Like farmland in Australia, native forests struggle with drought and flooding, so future management decisions need more sophisticated systems to monitor and manage their water needs. A new study aims ...

Invasive Weed Threatens Southern California's Deserts

Apr. 24, 2025 — Once thought resistant to invasion, California's deserts are losing native plants to aggressive weedy species like Saharan mustard. New research shows its spread is disrupting biodiversity and ...

What Rattlesnake Venom Can Teach Us About Evolution: New USF Study

Apr. 23, 2025 — A new study found that some rattlesnakes are producing simpler venoms containing fewer and more focused toxin families than complex venoms -- a surprising discovery that challenges long-held ideas ...

Tackling Parasite Devastating Fish Farmers Around the World

Apr. 22, 2025 — At the heart of the Amazon researchers are investigating a mysterious parasite which is devastating fish farms around the ...

More Ticks Carry Lyme Disease Bacteria in Pheasant-Release Areas

Apr. 21, 2025 — Ticks are more likely to carry the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease in areas where pheasants are released, new research ...

Secret to Crocodylian Longevity

Apr. 16, 2025 — Researchers examined teeth and skulls of 99 extinct crocodylomorph species and 20 living crocodylian species to reconstruct their dietary ecology and identify characteristics that helped some groups ...

'Internet of Nature' Helps Researchers Explore the Web of Life

Apr. 11, 2025 — A novel paper is widening understanding of how species interact within ecosystems via the so-called 'Internet of Nature.' The paper reveals that species not only exchange matter and energy ...

In Croatia's Freshwater Lakes, Selfish Bacteria Hoard Nutrients

Apr. 10, 2025 — Bacteria play key roles in degrading organic matter, both in the soil and in aquatic ecosystems. While most bacteria digest large molecules externally, allowing other community members to share and ...

Coral Reefs Exude Myriad Chemicals, Fueling Dynamic Microbial Recycling of Nutrients

Apr. 9, 2025 — New research revealed the remarkable chemical diversity of substances exuded by coral reefs and demonstrated that thousands of different chemicals derived from tropical corals and seaweeds are ...

Colourful City Birds

Apr. 9, 2025 — Bird species that do well in urban areas are more colorful and less ...

Declining Insect Biodiversity in the Tropics

Apr. 8, 2025 — Ecologists are investigating the decline of insect populations in the world's tropical forests. Insects, the most abundant and diverse group of animals on Earth, are experiencing alarming ...

Restoration Programs Won’t Save Coral Reefs

Apr. 8, 2025 — As coral bleaching and deaths become more widespread globally, experts show that over a third of restoration projects fail and might never be scalable enough to have positive effects on reef ...

What's on the Menu for Ryukyu's Minute Mammals?

Apr. 8, 2025 — Japan's Ryukyu Islands, which includes Okinawa, are the exclusive home to two rare mammals, the Amami rabbit and Ryukyu long-furred rat. These animals are hard to observe, but conservationists ...

New Warnings of a 'Butterfly Effect' -- In Reverse

Mar. 31, 2025 — A new study warns that global climate change may have a devastating effect on butterflies, turning their species-rich, mountain habitats from refuges into traps. Think of it as the 'butterfly ...

Global Patterns in Seed Plant Distribution Over Millions of Years

Mar. 28, 2025 — Why do some plants thrive in specific regions but not in others? A study explores the factors shaping plant distributions and how these patterns have changed over millions of years. Analyzing nearly ...

Coral Diseases and Water Quality Play a Key Role for Coral Restoration and Survival Efforts

Mar. 26, 2025 — Coral diseases, particularly in the Caribbean, have caused major declines in coral populations, especially affecting staghorn (Acropora cervicornis) and Elkhorn (A. palmata) corals, which play a ...