Ecology News
October 11, 2025
Top Headlines
Oct. 10, 2025 — Coccolithophores, tiny planktonic architects of Earth’s climate, capture carbon, produce oxygen, and leave behind geological records that chronicle our planet’s history. European scientists are uniting to honor them with International ...
Oct. 8, 2025 — The Amazon has suffered its most destructive fire season in more than two decades, releasing a staggering 791 million tons of carbon dioxide—on par with Germany’s annual emissions. Scientists found that for the first time, fire-driven ...
Oct. 8, 2025 — Researchers at KAUST have confirmed that the Red Sea once vanished entirely, turning into a barren salt desert before being suddenly flooded by waters from the Indian Ocean. The flood carved deep channels and restored marine life in less than ...
Oct. 7, 2025 — Marine heatwaves can jam the ocean’s natural carbon conveyor belt, preventing carbon from reaching the deep sea. Researchers studying two major heatwaves in the Gulf of Alaska found that plankton shifts caused carbon to build up near the surface ...
Oct. 1, 2025 — Fungi may have shaped Earth’s landscapes long before plants appeared. By combining rare gene transfers with fossil evidence, researchers have traced fungal origins back nearly a billion years earlier than expected. These ancient fungi may have ...
Sep. 20, 2025 — Insects are essential for ecosystems, but mounting evidence suggests many populations are collapsing under modern pressures. A new study used cutting-edge genomic techniques on museum specimens to track centuries of ant biodiversity across Fiji. The ...
Sep. 15, 2025 — Researchers discovered two new parasitic wasp species living in the U.S., tracing their origins back to Europe and uncovering clues about how they spread. Their arrival raises fresh questions about biodiversity, ecological risks, and the role of ...
Sep. 9, 2025 — Flathead catfish are rapidly reshaping the Susquehanna River’s ecosystem. Once introduced, these voracious predators climbed to the top of the food chain, forcing native fish like channel catfish and bass to shift diets and habitats. Using stable ...
Sep. 5, 2025 — UC Santa Barbara researchers project that human impacts on oceans will double by 2050, with warming seas and fisheries collapse leading the charge. The tropics and poles face the fastest changes, and coastal regions will be hardest hit, threatening ...
Sep. 5, 2025 — Scientists found that Red Sea corals can endure warming seas but grow much smaller and weaken under long-term heat stress. Though recovery is possible in cooler months, rising global temperatures may outpace their resilience, endangering reefs and ...
Sep. 1, 2025 — Sargassum has escaped the Sargasso Sea and exploded across the Atlantic, forming the massive Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt. Fueled by nutrient runoff, Amazon outflows, and climate events, these blooms now reshape ecosystems, economies, and ...
Aug. 31, 2025 — A massive global study uncovered a striking paradox: even as total burned land has dropped by more than a quarter since 2002, human exposure to wildfires has skyrocketed. Africa accounts for a ...
Latest Headlines
updated 1:32pm EDT
Aug. 27, 2025 — Ancient forests may have fueled a deep-sea oxygen boost nearly 390 million years ago, unlocking evolutionary opportunities for jawed fish and larger marine animals. New isotopic evidence shows that ...
Aug. 25, 2025 — Researchers uncovered that the Maui wildfires caused a spike in deaths far higher than reported, with hidden fatalities linked to fire, smoke, and lack of medical access. They warn that prevention ...
Aug. 21, 2025 — Industrial forests, packed with evenly spaced trees, face nearly 50% higher odds of megafires than public lands. A lidar-powered study of California’s Sierra Nevada reveals how dense plantations ...
Aug. 16, 2025 — Mediterranean bryozoans, including the “false coral,” are showing alarming changes in structure and microbiomes under acidification and warming. Field studies at volcanic CO₂ vents reveal that ...
Aug. 14, 2025 — Extreme heat waves and cold spells on the Great Lakes have more than doubled since the late 1990s, coinciding with a major El Niño event. Using advanced ocean-style modeling adapted for the lakes, ...
Aug. 2, 2025 — Between 2003 and 2021, Earth saw a net boost in photosynthesis, mainly thanks to land plants thriving in warming, wetter conditions—especially in temperate and high-latitude regions. Meanwhile, ...
July 27, 2025 — For over two decades, satellites have quietly documented a major crisis unfolding beneath our feet: Earth's continents are drying out at ...
July 21, 2025 — A scorching marine heatwave from 2014 to 2016 devastated the Pacific coast, shaking ecosystems from plankton to whales and triggering mass die-offs, ...
July 21, 2025 — Gene editing may hold the key to rescuing endangered species—not just by preserving them, but by restoring their lost genetic diversity using DNA from museum specimens and related species. ...
July 16, 2025 — Hawaiian coral reefs may face unprecedented ocean acidification within 30 years, driven by carbon emissions. A new study by University of Hawai‘i researchers shows that even under conservative ...
Earlier Headlines
July 16, 2025 — After devastating wildfires scorched the Brazilian Pantanal, an unexpected phenomenon unfolded—more jaguars began arriving at a remote wetland already known for having the densest jaguar population ...
July 10, 2025 — People can intuitively sense how biodiverse a forest is just by looking at photos or listening to sounds, and their gut feelings surprisingly line up with what scientists ...
July 7, 2025 — Feral honey bees, once celebrated for their agricultural value, are now threatening native ecosystems in Southern California by monopolizing pollen sources and overwhelming native pollinators. A new ...
July 3, 2025 — Tropical trees are dying faster than ever, and it's not just heat or drought to blame. Scientists have uncovered a surprising culprit: ordinary thunderstorms. These quick, fierce storms, powered ...
June 27, 2025 — Zooplankton like copepods aren’t just fish food—they’re carbon-hauling powerhouses. By diving deep into the ocean each winter, they’re secretly stashing 65 million tonnes of carbon far below ...
June 30, 2025 — Wildfires are becoming more intense and dangerous, but a new Stanford-led study offers hope: prescribed burns—intentionally set, controlled fires—can significantly lessen their impact. By ...
June 19, 2025 — During Earth's ancient Snowball periods, when the entire planet was wrapped in ice, life may have endured in tiny meltwater ponds on the surface of equatorial glaciers. MIT researchers ...
June 18, 2025 — A breakthrough study has uncovered that the Southern Ocean's power to pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere fluctuates dramatically depending on winter sea ice. When sea ice lingers longer ...
June 14, 2025 — A pioneering study reveals how archaeologists' satellite tools can be repurposed to tackle climate change. By using AI and satellite LiDAR imagery from NASA and ESA, researchers have found a ...
June 2, 2025 — New research adds to our understanding of how rapidly rising sea levels due to climate change foreshadow the end of the Great Barrier Reef as we know it. The findings suggest the reef can withstand ...
June 2, 2025 — Flooding in coastal communities is happening far more often than previously thought, according to a new study. The study also found major flaws with the widely used approach of using marine water ...
June 2, 2025 — Researchers have developed a deep learning model called LSTM-SAM that predicts extreme water levels from tropical cyclones more efficiently and accurately, especially in data-scarce coastal regions, ...
May 29, 2025 — A new study shows that wildlife underpass tunnels dramatically reduce deaths of frog, salamanders, and other amphibians migrating across ...
May 28, 2025 — This study measured the growth rate of coral reefs in Honaunau Bay, Hawaii, using on-site data gathering and aerial imagery. Researchers found that the reefs are being eroded by sea urchin ...
May 28, 2025 — Many bat species native to Germany, such as the Leisler's bat, are forest specialists. However, as it is becoming increasingly hard for them to find tree hollows in forest plantations, so they ...
May 27, 2025 — Scientists, who have spent more than a decade examining the impact of artificial light at night on the world's coasts and oceans, have shown that more than one-fifth of the global ocean -- an ...
May 23, 2025 — Plankton may be tiny, but they play an important role in the ocean. As the foundation of marine ecosystems, they support ocean food webs and help regulate Earth's climate by storing carbon. ...
May 23, 2025 — A new study shows that monitoring and managing select bird species can provide benefits for other species within specific ...
May 22, 2025 — New research shows how rapidly proliferating turf algae are waging 'chemical warfare' to inhibit the recovery of kelp forests along Maine's warming ...
May 21, 2025 — MIT and WHOI scientists have unveiled SeaSplat, a system that makes underwater scenes look as if the ocean had been drained away. The tool cancels out water’s distortions and builds true-color 3D ...
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Thursday, July 10, 2025
Monday, July 7, 2025
Thursday, July 3, 2025
Friday, June 27, 2025
Monday, June 30, 2025
Thursday, June 19, 2025
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Saturday, June 14, 2025
Monday, June 2, 2025
- Geological Time Capsule Highlights Great Barrier Reef's Resilience
- Coastal Flooding More Frequent Than Previously Thought
- Researchers Use Deep Learning to Predict Flooding This Hurricane Season
Thursday, May 29, 2025
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
- Huge Sea-Urchin Populations Are Overwhelming Hawaii's Coral Reefs
- When the Forest Is No Longer a Home -- Forest Bats Seek Refuge in Settlements
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
Friday, May 23, 2025
- How Marine Plankton Adapts to a Changing World
- Managing Surrogate Species, Providing a Conservation Umbrella for More Species
Thursday, May 22, 2025
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
- MIT Scientists Develop Tool That Makes Underwater Scenes Crystal Clear
- Songbirds' Great Risk Results in Great Genetic Reward
- Fool's Gold: A Hidden Climate Stabilizer
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
- Native Turtles Return to Yosemite After Removal of Invasive Bullfrogs
- Thousands of Animal Species Threatened by Climate Change
Friday, May 16, 2025
Thursday, May 15, 2025
- Amazon Could Survive Long-Term Drought but at a High Cost
- Scientists Use Fossils to Assess the Health of Florida's Largest Remaining Seagrass Bed: Surprisingly, It's Doing Well!
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
- An Ink That Boosts Coral Reef Settlement by 20 Times
- Climate Change Is Turning Coastal Lagoons Into 'salty Soup'
Monday, May 12, 2025
- Invasive Salmon, Clams and Seaweed Are Next Threats to Biodiversity in Britain
- Helping Birds and Floating Solar Energy Coexist
Friday, May 9, 2025
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
- Pioneering Research Reveals Tree-Mendous Potential of Inexpensive Drones to Help Community Forests Flourish and Unlock Restoration Funding
- Fewer Parasites in the Indian River Lagoon Signal Big Ecosystem Problems
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Monday, May 5, 2025
- Halo Patterns Around Coral Reefs May Signal Resilience
- Artificial Oxygen Supply in Coastal Waters: A Hope With Risks
- Blue Tips Are Red Algae's Red Flags
Friday, May 2, 2025
Thursday, May 1, 2025
- Exposure to Extreme Heat and Cold Temperature Is Leading to Additional Preventable Deaths, New 19-Year Study Suggests
- Invasive Rats and Rainforest Mammals Are Sharing Gut Microbes as Urban Areas Grow
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
- Deciphering the Migratory Behavior and Connectivity of Mediterranean and Atlantic Cory's Shearwaters
- Restoring Oil Wells Back to Nature With Moss
- Bacterial Villain Behind Lake Erie's 'potent Toxin' Unveiled
Monday, April 28, 2025
- Extreme Monsoon Changes Threaten the Bay of Bengal's Role as a Critical Food Source
- Climate Change Increases the Risk of Simultaneous Wildfires
- Want to Understand Grasslands? Look at the Bigger Picture
Thursday, April 24, 2025
- Controlling Starch Levels in Algae Could Have Biotechnology and Sustainability Benefits
- Invasive Weed Threatens Southern California's Deserts
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
- Paying Fishers to Release Endangered Catches Can Aid Conservation, but Only If Done Right
- Hotter Temps Trigger Wetlands to Emit More Methane as Microbes Struggle to Keep Up
- Toxic Blooms in Motion: Researchers Map Algae Patterns in Lake Okeechobee, Florida
Monday, April 21, 2025
- From Research to Real-World, Startup Tackles Soaring Demand for Lithium and Other Critical Minerals
- Microplastics: What's Trapping the Emerging Threat in Our Streams?
- Introduced Trees Are Becoming More Common in the Eastern United States, While Native Diversity Declines
Friday, April 18, 2025
Thursday, April 17, 2025
- Land-Use Drives Energy Dynamics of Boreal Lake Food Webs
- Curious Isolation: New Butterfly Species Discovered
- Nutrients Strengthen Link Between Precipitation and Plant Growth, Study Finds
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
- Colombia's Peatlands Could Be a Crucial Tool to Fight Climate Change: But First We Have to Find Them
- Making Desalination More Eco-Friendly: New Membranes Could Help Eliminate Brine Waste
Monday, April 14, 2025
Friday, April 11, 2025
Thursday, April 10, 2025
- Caspian Sea Decline Threatens Endangered Seals, Coastal Communities and Industry
- In Croatia's Freshwater Lakes, Selfish Bacteria Hoard Nutrients
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
- European Bird Declines Linked to Range of Climatic Conditions Experienced
- Coral Reefs Exude Myriad Chemicals, Fueling Dynamic Microbial Recycling of Nutrients
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Friday, April 4, 2025
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Monday, March 31, 2025
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
- Coral Diseases and Water Quality Play a Key Role for Coral Restoration and Survival Efforts
- If Native Plants Are Going to Survive Climate Change, They Need Our Help to Move -- Here's How to Do It Safely
- The Devastating Human Impact on Biodiversity
Monday, March 24, 2025
- How Extreme Weather Threatens Nature's Essential Services
- Introduced Pacific Oysters Provide Biodiversity Benefits in Port River
Thursday, March 20, 2025
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
- Red Coral Colonies Survive a Decade After Being Transplanted in the Medes Islands
- Conservation Efforts Are Bringing Species Back from the Brink, Even as Overall Biodiversity Falls
Monday, March 17, 2025
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Monday, March 10, 2025
Friday, March 7, 2025
- Nearly Half of Popular Tropical Plant Group Related to Birds-of-Paradise and Bananas Are Threatened With Extinction
- Scientists Develop Advanced Forest Monitoring Systems: Will Forests Monitor Themselves in the Future?
Thursday, March 6, 2025
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
- The Yucca and the Moth: How Extreme Weather Impacts the Timing of Biological Events
- Caribou Migration Patterns Are Shrinking
- Satellite Image Analysis Delivers New Insight Into the Functional Diversity of Tropical Forests
- The Pot Is Already Boiling for 2% of the World's Amphibians
Monday, March 3, 2025
- Sea Otters Help Kelp Forests Recover -- But How Fast Depends on Where They Are
- Melting Antarctic Ice Sheets Will Slow Earth's Strongest Ocean Current