Ecology Research News

December 23, 2024

Top Headlines

An Inexpensive Fix for California's Struggling Wildflowers

Dec. 19, 2024 — California's native wildflowers are being smothered by layers of dead, invasive grasses. A new study shows that simply raking these layers can boost biodiversity and reduce fire ...

New Study Highlights the Correlation Between Live Corals and Fishing Yields

Dec. 19, 2024 — A new study examines the correlation between fish yield and live coral habitats. Researchers analyzed the yields of nine fisheries dependent on Australia's Great Barrier Reef from 2016 to 2020. Results show that substantial losses could occur if the ...

Shrubs Can Help or Hinder a Forest's Recovery After Wildfire

Dec. 16, 2024 — When and where to plant tree seedlings to restore forests after wildfires has a lot to do with shrubs, finds a new ...

Threat of Abrupt Mortality Events Keeps Endangered Monkey Population at Risk, Despite Decades of Growth

Dec. 16, 2024 — Despite the population being almost four times larger than it was in 1982, a new study published in the journal Ecology suggests the northern muriqui monkeys remain at risk, especially in the face of ...

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Diverse Virus Populations Coexist on Single Strains of Gut Bacteria

Dec. 12, 2024 — A study offers evidence that a single bacterial species -- the host of the phage -- can maintain a diverse community of competing phage species. Knowing how more than one kind of virus can survive ...

Surveys Show Full Scale of Massive Die-Off of Common Murres Following the 'Warm Blob' in the Pacific Ocean

Dec. 12, 2024 — Colony surveys of common murres, an Alaskan seabird, show the full effects of the 2014-16 marine heat wave known as 'the blob.' Analysis of 13 ...

What Is a Unit of Nature? New Framework Shows the Challenges Involved With Establishing a Biodiversity Credit Market

Dec. 11, 2024 — Leading ecologists have devised a new framework to classify how biodiversity credit operators define what a unit of nature is. The new analysis ...

New Research Unlocks Jaw-Dropping Evolution of Lizards and Snakes

Dec. 11, 2024 — A groundbreaking study has shed light on how lizards and snakes -- the most diverse group of land vertebrates with nearly 12,000 species -- have evolved remarkably varied jaw shapes, driving their ...

Human Disruption Is Driving 'Winner' and 'Loser' Tree Species Shifts Across Brazilian Forests

Dec. 10, 2024 — Fast-growing and small-seeded tree species are dominating Brazilian forests in regions with high levels of deforestation and degradation, a new study ...

Biodiversity at Risk in Most Rainforests

Dec. 9, 2024 — New research has revealed less than a quarter of the remaining tropical rainforests around the globe can safeguard thousands of threatened species from ...

After Decades of Plantation Agriculture, Coconut Palms Dominate Over Half of Pacific Atoll Forests

Dec. 4, 2024 — Coconut palms are king throughout the tropics, serving as the foundation for human lives and cultures across the Pacific Ocean for centuries. ...

Lifesaver for Wild Bees: The Importance of Quarries

Dec. 4, 2024 — A research team has investigated the importance of limestone quarries for wild bee conservation. Diverse landscapes with good connectivity between quarries and calcareous grasslands proved to be ...

Insects Wearing Two Hats Solve Botanical Mystery

Dec. 4, 2024 — The discovery of a unique case where the same insect species both pollinate a plant and distribute its seeds not only solves a long-standing botanical mystery. The find also stresses the diverse ...

Ecosystems: New Study Questions Common Assumption About Biodiversity

Dec. 3, 2024 — Plant species can fulfill different functions within an ecosystem, even if they are closely related to each other. This surprising conclusion was reached by a global analysis of around 1.7 million ...

Island Biodiversity Rides on the Wings of Birds

Dec. 3, 2024 — Bird wing shape -- a proxy for long-distance flying ability, or dispersal -- is a trait that influences biodiversity patterns on islands around the world, according to ...

Climate Change Could Bring More Severe Bacterial Infections, Including in Corals

Dec. 2, 2024 — Could the fungal apocalypse of The Last of Us have roots in reality? A new study shows that climate warming can potentially make bacterial and fungal infections deadlier for cold-blooded animals like ...

Coral Adaptation Unlikely to Keep Pace With Global Warming

Nov. 28, 2024 — Coral adaptation to ocean warming and marine heatwaves will likely be overwhelmed without rapid reductions of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to an international team of ...

Shells, Teeth and Bones of 'Weird and Wonderful Organisms' Provide Historical Environmental Clues

Nov. 27, 2024 — A groundbreaking international study shows how chemical fingerprints left by 'underappreciated' aquatic organisms could help scientists monitor global environmental ...

Oil Spill Still Contaminating Sensitive Mauritius Mangroves Three Years On, Study Finds

Nov. 26, 2024 — Three years after bulk carrier MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef off Mauritius, spilling 1000 tonnes of a new type of marine fuel oil, research has confirmed the oil is still present in an ...

Crayfish Map Gives Conservation a Helping Claw

Nov. 25, 2024 — A new mapping project puts 427 crayfish taxa and over 100,000 observation records on the first searchable global atlas: World of Crayfish. The resource will help protect vulnerable crayfish species ...

Early Mesoamericans Trapped Fish Far Earlier Than Previously Thought

Nov. 22, 2024 — Archaeologists have collected data which indicates the presence of a large-scale pre-Columbian fish-trapping facility. Discovered in the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary (CTWS), the largest inland ...

Sweet Tooth Ethiopian Wolves Seen Feeding on Nectar

Nov. 20, 2024 — For the first time, Ethiopian wolves have been documented feeding on the nectar of Ethiopian red hot poker flowers. This is the first large carnivore species ever to be documented feeding on nectar. ...

New Model Can Help Understand Coexistence in Nature

Nov. 18, 2024 — Different species of seabirds can coexist on small, isolated islands despite eating the same kind of fish. A researcher has been involved in developing a mathematical model that can be used to better ...

Tree Islands Restore Nature in Oil Palm Plantations

Nov. 18, 2024 — Southeast Asia's tropical forests are renowned for their biodiversity, but at the same time face significant threats from the expansion of oil palm plantations. With global demand for palm oil ...

Biodiversity in the City: Designing Urban Spaces for Humans and Animals

Nov. 15, 2024 — Animals and plants also live and thrive on public squares. This creates opportunities for greater biodiversity and well-being for the human population. Researchers have studied at 103 locations in ...

Diverse and Diverging Demands on Forests in Germany

Nov. 14, 2024 — Forests provide biodiversity, ecosystem functions, income and much more. How can these diverse and seemingly diverging demands be met? An international research team addressed this question by ...

New Study Reveals Half a Century of Change on Britain's Iconic Limestone Pavements

Nov. 14, 2024 — Fifty years of change on iconic limestone pavements has revealed mixed fortunes for one of the most distinctive landscapes in the UK. The findings, which reveal large changes since the 1970s, are ...

Pioneering Research Shows Sea Life Will Struggle to Survive Future Global Warming

Nov. 13, 2024 — A new study highlights how some marine life could face extinction over the next century, if human-induced global warming ...

More Evidence That Europe's Ancient Landscapes Were Open Woodlands: Oak, Hazel and Yew Were Abundant

Nov. 13, 2024 — A new study finds that the disturbance-demanding plant species oak, hazel and yew were abundant in Europe's forests before modern humans arrived, strengthening the argument that ancient ...

The Shellowship of the Ring: Two New Snail Species Named After Tolkien Characters

Nov. 11, 2024 — Researchers have named two newly discovered freshwater snail species from Brazil after characters from The Lord of the ...

Power of Aesthetic Species on Social Media Boosts Wildlife Conservation Efforts, Say Experts

Nov. 8, 2024 — Facebook and Instagram can boost wildlife conservation efforts through public awareness and engagement, according to a new ...

New Study Maps Dramatic 100-Million-Year Explosion in Color Signals Used by Animals

Nov. 7, 2024 — A recent study finds that color vision evolved in animals more than 100 million years before the emergence of colorful fruits and flowers. And there has been a dramatic explosion of color signals in ...

Alcohol Consumption Among Non-Human Animals May Not Be as Rare as Previously Thought, Say Ecologists

Oct. 30, 2024 — Anecdotes abound of wildlife behaving 'drunk' after eating fermented fruits, but despite this, nonhuman consumption of ethanol has been assumed to be rare and accidental. Ecologists now ...

New Genetic Web Tool to Help Restore Climate-Resilient Marine Ecosystems

Oct. 30, 2024 — In the face of increased human pressures and climate change, a team of scientists have launched a new online tool to assist marine managers and restoration experts to bolster the resilience of marine ...