Ecology News

April 24, 2020

Top Headlines

Climate Change Could Cause Sudden Biodiversity Losses Worldwide

Apr. 8, 2020 A warming global climate could cause sudden, potentially catastrophic losses of biodiversity in regions across the globe throughout the 21st century, finds a new ... read more

Disappearing Snakes and the Biodiversity Crisis

Feb. 13, 2020 A new study should sound alarm bells regarding the 'biodiversity crisis' or the loss of wildlife around the ... read more

'Rule Breaking' Plants May Be Climate Change Survivors

Feb. 10, 2020 Plants that break some of the 'rules' of ecology by adapting in unconventional ways may have a higher chance of surviving climate change, according to ... read more

Platypus on Brink of Extinction

Jan. 21, 2020 New research calls for action to minimize the risk of the platypus vanishing due to habitat destruction, dams and ... read more

Latest Headlines

updated 6:24pm EDT

Warming Climate Undoes Decades of Knowledge of Marine Protected Areas

Apr. 24, 2020 A new study highlights that tropical coral reef marine reserves can offer little defence in the face of climate change impacts. And the changes that are being observed will force scientists, ... read more

Unsustainable Soil Erosion in Parts of UK

Apr. 22, 2020 New research demonstrates unsustainable levels of soil erosion in the ... read more

Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels Will Change Marine Habitats and Fish Communities

Apr. 20, 2020 Researchers showed that elevated dissolved CO2 conditions can lead to a 45% decrease of fish ... read more

Can Coral Reefs 'Have It All'?

Apr. 16, 2020 A new study outlines how strategic placement of no-fishing marine reserves can help coral reef fish communities ... read more

Parasite Carried by Grey Squirrels Negatively Impacts Red Squirrel Behavior

Apr. 16, 2020 Research reveals a new mechanism of how grey squirrels affect native red squirrels in Europe through parasite-mediated ... read more

Plant Diversity in European Forests Is Declining

Apr. 13, 2020 In Europe's temperate forests, less common plant species are being replaced by more widespread species. An international team of researchers has found that this development could be related to an ... read more

Don't Look to Mature Forests to Soak Up Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Apr. 8, 2020 Research suggests mature forests are limited in their ability to absorb 'extra' carbon as atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations ... read more

How Forest Loss Leads to Spread of Disease

Apr. 7, 2020 In Uganda, loss of forested habitat increases the likelihood of interactions between disease-carrying wild primates and humans. The findings suggest the emergence and spread of viruses, such as the ... read more

Climate Change to Affect Fish Sizes and Complex Food Webs

Apr. 6, 2020 Global climate change will affect fish sizes in unpredictable ways and, consequently, impact complex food webs in our oceans, a new study has shown. The study analyzed three decades of data from ... read more

Scientists' Warning to Humanity on Insect Extinctions

Apr. 6, 2020 As the human race continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists have found that the planet's insects are also facing a crisis after accelerating rates of extinction have led to a worldwide ... read more

Earlier Headlines

Changes to Drylands With Future Climate Change

Apr. 3, 2020 While drylands around the world will expand at an accelerated rate because of future climate change, their average productivity will likely be reduced, according to a new study. These regions, which ... read more

Coastal Pollution Reduces Genetic Diversity of Corals, Reef Resilience

Apr. 3, 2020 A new study found that human-induced environmental stressors have a large effect on the genetic composition of coral reef populations in Hawai'i. They confirmed that there is an ongoing loss of ... read more

What Climate Change Means for Northwestern US Wildfires

Apr. 2, 2020 A synthesis study looks at how climate change will affect the risk of wildfires in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana. The authors also suggest how managers and individual landowners in ... read more

Six Decades of Change in Plankton Communities

Apr. 2, 2020 New research shows that some species have experienced a 75% population decrease in the past 60 years, while others are more than twice as abundant due to rises in sea surface ... read more

Fish Have Diverse, Distinct Gut Microbiomes

Apr. 1, 2020 The rich biodiversity of coral reefs even extends to microbial communities within fish, according to new research. The study reports that several important grazing fish on Caribbean coral reefs each ... read more

Plant Disease Primarily Spreads Via Roadsides

Apr. 1, 2020 A precise statistical analysis reveals that on the Åland Islands a powdery mildew fungus that is a common parasite of the ribwort plantain primarily spreads via roadsides because traffic raises the ... read more

Bison in Northern Yellowstone Proving to Be Too Much of a Good Thing

Mar. 31, 2020 Increasing numbers of bison in Yellowstone National Park in recent years have become a barrier to ecosystem recovery in the iconic Lamar Valley in the northern part of the ... read more

Ecosystem Services Are Not Constrained by Borders

Mar. 30, 2020 What do chocolate, migratory birds, flood control and pandas have in common? Many countries benefit from ecosystem services provided outside their nations. This can happen through economic ... read more

Where Lions Roam: West African Big Cats Show No Preference Between National Parks, Hunting Zones

Mar. 30, 2020 West African lions are a critically endangered subpopulation, with an estimated 400 remaining and strong evidence of ongoing ... read more

Animals Keep Viruses in the Sea in Balance

Mar. 27, 2020 A variety of sea animals can take up virus particles while filtering seawater for oxygen and food. Sponges are particularly ... read more

What Can Be Learned from the Microbes on a Turtle's Shell?

Mar. 26, 2020 Researchers have found that a unique type of algae, usually only seen on the shells of turtles, affects the surrounding microbial communities. It is hoped that these findings can be applied to ... read more

A Small Forage Fish Should Command Greater Notice, Researchers Say

Mar. 25, 2020 A slender little fish called the sand lance plays a big role as 'a quintessential forage fish' for puffins, terns and other seabirds, humpback whales and other marine mammals, and even ... read more

Plants and Animals Aren't So Different When It Comes to Climate

Mar. 24, 2020 A new study reveals that plants and animals are remarkably similar in their responses to changing environmental conditions across the globe, which may help explain how they are distributed today and ... read more

eDNA Provides Researchers With 'More Than Meets the Eye'

Mar. 24, 2020 Researchers have used next generation DNA sequencing to learn more about the different species of plants, insects and animals present in the Pilbara and Perth regions of Western ... read more

Is Niagara Falls a Barrier Against Fish Movement?

Mar. 24, 2020 New research shows that fishes on either side of Niagara Falls -- one of the most powerful waterfalls in the world -- are unlikely to breed with one another. Knowing how well the falls serves as a ... read more

Improving Success of Giraffe Translocations

Mar. 19, 2020 In two new studies, an international team of researchers identifies the ideal composition of a group of giraffes to be translocated for conservation purposes and provides guidelines for all aspects ... read more

Shedding Light on How Much Carbon Tropical Forests Can Absorb

Mar. 19, 2020 Tropical forest ecosystems are an important part of the global carbon cycle as they take up and store large amounts of CO2. It is however uncertain how much these forests' ability to take up and ... read more

Noises from Human Activity May Threaten New England's Freshwater Soundscape

Mar. 18, 2020 Sounds produced by human activities -- anthropogenic sounds -- account for more than 90% of the underwater soundscape in major freshwater habitats of New ... read more

Crop Diversity Can Buffer the Effects of Climate Change

Mar. 18, 2020 Researchers found that farms with diverse crops planted together provide more secure, stable habitats for wildlife and are more resilient to climate change than the single-crop standard that ... read more