https://phys.org/biology-news/ecology en-us The latest science and research news on ecology At first glance, the spotted lanternfly looks like an elegant butterfly, speckled with black spots on white wings with a splash of bright red. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-invasive-lanternflies-devastating-crops.html Ecology Sat, 21 Oct 2023 02:30:02 EDT news617073775 Often introduced unintentionally by human activities, invasive alien species can outcompete and overwhelm native flora and fauna, driving species to the brink of extinction and disrupting the balance of ecosystems. Understanding why exactly they establish in new locations and how they got there in the first place is crucial if we are to mitigate their destructive effects. Unfortunately, there isn't enough research on this, and the answers might not always be straightforward. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-soil-sea-freight-dangerous-pests.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 20 Oct 2023 13:32:03 EDT news617027521 This year is the tenth annual Aussie Backyard Bird Count, which Professor Simon Griffith says highlights the important role citizen science projects play in our understanding of changes taking place in our world. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-chickens-kookaburras-lorikeets-backyard-birds.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 20 Oct 2023 13:19:03 EDT news617026741 Cats are hunters by nature, which is why it's not uncommon for an outdoor cat to bring home a "gift," left on their owner's doorstep. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-free-roaming-cats-impact-wildlife-disease.html Ecology Veterinary medicine Fri, 20 Oct 2023 12:55:04 EDT news617025301 Recent collaboration between Bangor University and the UK Center for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) has shown that most people want more nature like trees and wildflowers in their towns and cities. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-people-trees-wildflower-meadows-townscapes.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 20 Oct 2023 12:54:03 EDT news617025241 In an article published in the journal Flora, researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil examine some of the strategies developed over eons of evolution by plants in the Cerrado, Brazil's savanna-like biome, to protect themselves and resprout quickly after fire. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-cerrado-combine-strategies-survive.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 20 Oct 2023 12:49:04 EDT news617024941 Since 1978, China has been building a "Great Green Wall" of trees and shrubs across its arid and semi-arid regions to combat desertification and improve the environment. Known as the Three-North Afforestation Program (TNAP), it is the largest ecological restoration project in the world, covering the northeast, north-central and northwest regions of China. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-china-great-green-wall-boosts.html Ecology Fri, 20 Oct 2023 12:15:03 EDT news617022901 The Baltic Sea Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) consists of both wild and hatchery-reared fish. As these salmon forage for food, they migrate through various areas of the Baltic Sea and are exposed to a variety of environmental stresses, including exposure to organohalogen compounds (OHCs). https://phys.org/news/2023-10-organohalogen-contamination-impact-health-baltic.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 20 Oct 2023 12:06:03 EDT news617022362 The Kaokoveld region, covering north-western Namibia and south-western Angola, is one of the remotest areas in southern Africa. Although it's extremely dry, it is a center of species endemism: many species occur only there and nowhere else on earth. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-namibia-angola-remote-ovahimba-mountains.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 20 Oct 2023 11:54:04 EDT news617021641 One third of the global terrestrial carbon stock is stored in grasslands. A new global study implies that this stock may decrease as plant biodiversity is reduced, especially in warm and arid areas. The reason is that a species-poor vegetation seems to decompose faster in the soil. The study was led by Marie Spohn from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-loss-biodiversity-soil-carbon-sequestration.html Ecology Fri, 20 Oct 2023 11:25:03 EDT news617019901 A team of marine biologists with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Alaska Fishery Science Center has solved the mystery of why approximately 10 billion snow crabs vanished from the Bering Sea back in 2018/2019—the water there was too warm for them. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-billion-crabs-starved-death-bering.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 20 Oct 2023 10:16:05 EDT news617015762 For hundreds of years, business owners engaged in New Jersey's commercial fisheries industry have weathered adversity, from coastal storms to species shifts. Recognizing this resilience, and acknowledging the challenges posed by global climate change, Rutgers scientists have come to their assistance. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-qa-scientist-fish-harvesters-strategies.html Ecology Agriculture Thu, 19 Oct 2023 17:39:04 EDT news616955941 As rising global temperatures push Arctic icecaps into retreat, large and small sea creatures and the commercial fishing boats that follow them are also migrating northward. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-arctic-pose-threat-pacific-whales.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 16:55:52 EDT news616953350 A new study used a novel technique to assess types of habitat provided by oyster reefs across 12 tributaries in the Chesapeake Bay. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-underwater-cameras-large-scale-oyster-reef.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 16:55:09 EDT news616953306 Cooperation between species to help each other's survival is known as mutualism. It is seen among many types of organisms, such as plants and fungi that exchange nutrients with one another, plants that provide bees with nectar in exchange for pollination, and sea anemones that provide protection for clown-fish in exchange for excreted nutrients. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-mutualism-invasive-species.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 16:54:53 EDT news616953291 Scientists and natural resource managers from Canadian First Nations, governments, academic institutions, and conservation organizations published the first results of a unique salmon population monitoring tool in Frontiers in Marine Science. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-nations-led-ai-technology-salmon-recovery.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 16:41:03 EDT news616952461 In an ancient hot spring haunt of Incan rulers, researchers discovered a new species of tiny, shrimp-like scavengers known as amphipods thriving at record temperatures that can cook other crustaceans to death. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-ancient-hot-inca-rulers-scientists.html Evolution Ecology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 16:23:04 EDT news616951381 Rice University scientists used a commercially available mixed-reality headset with custom-designed software to measure and analyze forest floor vegetation, demonstrating a correlation between animal diversity and the mapped habitat of a Tanzanian national park. According to the paper published in the journal Ecology, the greater the microhabitat surface area, the richer the biodiversity of its mammals. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-scans-tropical-forest-mixed-reality-device.html Ecology Biotechnology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 16:02:03 EDT news616950121 Many people have experienced a muddy off-flavor in farmed fish. While the aquaculture industry has known about the problem for 20 years, it continues to impact the consumption of otherwise healthy and potentially sustainable fish. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-emergence-muddy-flavors-fish.html Ecology Agriculture Thu, 19 Oct 2023 15:30:04 EDT news616948201 They're one of the most endangered mammals in the world, and a species you may never have even heard of: North Atlantic right whales. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-boats-north-atlantic-whales.html Ecology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 14:23:22 EDT news616944195 Growers want to produce wildlife-friendly plants, and consumers want to buy them, at least in theory, new University of Florida research shows. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-growers-consumers-wildlife-friendly.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 14:21:29 EDT news616944087 Every 13 or 17 years, billions of cicadas emerge from the ground to reproduce in eastern North American deciduous forests. One of the largest emergence events of these insects happened in 2021 when the Brood X cicadas emerged. Researchers who studied that once-in-a-generation event are now unveiling the impact this occurrence had on forest ecosystems, specifically on birds, caterpillars and trees. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-unearthing-ecological-impacts-cicada-emergences.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 14:00:01 EDT news616929643 Bird populations are in rapid decline across North America. While climate change is just one of the many factors influencing North American birds, its effects are significant and can interact with other stressors, such as habitat loss. A team of University of California, Davis, researchers found that the effects of extreme temperatures on avian reproduction can vary depending on the type of environment that birds call home. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-bird-reproduction-agricultural.html Ecology Agriculture Thu, 19 Oct 2023 14:00:01 EDT news616926619 To help struggling salmon populations, the state of Washington is legally required to replace hundreds of culverts that divert streams under roadways. The state transportation department is replacing old, rusting metal pipes with broad, concrete promenades that provide more gradual gradients and gentler flows for salmon swimming upstream to access more spawning grounds. The full scope of the effort will last 17 years and cost $3.8 billion. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-dna-washington-culvert-spawning-salmon.html Ecology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 13:30:57 EDT news616941052 Biodiversity is essential for sustaining food security, livelihood, ecosystem health, and economic development and for preventing future epidemics. Asia, with nearly 60% of the world's population, stands out as a priority for urgent biodiversity conservation due to its large threatened species and protected areas (PAs), and many countries globally are facing extreme biodiversity and ecological threats. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-human-expansion-pose-widespread-threat.html Ecology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 11:25:38 EDT news616933536 Humanity must cut carbon emissions and use farmland more efficiently to protect our planet's remaining wilderness, new research shows. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-high-latitude-wilderness-threatened-agriculture-climate.html Ecology Agriculture Thu, 19 Oct 2023 11:00:01 EDT news616924554 An international team of biologists, animal management specialists, geneticists and forestry managers has discovered a new species of "dragon lizard" in Laos—one with very impressive camouflage capabilities. In their paper published in the journal Zoological Research, the group describes how the lizards were found and what they learned from two samples they captured. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-dragon-lizard-species-camouflage-capabilities.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 10:20:37 EDT news616929629 The next time you head to the coast to enjoy the Tampa Bay waters, you may stumble upon a Pierce's Cyerce—a recently-discovered sea slug species that is being named after Sidney "Skip" Pierce, emeritus professor of integrative biology at the University of South Florida. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-sea-slug-species-biology-professor.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 10:19:03 EDT news616929541 Scientists have discovered the deepest known evidence of coral reef bleaching, more than 90 meters below the surface of the Indian Ocean. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-scientists-deepest-evidence-coral-reef.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 19 Oct 2023 10:02:04 EDT news616928521 New research indicates that the use of glacial rock flour could enhance water absorption in cultivated fields in Greenland. This could be groundbreaking for Greenlandic agriculture as the use of glacial rock flour may reduce the risk of water erosion and improve plant growth conditions. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-glacial-flour-opportunities-greenlandic-agriculture.html Ecology Agriculture Wed, 18 Oct 2023 16:58:27 EDT news616867104