https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Ecosystems are characterized by interconnected structure and functions. A study published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Casey Benkwitt at Lancaster University, United Kingdom and colleagues suggests that restoring seabird populations via eradication of rats may help coral reefs by restoring nutrient connectivity in disrupted food chains. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-invasive-rats-nutrient-food-chain.html Plants & Animals Tue, 08 Jul 2025 14:00:01 EDT news671100482 Hundreds of thousands more breeding pairs of seabirds could return to remote island archipelagos if invasive rats were removed and native vegetation restored, a new paper finds. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-rat-free-islands-hundreds-thousands.html Plants & Animals Tue, 18 Jun 2024 04:00:01 EDT news637858108 The increase in tropical cyclone frequency and intensity due to climate change could lead to dramatic declines in seabird populations, suggests a paper published in Communications Earth & Environment. The authors' conclusion is based on the impact of Cyclone Ilsa on Bedout Island, after the cyclone killed at least 80% of seabirds nesting on the island when it struck in April 2023. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-tropical-cyclone-frequency-deadly-consequences.html Plants & Animals Thu, 06 Jun 2024 11:00:01 EDT news636821761 Tropical coral reefs are among our most spectacular ecosystems, yet a rapidly warming planet threatens the future survival of many reefs. However, there may be hope for some tropical reefs in the form of feathered friends. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-feathered-friends-helpers-tropical-coral.html Plants & Animals Wed, 06 Dec 2023 14:00:01 EST news621080909 Offshore wind farms in the North Sea have reduced the population of loons—fish-eating aquatic birds also known as divers—by 94% within a one-kilometer zone, according to new research published in Scientific Reports. The findings highlight the need to minimize the impact of offshore wind farms on seabirds, while balancing this effort with the demand for renewable energy. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-red-throated-loons-north-sea-windfarms.html Ecology Thu, 13 Apr 2023 11:00:01 EDT news600595483 Seabirds are the most threatened group of birds and the one with the greatest and fastest decline globally. A study published on October 7th in PLOS ONE shows that a holistic conservation approach, including the creation of protected areas, the eradication of invasive alien species (the primary cause of biodiversity loss on islands), active restoration with social attraction techniques, and long-term monitoring, has a cumulative positive effect on seabird populations on islands in the Mexican Pacific off the Baja California Peninsula. https://phys.org/news/2022-10-mexican-pacific-islands-safe-havens.html Plants & Animals Tue, 25 Oct 2022 09:30:49 EDT news585909045 The warming of the planet is taking a deadly toll on seabirds that are suffering population declines from starvation, inability to reproduce, heat waves and extreme weather. https://phys.org/news/2021-12-food-deadly-weather-climate-seabirds.html Ecology Wed, 01 Dec 2021 13:02:49 EST news557586164 Queen's University researchers John Smol and Matthew Duda have identified concerning trends in a vulnerable seabird. https://phys.org/news/2020-01-bird-clues-environmental.html Plants & Animals Thu, 23 Jan 2020 09:10:05 EST news498992664 An unprecedented study of bald eagle diet, from about 20,000 to 30,000 years ago to the present, will provide wildlife managers with unique information for reintroducing Bald Eagles to the Channel Islands off California. The scientists, including researchers from the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory, found that eagles fed mainly on seabirds from about 20,000 to 30,000 years ago to the 1840s and 50s, when humans introduced sheep. The seabirds provided an abundant source of carrion for the local eagle population until the pesticide DDT wiped out the eagles in the 1960s. The results are published in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA the week of May 3, 2010. https://phys.org/news/2010-05-bald-eagle-diet-shift.html Ecology Mon, 03 May 2010 15:00:01 EDT news192117040