Biogeography is the scientific study of the spatial and temporal patterns of biodiversity, examining how and why the distributions of species, populations, communities, and ecosystems vary across geographical areas and through evolutionary time. It integrates principles from ecology, evolution, geology, and climatology to analyze processes such as dispersal, speciation, extinction, vicariance, and range shifts. Biogeography encompasses subfields including historical biogeography, which reconstructs past distributions using phylogenetic and paleontological data, and ecological biogeography, which investigates how current environmental gradients, habitat structure, and biotic interactions shape present-day distributional patterns and biodiversity gradients, such as latitudinal diversity clines and island faunas.
Despite the promise of rebounding green sea turtle numbers, many sea turtle populations continue to flounder under the pressures of changing climates, overfishing and urbanization.
Plants & Animals
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A new study reveals that human activities have fundamentally reshaped biodiversity patterns on islands across the globe, with important implications for how scientists understand ecology, evolution and conservation.
Evolution
Jul 23, 2026
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Tree swallows in the northern U.S. and Canada face the greatest risk from climate change despite responding to temperature the same way as tree swallows in the southern U.S., according to a new study led by Cornell researchers ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 12, 2026
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Sometimes mistaken for a strange-looking mouse with a long, pointed snout, the Asian house shrew is a small, furry animal known for its musky odor. It's usually found lurking near homes and farms, ports and cities, across ...
Ecology
Jul 10, 2026
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A recent study reveals geographic biases in how aquatic animals have been tracked and researched across the globe, with a preference toward politically stable, English-speaking countries with high conservation funding. Researchers ...
Ecology
Jul 9, 2026
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A comprehensive study of more than 1,100 springs in the American West warns that critical biodiversity hot spots are facing a mounting extinction crisis.
Ecology
Jul 8, 2026
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A new study published in the journal Alpine Entomology has found that alpine butterflies in the Swiss National Park are closely matching the pace of local warming in their range shift to higher elevations.
Plants & Animals
Jul 6, 2026
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The beaver and moose may be enduring symbols of Canadian wildlife, but neither is uniquely Canadian from a genetic perspective. But a team of researchers from the University of Ottawa has now discovered something rare: a ...
Ecology
Jul 2, 2026
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Plants that become invasive may owe their success to an advantage shaped long before they arrive, according to new research led by King's College London.
Plants & Animals
Jun 28, 2026
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Migratory birds such as the pied flycatcher typically have wintering locations in Africa close to others from the same breeding population. That means that birds breeding in the Netherlands run into each other again in Africa, ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 25, 2026
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