Community ecology is the subfield of ecology that investigates the structure, composition, and dynamics of co-occurring species within a defined area, focusing on how biotic interactions and abiotic factors shape patterns of biodiversity. It examines processes such as competition, predation, mutualism, facilitation, and trophic interactions, and analyzes emergent properties including species richness, evenness, food web architecture, and functional diversity. Community ecologists use observational studies, experiments, and quantitative models to understand mechanisms of coexistence, succession, community assembly, disturbance responses, and the maintenance of ecosystem functioning and stability across spatial and temporal scales.
When researchers survey wildlife in a lake, forest, or other habitat, they rarely capture every species present—some are simply too rare or elusive to detect. A new study published in the May issue of Ecological Informatics ...
Ecology
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Urbanization is rapidly transforming natural habitats and poses growing challenges for wildlife. One lesser-known consequence is its potential impact on bird song, which plays a crucial role in communication, reproduction, ...
Plants & Animals
May 20, 2026
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How does an ecosystem distribute its energy across body sizes? A new study suggests the answer depends on where you are—and how much humans have altered the landscape. Analyzing communities of birds and mammals worldwide, ...
Plants & Animals
May 14, 2026
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As climate change and human activities continually ramp up, fish are forced to find ways to adapt. As fish move around to find more suitable habitats as ocean conditions shift, regional fish distributions change—which can ...
Ecology
May 14, 2026
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An international research team led by National Taiwan University has developed a new analytical framework based on Empirical Dynamic Modeling. This framework can quantify how response diversity varies over time using time-series ...
Ecology
May 13, 2026
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New research from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, published in Nature Microbiology, reveals that when microbes live together, they can sense one another and actively reduce competition by shifting toward different roles ...
Ecology
Apr 29, 2026
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As cities sprawl into suburbs and exurbs, the distinction between urban areas and the countryside has become increasingly blurry. A new paper published in npj Urban Sustainability proposes that many modern landscapes can ...
Ecology
Apr 27, 2026
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Much of the beauty—and challenge—of biology lies in its complexity. That's especially true in the microbial world, where hundreds or thousands of different bacterial species may co-exist in a patch of soil or in a section ...
Ecology
Apr 23, 2026
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It often starts with something small, such as a new bird in a branch, a vibrant butterfly in a yard, a colorful plant growing through a crack in the sidewalk, or as part of a lawn. Suddenly, you are engaged and can't help ...
Environment
Apr 13, 2026
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Ecology is often understood as a hyperlocal thing. The ecology of a pond, for instance, is vastly complex, even if the pond is tiny. But learning solely from local ecosystems is a slow and laborious approach that may not ...
Ecology
Apr 7, 2026
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