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.
In urban environments, competing hornet species coexist by specializing on different prey species. This finding was made possible by pioneering DNA analysis of hornet larvae's gut contents and shows that cities are fascinating ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 4, 2025
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A new analysis challenges one of the most publicized claims about Yellowstone's wolves. In a detailed comment published in Global Ecology and Conservation, researchers from Utah State University and Colorado State University ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 21, 2025
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A simple change in species composition can impact the course of evolution: A research team from the University of Bern and the University of British Columbia in Canada shows that the presence of just one other fish species ...
Evolution
Oct 15, 2025
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Ecologists have long studied how biological communities assemble following disturbances, a process known as ecological succession. Understanding the dynamics of soil microbes, Earth's most abundant organisms, remains challenging.
Ecology
Oct 13, 2025
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One of the great challenges of ecology is to understand the factors that maintain, or undermine, diversity in ecosystems, researchers write in a new report in the journal Science. The researchers detail their development ...
Ecology
Sep 18, 2025
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A new study published today in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment leveraged participatory science to reveal regional variation in bird responses to fire across the continental United States in unprecedented ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 2, 2025
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A collaborative study led by the University of Helsinki shows that, in addition to climate, the diversity of moth communities is heavily influenced by land use changes. According to the study, habitat characteristics—which ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 7, 2025
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A cross-institutional team of researchers from Macquarie University, UNSW and the University of Nebraska has unpicked the reasons why hundreds of bat and bird species across Central and South America live in close proximity. ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 30, 2025
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Do you think you know which species are most vulnerable in an ecosystem? A novel analytical method developed by Italian physicists at the Complexity Science Hub (CSH) suggests there's more to discover. In their recent study, ...
Ecology
Jul 10, 2025
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Despite widespread human impacts on wildlife diversity worldwide, many fish communities on the seafloor have maintained their uniqueness, reports a new study led by Zoë Kitchel, formerly of Rutgers University, and colleagues, ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 9, 2025
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