Western Australia is edging toward desertification
Australia is the driest inhabited continent on Earth. Somehow, it feels like it's getting hotter and drier every day.
Environment
May 12, 2026
0
67
Page 2: Research news on desert ecosystems
Desert ecosystems are terrestrial biomes characterized by chronically low precipitation, high evapotranspiration, and large diurnal temperature fluctuations, resulting in water-limited primary productivity and sparse, highly specialized biota. Vegetation often exhibits xerophytic adaptations such as CAM or C4 photosynthesis, deep or extensive root systems, reduced leaf area, and osmotic adjustment, while fauna display behavioral and physiological strategies for water conservation and thermal regulation. Biogeochemical cycles are strongly pulsed, with episodic rainfall events driving rapid nutrient mineralization and biological activity. Desert ecosystems are structured by resource heterogeneity (e.g., “resource islands”), soil crust communities, and disturbance regimes including wind erosion and episodic flooding.
Adding water sources boosted reproducing males in wild asses, raising genetic diversity
Relatively simple habitat management can influence population genetics, providing conservation managers with the opportunity to support genetic resilience not only through breeding programs or translocations, but also by ...
Ecology
Apr 21, 2026
0
6
Cactus catalog could help plant's prickly problem
With almost a third of cacti species threatened with extinction, a new open-access database of cactus ecology and evolution could help scientists and conservationists save species from the brink.
Plants & Animals
Mar 25, 2026
0
11
Striped mice survive harsh drought by slowing down and not getting stressed
For decades, ecologists lumped everything bad for animals under one word: stress. But what if animals don't experience harsh environments as stressful at all? What if it is the opposite?
Ecology
Mar 23, 2026
0
12
The discovery of a buried delta on Mars could boost the search for life
There's more evidence that water once flowed on Mars with the discovery of an ancient river delta deep below the surface. NASA's Perseverance rover found it more than 35 meters beneath Jezero Crater using ground-penetrating ...
Twenty-nine years of warming linked to soil fungi shift in Colorado plots
Long-term ecosystem warming changes not only plants but the fungi in the soil below, according to a new study including researchers from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. "Hidden mycorrhizal fungi below ground are ...
Ecology
Mar 8, 2026
0
168
The Mojave Desert is a hot spot for off-roading: Why a judge shut down more than 2,200 miles of trails
The desert tortoise, a once-resilient reptile, is a keystone species in the Mojave Desert, where other animals depend for their survival on the burrows it digs. But it is imperiled in California thanks in part to an unusual ...
Ecology
Feb 26, 2026
0
40
Warming winters are disrupting the hidden world of fungi—the result can shift mountain grasslands to scrub
When you look out across a snowy winter landscape, it might seem like nature is fast asleep. Yet, under the surface, tiny organisms are hard at work, consuming the previous year's dead plant material and other organic matter.
Ecology
Feb 17, 2026
0
413
Wildflower season starts early: Big displays emerge a month before mid-March
Though superbloom is not a scientific term, that doesn't stop legions from hoping for a giant display of wildflowers come springtime. UC Riverside plant ecologist Loralee Larios weighs in here on the outlook for such a show ...
Ecology
Feb 13, 2026
0
50
Agave or bust! Mexican long-nosed bats head farther north in search of sweet nectar
Mexican long-nosed bats have a taste for agave, their tongues designed to lap up the famous desert plant's nectar during nightly flights. It's not just a means of satisfying taste buds. It's a matter of fueling up for an ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 3, 2026
0
48
