In biology, dispersal of organisms refers to the movement of individuals or propagules (such as seeds, larvae, or spores) away from their birthplace or current population, influencing gene flow, colonization dynamics, and spatial population structure. Dispersal can be active (driven by organismal movement) or passive (mediated by wind, water, or other vectors), and operates across scales from local neighborhoods to intercontinental ranges. It interacts with selection, drift, and demographic processes, shaping metapopulation dynamics, range expansions, species coexistence, and responses to environmental change, and is commonly modeled using dispersal kernels, connectivity matrices, and individual-based movement models.
This Journal of Raptor Research issue focuses on movement ecology—how and why raptors move. This can include classic movements like migration, as well as nomadism.
Plants & Animals
Mar 3, 2026
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306
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers identified 10 new species and seven new groups (genera) of Hawaiian leaf-roller moths. While new species are frequently discovered, the description of a new genus of insects is a ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 25, 2026
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18
Fairy wrens are everywhere. Go anywhere in Australia and there will be at least one local fairy wren. They're not endangered. In fact, it would be hard to imagine an animal less endangered than fairy wrens. So what do we ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 17, 2026
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16
A study published in the journal PeerJ, conducted by a researcher from the Institute of Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity (ISYEB) at the French National Museum of Natural History, in collaboration with a researcher ...
Ecology
Feb 10, 2026
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131
As in a batch of kombucha or a barrel of sherry, microbes can assemble into a mat-like layer at the boundary between air and liquid. In laboratory culture, the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25 is widely known for doing ...
Evolution
Feb 5, 2026
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15
A spotted gray wolf has left his California pack and trotted across Silver State lines, wildlife biologists say.
Plants & Animals
Feb 4, 2026
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187
Dandelions are incredible plants with a highly efficient seed-dispersal system, meaning even a gentle breeze can carry seeds and their parachutes great distances. But in several places in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, they have ...
Evolutionarily speaking, the ultimate goal of a lifeform is to reproduce and stave off extinction. Many plants and animals have evolved unique tricks to do so. One of these tricks is mimicry, which might be used to trick ...
A new study, published in the journal Science, reveals how millennia of human migration across Pacific islands led to the introduction of invasive pig species all over the Asia-Pacific region.
Ecology
Jan 1, 2026
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80
Life has a way of bouncing back, even after catastrophic events like forest fires or volcanic eruptions. While nature's resilience to natural disasters has long been recognized, not much is known about how organisms colonize ...
Astrobiology
Dec 18, 2025
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88
