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.
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
0
130
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
0
15
A spotted gray wolf has left his California pack and trotted across Silver State lines, wildlife biologists say.
Plants & Animals
Feb 4, 2026
0
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
0
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
0
88
Animals help disperse seeds and spores for many plant and fungal species. This typically happens when animals eat the fruiting bodies of plants and fungi and pass seeds and spores through their digestive systems.
Ecology
Dec 17, 2025
0
17
A team of scientists at the University of Minnesota has uncovered the routes by which zebra mussels spread through Minnesota lakes, pointing to some surprising bodies of water that were the likely origins for the period of ...
Ecology
Dec 10, 2025
0
14
Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) have reconstructed the distribution history of black pepper over the past 21,000 years in an international study. Using a new approach, ...
Ecology
Nov 20, 2025
0
16
