Migration in organisms refers to the directed, typically seasonal or life-stage–dependent movement of individuals or populations between distinct geographic regions, often driven by spatiotemporal variation in resources, breeding opportunities, or environmental conditions. It is characterized by relatively long-distance, persistent movements with clear origin and destination areas, underpinned by evolved orientation and navigation mechanisms (e.g., celestial, geomagnetic, olfactory cues). Migration can be obligate or facultative, partial or complete within a population, and plays critical roles in gene flow, metapopulation dynamics, ecological connectivity, disease spread, and responses to climate and habitat change across taxa including animals, plants (via propagule movement), and microorganisms.
Thousands of birds, including beloved purple martins, died in "The Great Texas Freeze" of 2021. A study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution led by biologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, reveals not only ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 6, 2026
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78
Nocturnal insects may use both Earth's magnetic field and visual cues to guide their migratory flight behaviors, according to recent findings. The research, published in eLife, presents compelling evidence on how geomagnetic ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 3, 2026
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17
Currently, Australia is the only continent in the world still free from the highly contagious H5 bird flu. But that status faces an ongoing threat.
Veterinary medicine
Mar 2, 2026
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22
Anglers along the Gulf Coast have long prized the hard-fighting, mild-tasting gag grouper (Mycteroperca microlepis), but some may have been surprised over the past few years by shortened seasons for this desirable reef fish. ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 2, 2026
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19
Suitable habitat for migrating monarch butterflies will shift southwards because of climate change, according to a study published in PLOS Climate by Francisco Botello and Carolina Ureta at the National Autonomous University ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 25, 2026
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18
Emperor penguins shed all their feathers once a year, a precarious ritual that may have become deadly as climate change pushes them into shrinking patches of Antarctic sea ice, researchers said Wednesday.
Ecology
Feb 25, 2026
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20
Every year, billions of birds undertake extraordinary migrations, crossing vast deserts and open seas with no place to stop, feed, or rest. A new international study published in iScience by a consortium of researchers from ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 20, 2026
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41
Look at the armpits—or, technically, the "wingpits. That's what Scott Mehus, education director at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minn., told a group of bird watchers recently as they prepared to scan the winter skies ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 17, 2026
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167
Climate change is reshaping life on Earth at an unprecedented pace. Across the globe, species are shifting their ranges, altering migration routes and breeding earlier in the year in response to rising temperatures. But while ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 12, 2026
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43
Research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) sheds new light on how mountain birds adapt to changes in climate. Scientists know that species diversity changes as you go up a mountain, but it is not clearly understood ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 6, 2026
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