Migratory species, as a biological and ecological topic, are taxa whose life cycles include regular, cyclical, and predictable movements between distinct geographic regions, typically driven by seasonal variation in resource availability, breeding opportunities, or environmental conditions. These movements can occur across latitudinal, altitudinal, or aquatic gradients and span scales from local to transcontinental. Research on migratory species focuses on navigation mechanisms (e.g., celestial, geomagnetic, olfactory cues), energetics and physiology of long-distance movement, connectivity between populations across ranges, and the consequences of migration for gene flow, community structure, ecosystem processes, and vulnerability to anthropogenic pressures along migratory routes.
An international group of scientists mapped the spread of the current dominant strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus through North American bird populations in 2024. Led by scientists from St. Jude Children's ...
Molecular & Computational biology
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At least six gray whales have died in San Francisco Bay from mid-March to early April 2026. These deaths follow a pattern over the past few years, and they are raising concerns among marine biologists like us that 2026 is ...
Ecology
Apr 13, 2026
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Gray whales migrate from Arctic waters full of food to the lagoons of Baja Mexico—but as the climate crisis gathers pace, they have been sighted foraging in unexpected places. Recently, some have begun to explore the dangerously ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 13, 2026
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A crab named for mangrove forests is leaving them behind. New research from William & Mary's Batten School & VIMS shows that the Atlantic mangrove fiddler crab (Leptuca thayeri) is settling into temperate salt marshes along ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 8, 2026
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Each winter, thousands of blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) migrate to the clear, shallow waters off South Florida, where they are easily spotted from the air—a movement that coincides with seasonal beach nourishment ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 8, 2026
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A new study led by scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) reveals that endangered sei whales regularly use the New York Bight as a key spring habitat, underscoring ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 6, 2026
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Nautilus and Allonautilus cephalopods and their extinct ancestors have been drifting through the mesophotic zone of the ocean for more than 500 million years. Researchers have spent the last 40 years trying to understand ...
Evolution
Apr 5, 2026
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For over half a century, people in Central Africa have told tales of the fish seen climbing waterfalls, but these claims have never been officially confirmed. Now, these fish have finally been caught on camera, studied more ...
A humpback whale struggling in shallow waters off Germany's northern Baltic Sea coast has freed itself for a third time, a police spokesman told AFP on Tuesday.
Ecology
Mar 31, 2026
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The UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) on Sunday approved the listing of 40 new species for international protection, including the snowy owl featured in the Harry Potter saga.
Plants & Animals
Mar 30, 2026
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