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.
Millions of birds invisibly migrate through the night sky each autumn, most flying in near silence toward their wintering grounds. Now, scientists have developed a way to see and identify many of those birds for the first ...
Ecology
Mar 7, 2026
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239
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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74
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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19
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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18
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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15
Biologists have long wondered why caribou are the only deer in the world in which females—like males—have antlers. A study of shed antlers collected from calving grounds in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge provides a new ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 24, 2026
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48
A study published in Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology reveals a surprising link between cellular aging markers and survival in black-legged kittiwakes (members of the gull family). In the work titled "Who's coming home? ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 24, 2026
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18
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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37
Scientists are sounding the alarm over the spread of bird flu across Antarctica, with a leading Chilean researcher telling AFP Tuesday of an observed strain "capable of killing 100% of infected fauna."
Ecology
Feb 18, 2026
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18
The tide has turned on the conservation success story of the southern right whale. Once considered a global conservation success story, the species is now emerging as a warning signal of how climate change is impacting threatened ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 11, 2026
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