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.
In better times, droves of young winter-run Chinook salmon would travel 300 miles downstream from the Sacramento River, beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific. They would return as adults, shimmering silver and ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 13, 2025
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Birds of feather don't always flock together, despite the adage. A study published in the Journal of Raptor Research tells the story of Arizonan bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) engaging in intriguing migrations by ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 12, 2025
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145
Maine's coastal communities have been hooked on the Atlantic bluefin tuna since at least the late 1880s—first as bycatch, until the 1930s when the fish became a prized target in fishing tournaments. Through the subsequent ...
Ecology
Aug 11, 2025
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Northern fur seals are long-distance migrants, moving seasonally between breeding colonies and wintering grounds. After leaving breeding colonies in autumn, they travel south for winter foraging, returning in early spring. ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 7, 2025
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Large ocean animals can be protected throughout much of their lifecycle by huge Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), new research shows.
Plants & Animals
Aug 7, 2025
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20
As tropical fishes colonize new habitats in temperate oceans, made available to them because of ocean warming, researchers have found that those who shoal alongside neighbors that are native to the area learn behaviors that ...
Ecology
Jul 28, 2025
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83
New research into the energy use of humpback whales during their annual migrations has found they lose 11,000kg of blubber—which is equivalent to the energy obtained after feeding on 57,000 kg of Antarctic krill—highlighting ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 28, 2025
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24
University of Queensland surveys reveal the peak of the southern migration of humpback whales down the east Australian coast is now weeks earlier than it was 21 years ago, and a warming Southern Ocean may be the reason. The ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 18, 2025
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36
Amphidromous fish—which migrate between freshwater streams and the sea—can move between habitats thanks to ocean currents. Since island streams are generally small and vulnerable to human impact, understanding how exactly ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 16, 2025
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24
Imagine a world where just six out of every 100 newborns make it to their teenage years, the rest unable to survive post-apocalyptic environmental conditions that have become too strange and dangerous for human life. That's ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 14, 2025
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