Organismal, population, evolutionary and ecological systems is a research area that investigates biological organization and processes from the level of individual organisms to interacting populations and communities, integrating mechanisms of evolution and ecological dynamics. It encompasses studies of organismal physiology, behavior and life histories; population structure, demography and genetics; evolutionary processes such as selection, drift, gene flow and speciation; and ecological interactions including competition, predation, mutualism and ecosystem functioning. This area emphasizes quantitative, often model-based approaches to understanding how traits, genes, environments and interactions shape biodiversity patterns, adaptive change and the stability and resilience of biological systems across spatial and temporal scales.
A team of Vermont researchers has discovered that mysterious black skin lesions afflicting catfish in Lake Memphremagog and other New England and Canadian lakes are caused by a transmissible cancer—the first identified in ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 22, 2026
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526
With their ability to use tools, remember faces and even learn how to communicate with humans through sign language, nonhuman primates are considered to be among the smartest creatures on Earth. However, some concepts—geometry, ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 20, 2026
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Oryzias latipes, commonly known as medaka, is a small fish measuring about 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 inches) in length that exhibits highly active spawning behavior during the breeding season. Previous research by an Osaka Metropolitan ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 15, 2026
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Hyperiid amphipods are a small but anatomically diverse group of shrimp-like crustaceans with remarkable adaptations for life in the ocean's twilight zone. A team of researchers from MBARI, the Smithsonian National Museum ...
Evolution
Jul 15, 2026
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51
Within every muscle of every living species with a backbone, a protein called myosin tugs on a partner protein to generate a muscle contraction. This function, discovered in mammals a century ago, has been presumed by scientists ...
Evolution
Jul 14, 2026
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26
The daily movements of brown howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba) in the forest are determined by an interplay of environmental, behavioral and social factors. This is one of the conclusions of a study conducted in Brazil and ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 8, 2026
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Originally from southeastern Africa, the turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) lives in seasonal bodies of water that form during the rainy season and disappear again during the dry season. The fish is highly adapted ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 8, 2026
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Caddisflies are among nature's master underwater builders, capable of spinning sticky silk that they use to form protective cases and webs in freshwater streams. Scientists like the University of Utah's Russell Stewart have ...
Evolution
Jul 8, 2026
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43
Two new studies examining gray wolves in California paint a complex picture of life on the state's ranching landscapes: Wolves eat cattle more than anything else, and the presence of the predators causes significant stress ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 8, 2026
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Are we alone in the universe? Consider mysterious "extraterrestrial" radio signals. Unexplained gases on other planets. Things mistaken for UFOs.
Astronomy
Jul 7, 2026
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