Page 7: Research news on Organismal, population, evolutionary & ecological systems

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.

Ghost bat dialects emerge across colonies, study suggests

Accents are usually thought of as a human trait, indicating where a person has grown up or the communities they belong—and new research shows the same dialects can also occur in Australia's largest carnivorous bat.

Why no individual is like another when epigenetics come into play

Why do animals behave differently, and what are the consequences of this? A research team from the Collaborative Research Center NC³ at Bielefeld University and the University of Münster now provides a new explanation: epigenetic ...

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