Biodiversity, as a biological phenomenon, denotes the variability and complexity of life across genes, species, populations, communities, and ecosystems, including their functional traits and phylogenetic relationships. It emerges from evolutionary processes such as mutation, selection, gene flow, and drift, and is structured by ecological interactions, environmental gradients, and spatiotemporal dynamics. Biodiversity influences and reflects ecosystem functioning, stability, and resilience through mechanisms like complementarity, redundancy, and trophic interactions. It is quantitatively characterized using metrics of richness, evenness, turnover, and functional or phylogenetic diversity, and its patterns are central to understanding biogeography, ecosystem processes, and responses to environmental change.
A new study identifying the ecological conditions needed for biodiversity offsetting to achieve conservation goals could provide important guidance for governments and industries as they expand biodiversity net gain (BNG) ...
Ecology
Jul 17, 2026
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When extreme drought strikes, drier grasslands receive the greatest productivity benefit from biodiversity. By contrast, forests did not show the same context-dependent pattern under drought, according to a new global synthesis ...
Ecology
Jul 15, 2026
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New research by the University of Oxford and the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University has revealed that most biodiversity commitments made by large, influential companies are not precise enough to enable society ...
Environment
Jul 13, 2026
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A new scientific review outlines how satellites and other remote sensing technologies are increasingly shaping how biodiversity and ecosystem health can be monitored at scale—offering new opportunities for countries reporting ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 8, 2026
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The Amazon region, Earth's most important ecosystem, is home to more than 400 Indigenous groups that use thousands of rainforest plant species. They pass on their knowledge of the flora primarily through oral tradition, usually ...
Environment
Jul 8, 2026
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Healthy ecosystems depend on more than just having lots of species—they rely on the complex relationships between plants, prey and predators, according to new international research led by the University of Waikato and the ...
Ecology
Jul 3, 2026
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In the humid jungle of Vietnam, Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela and Monte Neate-Clegg spent hours patiently waiting to spot the rare "Halloween bird." Officially known as the collared laughingthrush, this songbird has striking orange, ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 2, 2026
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In ecology, the principle holds that the more diverse and heterogeneous a habitat is, the more different species it supports. To promote species diversity in forests, clearings are therefore created for nature conservation ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 29, 2026
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A global analysis of fish biodiversity using environmental DNA (eDNA) reveals how human activity and climate influence biodiversity patterns in river ecosystems. An international research team led by the University of Zurich, ...
Ecology
Jun 24, 2026
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New research from the University of St. Andrews has shown that higher extinction risk is associated with a higher frequency of decreasing local prevalence of species, in an analysis of one of the most comprehensive long-term ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 23, 2026
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