Species diversity is a multidimensional ecological concept describing the variability of species within a community, typically quantified through measures that integrate both species richness (the number of species) and evenness (the relative abundances of those species). It underpins community structure, ecosystem functioning, and resilience by influencing processes such as resource use, trophic interactions, and stability against perturbations. Species diversity is often assessed using alpha diversity (within-community), beta diversity (turnover among communities), and gamma diversity (regional diversity), and is commonly measured with indices such as Shannon, Simpson, or Hill numbers, each emphasizing different aspects of richness and evenness.
The sun is the basis for photosynthesis, but not all plants thrive in strong sunlight. Strong sunlight constrains plant diversity and plant biomass in the world's grasslands, a new study shows. Temperature, precipitation, ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 9, 2026
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50
Research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) sheds new light on how mountain birds adapt to changes in climate. Scientists know that species diversity changes as you go up a mountain, but it is not clearly understood ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 6, 2026
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29
It's not what they intended to do or expected to find. They're not even all that interested in birds. When Andre Naranjo and his colleagues began work on a new study published in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, ...
Evolution
Feb 5, 2026
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62
No natural phenomenon provides a rarer chance to study the secrets of the animal world than a total solar eclipse. This was recently demonstrated by researchers investigating how a total solar eclipse might affect the soundscape ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 4, 2026
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18
A single queen in the tropics; large colonies in deserts; workers with uniform morphology in temperate regions; ant social structures vary according to environmental conditions. This is shown, for the first time at a global ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 4, 2026
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37
According to a new study by the University of Würzburg, Bavarian meadows are the most monotonous insect habitats. Surprisingly, fields and settlements often offer more diversity than grassland.
Plants & Animals
Jan 22, 2026
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56
The diversity of water strider species apparently developed as early as the Cretaceous period, much earlier than previously thought. SNSB researchers have succeeded in clarifying the phylogenetic history of this insect family, ...
Evolution
Jan 22, 2026
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23
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and the University of Kiel have provided experimental evidence showing that reducing plant species diversity alters plant chemical signals across whole communities ...
Ecology
Jan 16, 2026
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104
Farmers plant or preserve riparian buffers for various reasons, such as improving water quality, controlling erosion, or maintaining hunting habitat. Now, a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign underscores ...
Ecology
Dec 3, 2025
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64
A research team led by the South China Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with multiple domestic and international research institutions, has made progress in investigating forest diversity ...
Ecology
Dec 2, 2025
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