https://phys.org/biology-news/ecology/ en-us The latest science and research news on ecology Researchers have found that a group of chemicals known as PFAS can be transferred from mother dolphins to their nursing calves, adding to the evidence that these persistent contaminants can be transferred from mothers to offspring during early development. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-pfas-dolphin-mothers-calves.html Ecology Sat, 18 Apr 2026 07:04:50 EDT news695714541 Rising stream temperatures may be weakening the foundation of river food webs by altering how carbon moves through these watery ecosystems. In a new study published in the journal Ecosphere, researchers from Northern Arizona University found that when water temperatures increase, microbes and aquatic insects process fallen leaves, twigs, and bark more rapidly, but a smaller fraction of that leaf litter supports their growth and a bigger fraction is released into the water and air as carbon dioxide. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-warmer-streams-river-food-webs.html Ecology Fri, 17 Apr 2026 19:00:01 EDT news695651920 Restoring once abundant oyster reefs in temperate marginal seas such as the North Sea is a challenging task. New research by NIOZ marine ecologist Zhiyuan Zhao and colleagues shows that it is necessary to consider the short-term risk that introduced oysters will become buried by shifting sediment or will be dislodged by strong near-bed currents. For restoration success, these short-term physical disturbances can be more decisive than longer-term water-quality conditions. The results of pioneering experiments at 32 m depth, were published today in One Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-oyster-reefs-site-dont-sand.html Plants & Animals Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:20:01 EDT news695647106 Like many animals, parrots make sounds that suggest they are talking with each other, maybe even calling out to a specific parrot. But do they truly have names in the same way people do? To find out, Lauryn Benedict, a biology professor at the University of Northern Colorado, didn't set up shop in the tropics to record parrot chatter, as they've done in the past. She instead found birds who spoke her language—birds that live with humans and mimic what they hear, including people's names. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-parrots-mimicking-words-proper-humans.html Plants & Animals Fri, 17 Apr 2026 14:00:04 EDT news695636041 Assisted evolution could help corals survive future heat waves, but careful trait choice and strong repeated selection will be needed for it to be effective. As global temperatures rise, marine heat waves are becoming more frequent and severe, driving coral bleaching and mortality. While some coral populations are already showing signs of natural adaptation, researchers warn that these changes are unlikely to keep pace with future warming. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-coral-reefs-require-ruthless-generations.html Evolution Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:00:01 EDT news695635441 The earliest documentary evidence of organized whaling dates back to the 11th century in the Basque Country. From there, the activity spread rapidly across the ports of the Bay of Biscay, from Galicia to Labourd in France, and then across the Atlantic to countries such as Brazil and Iceland. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-whaling-evolved-basque-vast-global.html Ecology Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:20:01 EDT news695630701 Fish living downstream of wastewater treatment plants are accumulating antidepressants, opioids and other drugs of abuse in their bodies, according to a new study. Using a new analytical method they developed, a team of researchers from the University of Waterloo discovered that several substances that affect the central nervous system, including fentanyl, methadone and venlafaxine, were detected in small fish living in rivers that receive urban wastewater. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-wild-canadian-freshwater-fish-reveal.html Plants & Animals Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:40:07 EDT news695560982 Parasitic wasps of the genus Trichogramma are among the smallest insects in the world—yet they play an important role in natural ecosystems and agricultural landscapes as natural antagonists of pest species. Research teams from the Universities of Regensburg, Wageningen and Groningen have now identified for the first time the sex pheromone of a Trichogramma wasp. The study shows that unimaginably small amounts of the female pheromone are sufficient to attract males and trigger their courtship behavior. The findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-sex-pheromone-sandgrain-sized-insect.html Plants & Animals Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:40:04 EDT news695568181 Fish living downstream of wastewater treatment plants are accumulating antidepressants, opioids and other drugs of abuse in their bodies, according to a new study. Using a new analytical method they developed, a team of researchers from the University of Waterloo discovered that several substances that affect the central nervous system, including fentanyl, methadone and venlafaxine, were detected in small fish living in rivers that receive urban wastewater. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-opioids-drugs-accumulating-freshwater-fish.html Ecology Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:00:07 EDT news695560501 Plants are often seen as passive organisms, rooted in one place and largely unable to react to the world around them. But a new field of research is challenging these assumptions and showing that plants are as sophisticated as animals in detecting and adjusting to environmental signals. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-secret-sensory-life.html Plants & Animals Thu, 16 Apr 2026 15:00:01 EDT news695558103 A new study reveals that some of the ocean's most powerful predators are running hotter, and that they are likely paying an increasingly steep price for it. The significance of this headline finding is the "double jeopardy" in which it places these iconic animals, which have high fuel demands due to their lifestyle and physiology, as they now face a future of warming oceans and declining food resources. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-bodied-sharks-tunas-jeopardy-seas.html Plants & Animals Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:04 EDT news695547961 California's processing tomato industry for the first time this past harvest season, agreed to voluntary equipment cleaning and notification guidelines to prevent the spread of branched broomrape, a parasitic weed that attaches to roots and sucks out key nutrients. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tomato-industry-parasitic-weed.html Ecology Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:20:08 EDT news695552342 A new tool to help scientists and reef managers consider the ecological risks of different coral reef interventions around the world has been developed by researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). The resulting database enables users to identify and explore the risks of a range of interventions from small-scale coral gardening to more advanced approaches like assisted evolution, where corals and their life-giving symbiont algae are made more heat tolerant by accelerating evolutionary processes. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-intervening-coral-reefs.html Ecology Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:00:02 EDT news695552282 The Gulf Coast is recognized worldwide for its exceptional fishing opportunities, offering anglers a wide variety of species such as trout, red snapper, and grouper. Recreational fishing represents a significant—yet historically undermeasured—aspect of overall fisheries pressure in the region, raising concerns about its impact on fish populations and the need for effective conservation and management. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tracinganglers-gulf-coast-machinelearning-tools.html Plants & Animals Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:00:03 EDT news695551187 In the largest genomic mapping of Africa's elephants to date, an international team of researchers shows that elephant history is defined by the ability to move across large distances and exchange genes throughout the African continent. But as the elephants' living space is becoming increasingly patchy, the study documents the visible genetic consequences of isolation—and points to approaches that help to incorporate genomics into current and future elephant conservation. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-african-elephant-genomes-reveal-continental.html Plants & Animals Thu, 16 Apr 2026 05:00:08 EDT news695477059 Red foxes and birds regularly cross between human-dominated and natural ecosystems. For this reason, they may be heralds of spreading antibiotic resistance into ecosystems unexposed to antibiotic pressures, a study done in Italy showed. Results indicated that the share of K. pneumoniae isolates resistant to third-generation cephalosporins—a key group of hospital antibiotics—was about five times higher in wildlife than in isolates from human hospital patients. This shows that studying wildlife resistance can be an effective tool to monitor antimicrobial resistance in natural environments, the researchers said, and called for improved wastewater management, a reduction of antibiotic pollution of water, and a restriction of clinically important antibiotics to human medicine. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-foxes-birds-early-survey-antibiotic.html Ecology Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:01 EDT news695477064 Prescribed burning, when combined with tree retention, can effectively support natural regeneration in managed boreal forests, new research shows. The study demonstrates that post-fire seedling establishment remains strong across key commercial species, Scots pine and birch, suggesting that integrating these practices may help reconcile biodiversity goals with sustainable forest management. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tree-retention-boosts-natural-forest.html Ecology Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:00:01 EDT news695467733 Sequencing the DNA of all complex life in the UK and Ireland could generate up to almost £3 billion for the economy across agriculture, conservation, and research over the next 30 years, according to a new report. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-biodiversity-uk-ireland.html Ecology Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:00:03 EDT news695456323 Coral reefs hide "scientific treasures" that have survived for centuries, yet many of these giant, ancient organisms remain largely unknown to science. A new study published in the journal Nature Conservation introduces "Map the Giants," a pioneering citizen-science initiative launched by researchers from the University of Milano-Bicocca to find these giant coral colonies before they are lost to escalating global pressures. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-giants-reef-citizen-science-document.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:20:01 EDT news695487781 The Easter holidays are over and many people have once again experienced firsthand how easily sweets can be converted into fat. Parasitic wasps are also capable of converting sugar into fat—a capability that long was thought to be lost in these insects. Researchers at the Universities of Regensburg and Münster now show in a new study how important this metabolic pathway is for these insects: when so-called lipogenesis—the conversion of sugar into fatty acids and fat—is silenced, the wasps can no longer produce offspring. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-fat-parasitic-wasps-pheromones-eggs.html Evolution Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:10:06 EDT news695488621 A research paper led by William Paterson University environmental science professor Nicole Davi finds that coastal forests demonstrate incredible resiliency following major hurricane events, but these forests are increasingly at risk from storm damage and surges and continued sea-level rise. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-hurricane-resilient-coastal-forests-northeastern.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:00:07 EDT news695463917 New research led by James Cook University shows huge differences in fish biomass and fish productivity between Caribbean and Indo-Pacific coral reefs, driven by the consumption of jelly-like gelatinous plankton. For their study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, the JCU-led team of Australian scientists analyzed 2.5 million plankton-eating fish observations, revealing fundamental differences in fish size, quantity, and growth between the two reef realms. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-jelly-plankton-fuel-bigger-faster.html Ecology Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:00:06 EDT news695483143 High in the forests of Hawai'i, songbirds are stealing twigs and moss from one another's nests. UC Riverside researchers found this quiet canopy crime is surprisingly common and could threaten species already struggling to survive. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-hawaii-songbirds-raiding-neighbors-losses.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:40:03 EDT news695476410 A new report led by Conservation International and IUCN, published today in Oryx, warns that over 40% of more than 8,500 soil‑dependent species are at risk of extinction or Data‑Deficient on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-soil-species-extinction-threatened.html Ecology Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:20:04 EDT news695476658 Naked mole rats keep kingdoms underground. One queen bears all the children, while others maintain complex subterranean tunnels, forage for food, take care of newborns, and perform other necessary upkeep. This society hinges on the central pillar of a singular queen. What happens when her fertility declines or is impaired? https://phys.org/news/2026-04-naked-mole-rats-peacefully-power.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:00:10 EDT news695463721 In 1902, British explorer Robert Falcon Scott spotted a large group of large black and white birds at Ross Island, Antarctica. This was among the many milestones of Scott's famous Discovery expedition: the first breeding colony of emperor penguins. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-beloved-emperor-penguin-antarctic-fur.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:00:01 EDT news695472362 A critically endangered Borneo orangutan has been born at Madrid's zoo, described by keepers as strong and developing normally. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-critically-endangered-orangutan-born-madrid.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:40:07 EDT news695478354 An international team of scientists from Queen Mary University of London, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences and other institutions has uncovered surprising new behavior in the tropical forests of Malaysian Borneo. In a study published in PeerJ, the researchers report that predatory wasps are increasingly taking over the hollow stems of the tropical plant Macaranga pearsonii—structures the tree has evolved specifically to house protective ant colonies. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-wasps-ant-partnership-disrupting-10millionyear.html Evolution Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:20:04 EDT news695466841 Adelaide University and Kangaroo Island Research Station researchers have developed a simple, low-cost way to help wildlife survive in the critical days and weeks after bushfires, by delivering artificial nectar to animals struggling to find food. The study, published in the Australian Journal of Zoology, provides a proof of concept showing that a wide range of native animals will readily use specially designed nectar feeders following a bushfire. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-sweet-lifeline-wildlife-bushfires-ravage.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:00:06 EDT news695470022 In the summer, many people turn to mosquito repellents to reduce the insects' buzzing and bites. One solution that has become increasingly popular in recent years is the Thermacell device, which releases vaporized, pyrethroid-based insecticide prallethrin into the air. There has been much discussion in recent years about the effects of this substance on nature and pollinators in particular, but research data has been limited. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-backyard-bug-repellent-derailing-bumblebees.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Apr 2026 11:20:06 EDT news695464741