https://phys.org/biology-news/ecology/ en-us The latest science and research news on ecology Drought creates increasing challenges for agriculture. As well as affecting crop growth, it also affects interactions with pests. A research team at the University of Göttingen investigated how different levels of drought affect sugar beet's susceptibility to damage caused by the beet leaf miner (Pegomya cunicularia)—a fly whose larvae create visible tunnels inside leaves. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-interaction-sugar-beet-pest-varies.html Ecology Wed, 29 Jul 2026 17:20:03 EDT news704549401 Coho salmon released by recreational anglers are far more likely to survive when handled without a landing net, according to new research. In salmon fisheries where anglers may be required to release salmon that are undersized, wild or not the target species, post-release survival is critical to conservation efforts. The paper is published in the journal Fisheries Research. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-simple-fishing-gear-greatly-survival.html Ecology Wed, 29 Jul 2026 17:00:01 EDT news704549102 The Canadian government is proposing sweeping changes to accelerate industrial development and reduce environmental oversight. These proposed legislative, regulatory and policy reforms could significantly diminish the government's capacity to assess environmental impacts and weaken protections for fish habitats and species at risk. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-canada-infrastructure-pacific-salmon-habitats.html Ecology Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:40:03 EDT news704549041 Summer can be lovely—until a wasp turns up. Whether they present as an irritating picnic visitor or an uninvited attic guest, common social wasps are as much a part of our summer as festivals, sunscreen and the growing despair of how to entertain children who've forgotten how to be bored. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-wasps-summer.html Ecology Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:20:04 EDT news704548982 Why do humans keep pets? A new international study suggests that some of the behavioral foundations of human-animal companionship may have much deeper evolutionary roots than previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-monkey-friendships-dogs-deer-pigs.html Evolution Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:10:01 EDT news704551502 Forest trees growing in air containing higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) radically change the way they "cycle" nitrogen, a key plant nutrient, with implications for forests as a nature-based climate solution. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-trees-microbes-team-nitrogen-nutrient.html Plants & Animals Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:00:13 EDT news704471281 It is a mystery that has puzzled scientists for years. How can the world's only winged mammals carry viruses that cause severe disease while rarely becoming seriously ill themselves? https://phys.org/news/2026-07-antibody-gene-vesper-unusual-viral.html Plants & Animals Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:00:04 EDT news704473621 Ex-captive elephants released into the wild adapt well to wild environments, according to a study published July 29, 2026, in the journal PLOS One by Tenisha Roos and Tamara Eggeling of the Elephant Reintegration Trust of South Africa and colleagues. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-year-rewilded-elephants-successful-coping.html Plants & Animals Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:00:01 EDT news704473741 Nepal's tiger population has risen by roughly 20% in the past four years to an estimated 429, officials said Wednesday, a conservation milestone despite challenges from human-wildlife conflict. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-nepal-tiger-climb-percent-survey.html Ecology Wed, 29 Jul 2026 13:20:05 EDT news704540725 Hundreds of feet below Earth's surface, rocks and water teem with fungi and support complex ecosystems of tiny organisms, according to a University of Michigan study that finds fungi are far more abundant deep underground than researchers previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-entire-world-fungi-mile-underground.html Ecology Wed, 29 Jul 2026 13:00:06 EDT news704446801 Researchers at the Centre for Ecosystem Management (CEM), together with scientists from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Cornell University, Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, have published a paper showing that ecosystems become more resilient to environmental change through "portfolio effects" operating across multiple levels of ecological organization. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ecosystems-climate-nature-hidden.html Ecology Wed, 29 Jul 2026 12:40:03 EDT news704541481 Scientists have long wondered whether loud, human-caused noise interferes with wild animals' cognition—their ability to think and learn—by causing stress, distraction or making it harder for them to focus. The results of a novel study of eastern bluebirds conducted by a team of researchers at Penn State suggest that, at least in some cases, short-term noise doesn't affect them much. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-industrial-noise-bluebird-behavior-cognitive.html Plants & Animals Wed, 29 Jul 2026 12:00:03 EDT news704540360 Feeding wild animals is a popular activity at tourist destinations. While these interactions often appear harmless, scientists are recognizing how supplemental feeding of wild animals can alter ecosystems in unexpected ways. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bunny-tourism-hidden-consequences-unregulated.html Plants & Animals Wed, 29 Jul 2026 11:20:03 EDT news704539796 At picnics and World Cup watch parties across the United States this summer, people have been reaching for bowls of chips and guacamole. Most of that guacamole is made from avocados grown in Mexico—on orchards that, in what might come as a surprise, contribute less water pollution today than they did a decade ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-guacamole-avocado-import-mexico-pollution.html Ecology Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:40:03 EDT news704534822 For the first time, a research team from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany, has demonstrated that insects can mimic floral scents to manipulate pollinators. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-oil-beetle-larvae-bees.html Plants & Animals Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:20:06 EDT news704533321 Ancient single-celled red algae that thrive in scalding, acidic waters are emerging as far more than specialized survivors. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ancient-red-algae-power-extreme.html Evolution Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:00:02 EDT news704530622 From "heat wave simulators" to ecological boot camps, scientists and conservationists are trying ways to revive and reinforce the famous coral reefs off Japan's Okinawa, decimated by climate-driven bleaching two summers ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-japan-coral-protectors-reefs.html Ecology Wed, 29 Jul 2026 04:50:05 EDT news704517784 Traditionally, public health programs have relied on chemicals for mosquito management, which may be why combating mosquitoes is becoming more difficult. Over time, insecticides trigger biochemical and genetic variations that confer a survival advantage on certain mosquito populations. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-mosquitoes-rapidly-enzymes-common-insecticide.html Ecology Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:03 EDT news704372522 A study published in Royal Society Open Science reveals striking trade-offs when it comes to different methods of egg production. Using UK data, the study compared several possible scenarios for the egg industry, including shifts to barn, free-range and organic systems, while keeping egg output constant. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-free-range-egg-production-negative.html Ecology Tue, 28 Jul 2026 20:10:01 EDT news704459522 Female sweat bees need to make a pivotal life decision: remain in the nest to help their mother raise more offspring or leave to establish nests of their own. New research from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) found that queen pheromones help influence that choice, offering new insight into how cooperation evolved in insect societies. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-queen-bee-pheromones-daughters-stay.html Plants & Animals Tue, 28 Jul 2026 19:10:04 EDT news704363701 For nearly two centuries, the Galapagos Islands have inspired scientific discovery. While some might think only of Charles Darwin and his journeys on the HMS Beagle, there is much more to discover. Today, María Antonia Izurieta Burbano De Lara, a master's student in Dr. David Wells' Shark Biology and Fisheries Science Lab at Texas A&M University at Galveston, is building on that legacy by studying one of the archipelago's most elusive predators—the smooth hammerhead shark (Sphyrna zygaena). https://phys.org/news/2026-07-elusive-sharks-galapagos-islands.html Plants & Animals Tue, 28 Jul 2026 18:40:01 EDT news704476741 Researchers have described a new species of shrimpgoby from the coastal waters off Banyuwangi, East Java, and given it a name that pays tribute to both its fiery coloration and its birthplace. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-shrimpgoby-species-sunrise-java.html Plants & Animals Tue, 28 Jul 2026 17:40:06 EDT news704473261 In August 2023, communities across Southern California braced for Tropical Storm Hilary—the first tropical storm to directly impact the region this century. Although the storm weakened from a Category 4 hurricane before making landfall, it still brought damaging winds, record rainfall and widespread flooding across the southwestern United States and parts of Mexico. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-juvenile-great-white-sharks-fled.html Plants & Animals Tue, 28 Jul 2026 17:00:05 EDT news704469602 Diets rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids—a type of fat that supports brain function, cell growth and heart health—may help protect honey bees against the toxic effects of pesticides, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-diets-high-fat-bees-pesticides.html Plants & Animals Tue, 28 Jul 2026 16:40:07 EDT news704468941 As temperature and precipitation fluctuations continue to influence crop production worldwide, it is important to understand where crops are most vulnerable to these environmental stressors. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-global-hotspots-drought-poses-greatest.html Ecology Tue, 28 Jul 2026 16:20:05 EDT news704469661 New research from Costa Rica's Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) suggests that tropical insects may be vulnerable to rising temperatures. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined the heat and cold tolerance of more than 100 species of rove beetles living between the lowland dry forest and the cloud forest of Volcán Cacao. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-tropical-insects-room-temperatures.html Plants & Animals Tue, 28 Jul 2026 14:00:06 EDT news704461141 You've been planning your dream beach vacation for months, only to arrive and find the shoreline covered in large piles of smelly, brown seaweed, with even more floating offshore. It's disappointing, for sure—and increasingly common. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-sargassum-smelly-nemesis-beach-vacations.html Ecology Tue, 28 Jul 2026 14:00:02 EDT news704459401 Ants are known allies in the fight against coffee pests known as coffee berry borers. Now, a discovery made by Jonathan "Jonno" Morris while he was a University of Michigan graduate student has revealed there may be a new dimension to this protection. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-small-ants-evict-coffee-pests.html Ecology Tue, 28 Jul 2026 13:20:02 EDT news704458620 Researchers have developed a low-cost, semi-automated, AI-driven method that uses remote cameras to survey bumblebees and potentially other insects. The new tool could have important implications for efforts to conserve declining insect populations. Several bumblebee species have been petitioned to be listed under the Endangered Species Act. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ai-powered-camera-bumblebees-potentially.html Plants & Animals Tue, 28 Jul 2026 06:00:01 EDT news704358062 Doctors can often detect diseases in humans using minimally invasive methods, like blood or urine tests, before symptoms become severe. Now, researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) are applying a similar concept to coral reefs, showing that the water surrounding reefs contains chemical and microbial signals that could reveal changes in ecosystem health long before those changes are visible. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-seawater-samples-early-clues-reef.html Ecology Mon, 27 Jul 2026 20:40:06 EDT news704386562