https://phys.org/biology-news/ecology/ en-us The latest science and research news on ecology Scientists have identified dozens of previously overlooked cultural behaviors in wild chimpanzees, suggesting that the great ape's culture extends far beyond complex skills like tool use. In a single community, they found nearly 70 behaviors that chimpanzees appear to learn from one another—almost doubling previous estimates of cultural behaviors across African chimpanzee populations. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-chimpanzees-reveal-socially-behaviors-cultural.html Plants & Animals Thu, 21 May 2026 16:00:02 EDT news698593021 A new large-scale study led by a research team from the Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change has found that wildlife responds not only to how humans reshape their habitats, but also to the simple presence of humans—and sometimes in surprising ways. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-wildlife-behavior-response.html Plants & Animals Thu, 21 May 2026 14:00:14 EDT news698571662 A study led by researchers from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Malaga has revealed how organic farming—using natural substances and processes and avoiding the use of synthetic chemicals—can, in the long term, help crops become more resistant to drought in a natural way. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-farming-solution-natural-drought-resilience.html Ecology Thu, 21 May 2026 10:20:03 EDT news698576221 Fish who display dominant traits are more at risk of consuming microplastic pollution than others in their social group, according to new research. The study, led by the University of Glasgow and published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, details the different levels of risk microplastic pollution poses to aquatic life, with some fish in hierarchical social groups affected more than others. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-dominant-fish-higher-microplastic-subordinates.html Plants & Animals Wed, 20 May 2026 16:20:06 EDT news698501763 The vulnerability of a shark population to losing even small numbers to fishing has been highlighted by researchers from the University of Chester and partners in the Philippines using a remote stereo camera system. The team has found that pelagic thresher sharks in the Central Visayan Sea would be vulnerable to a fishing mortality rate of 5.3% each year, and that the removal of 15 to 18 females would result in a potentially catastrophic decline in the population. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-fragility-high-shark-population.html Plants & Animals Wed, 20 May 2026 15:20:01 EDT news698500045 A new paper calls for ecologists and evolutionary biologists to consider how organisms experience climate rather than how weather stations record it when doing climate–biology research. The paper, "Matching climate to biological scales," is published in the April 2026 edition of Trends in Ecology & Evolution. Postdoctoral associate David Klinges, an incoming assistant professor at Rutgers University, was the lead author, and Yale Peabody Museum curators David Skelly and Martha Muñoz were among the co-authors. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-paper-biologists-rethink-impact-climate.html Ecology Wed, 20 May 2026 15:00:08 EDT news698499649 Azara's owl monkeys, a small primate species found in South America, are heavier today than those that lived a quarter-century ago, and evidence suggests that rising temperatures might have driven the weight gain, according to a Yale-led study of a wild population. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-climate-spurs-weight-gain-owl.html Plants & Animals Wed, 20 May 2026 14:03:45 EDT news698504595 Cows show a visual preference for new human faces over a familiar one and can match a known handler's voice to their face, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS One by Océane Amichaud of INRAE in Nouzilly, France, and colleagues. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-cows-familiar-human-voices.html Ecology Wed, 20 May 2026 14:00:09 EDT news698488922 Tropical coral reefs support the highest levels of biodiversity in the ocean. This vital ecosystem depends on reef-building corals, which form colonies of thousands of tiny coral animals that secrete calcium carbonate skeletons, creating the reef's complex structure. While corals are visually striking, they are also highly sensitive to environmental changes driven by global warming and other consequences of climate change. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-seawater-collapse-coral-oxygen.html Plants & Animals Wed, 20 May 2026 14:00:01 EDT news698501581 What renders a city garden attractive to insects such as solitary bees, bumblebees and hoverflies? And how well do they pollinate plants in urban areas? A study by the Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape shows that insects can pollinate plants in the entire city. However, they still require more insect-friendly green spaces. The findings are published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-insects-city-sustain.html Plants & Animals Wed, 20 May 2026 13:40:04 EDT news698497802 Urbanization is rapidly transforming natural habitats and poses growing challenges for wildlife. One lesser-known consequence is its potential impact on bird song, which plays a crucial role in communication, reproduction, and survival. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-city-life-bird-song-species.html Plants & Animals Wed, 20 May 2026 12:40:05 EDT news698495281 The offspring of a common coral branching species set up a new home up to 100 kilometers or more from their parents in one of the longest dispersal distances ever measured, according to new international research. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-genes-borders-coral-babies-vast.html Plants & Animals Wed, 20 May 2026 11:00:11 EDT news698491755 New research published in NeoBiota has found that the Western honey bee—an introduced species to Australia—and the devastating, invasive plant fungus known as myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii) may have formed a mutually beneficial relationship known as "invasional mutualism." https://phys.org/news/2026-05-bees-food-source-reshape-destructive.html Plants & Animals Wed, 20 May 2026 09:20:05 EDT news698484781 A new study of the blue button (Porpita porpita), a small and elusive sea creature which lives on the surface of the ocean, has found that it may live for several years adrift at sea, much longer than previously estimated. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tiny-sea-creature-porpita-adrift.html Plants & Animals Wed, 20 May 2026 08:40:03 EDT news698484541 A new study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution examining human populations in Sri Lankan tropical rainforests shows that people's consumption of plants began increasing thousands of years before the introduction of agriculture. The research focuses on human and animal remains dating from approximately 20,000 to 3,000 years ago and uses zinc isotope analysis of tooth enamel to reconstruct an organism's position in the food web—known as a trophic position—and dietary composition. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-sri-lanka-teeth-reveal-diets.html Evolution Wed, 20 May 2026 05:00:02 EDT news698398201 Some birds sing to attract a mate. Others dance or display colorful feathers. But in the moonlit forests and shrublands of northern Argentina, one bird courts romance by snapping its wrists together, producing a sharp clapping sound scientists have puzzled over for decades. Now, researchers have captured the behavior in detail for the first time, revealing how scissor-tailed nightjars create one of the most curious sounds in the avian world. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-birds-dark-flirt-nightjars-reveal.html Plants & Animals Tue, 19 May 2026 19:40:03 EDT news698426881 An international team of scientists have documented, for the first time, humpback whales traveling between breeding grounds in eastern Australia and Brazil, crossing more than 14,000 kilometers of open ocean. The findings set new records for the greatest distances ever confirmed between sightings of individual humpback whales anywhere in the world. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-intrepid-tails-fluke-photos-humpback.html Plants & Animals Tue, 19 May 2026 19:10:01 EDT news698419561 Governments around the world conserve plants and animals in part by setting aside land. Whether as wilderness reserves or as resource management zones that allow industrial activities such as logging, 17.4% of the planet's land offers some measure of protection. These protected areas overlap with one-fifth, on average, of the range of Earth's terrestrial mammals. But beneath these parched deserts, dark forests, and rolling grasslands is an invisible world that keeps these aboveground places healthy. And we're not protecting that world much at all. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-areas-wildlife-soil-fungi.html Ecology Tue, 19 May 2026 17:40:03 EDT news698424721 The uninhabited islet of Formicula in Greece's Inner Ionian archipelago is a popular tourist draw for its clear waters, swimming spots, and marine diversity. A major attraction is the Mediterranean monk seal, one of the world's most threatened seal species. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-rare-underwater-caves-tourists.html Plants & Animals Tue, 19 May 2026 11:20:03 EDT news698401949 Vibrant, tiny, and sporting a bright red grin on its back, the Happy-Face spider is one of the most famous and recognizable arachnids in the world. For over a century, this cheerful-looking creature was thought to be a unique resident of the Hawaiian Islands, a biological curiosity found nowhere else on Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-happy-spider-species-indian-himalayas.html Plants & Animals Tue, 19 May 2026 09:20:06 EDT news698400543 Seabirds such as albatrosses and petrels are retreating into smaller areas of ocean and traveling further to find new places to live as the climate warms. Scientists from the University of Reading studied more than 120 species of Procellariiformes (the group that includes albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters and storm petrels) using evolutionary family trees, ancient climate records and ocean temperature data to track how their ranges and movements have changed throughout history. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-seabird-world-oceans-longer-flights.html Plants & Animals Tue, 19 May 2026 05:00:12 EDT news698320982 A global analysis has found that urban animals are bolder and more aggressive, exploratory and active than their rural counterparts. The findings are published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-urban-life-animals-bolder-aggressive.html Plants & Animals Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:07 EDT news698315153 DNA is everywhere in the world's oceans—not only packaged inside cells from skin, scales, mucus, feces, and blood, but also floating freely. Sequencing such "environmental DNA" (eDNA) from open water has long been used as a cost-effective way of gauging the number and identity of species in a region, especially when they are rare and elusive or living at great depths. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-dna-seawater-scientists-health-america.html Ecology Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:04 EDT news698326022 As climate change intensifies, one of the key challenges facing forestry is how to balance efficient timber production with the preservation of forests' climate-regulating functions, biodiversity, and resilience. The growing public demand for recreation in forests, together with increasing opposition to clear-cutting, is also driving the search for more sustainable management approaches. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-elongated-canopy-gaps-natural-regeneration.html Plants & Animals Mon, 18 May 2026 17:50:02 EDT news698342881 Every bumble bee colony has a queen, but a new study led by researchers at Penn State suggests the process of determining which baby bee reigns supreme may be less monarchal than the royal title suggests. The study, published in the journal Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, explored why some bumble bee larvae become workers and others become queens, despite coming from the same eggs. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-worker-bumble-bees-baby-bee.html Ecology Mon, 18 May 2026 15:40:01 EDT news698324655 Today's Arctic may feel remote and desolate, but more than 70 million years ago, it was a surprisingly lively place for some of Earth's ancient mammals. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ancient-arctic-fossils-uncover-mammal.html Ecology Mon, 18 May 2026 15:00:03 EDT news698324694 Most of the Bahamas' signature seafood stocks are being fished harder than the sea can replace them, according to a new paper led by Sea Around Us researchers and published in Frontiers in Marine Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-overfishing-bahamian-seafood-staples-years.html Ecology Mon, 18 May 2026 12:28:44 EDT news698326081 Being a single mother of 20 is no joke, especially if the survival of a whole species depends on it. A queen bumblebee faces this very challenge when she lays her first eggs in the spring: She is utterly alone, with no worker bees to help. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-mother-quickly-colony-wont-survive.html Plants & Animals Mon, 18 May 2026 10:20:02 EDT news698317442 Daphnia, commonly known as water fleas, are tiny crustaceans that live in freshwater ponds and lakes. When they sense predators in their surroundings, these small organisms can swiftly move away or adapt their body shape, for instance becoming rounder and forming large helmets or spines on their head, neck or tail. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-fleas-suddenly-helmets-key-receptors.html Ecology Sat, 16 May 2026 12:00:03 EDT news698065447 As ocean temperatures rise and marine ecosystems change, scientists are working to understand how valuable species like the American lobster will respond. New research from William & Mary's Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS suggests that one source of resilience may come from the microscopic bacterial communities living on lobster embryos. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-lobster-embryo-microbiomes-resilient-future.html Ecology Sat, 16 May 2026 10:00:01 EDT news697991220