https://phys.org/biology-news/ecology/ en-us The latest science and research news on ecology 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Wild seabirds that face high energy demands during the breeding season go on to migrate farther and raise more chicks the next year, but at a cost to their own survival. An international team led by researchers from Nagoya University raised the energy cost of flight for some birds and tracked them through the next year of their annual cycle. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-seabirds-survival-chicks-energy-intensive.html Plants & Animals Mon, 27 Jul 2026 19:00:11 EDT news704384641 Invasive rats on tropical islands are creating winners and losers among the tiny underwater animals near the bottom of the food chain that inhabit surrounding coral reefs. Scientists say the changes to these marine ecosystems can rewire food chains on the reefs. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-invasive-rats-rewire-coral-reef.html Plants & Animals Mon, 27 Jul 2026 17:00:36 EDT news704381942 Invasive alien species are among the world's leading drivers of species extinction. However, previous global assessments of the geographic distribution of this damage suffered from a systematic "research bias": Because significantly more research is conducted and documented in Global North countries such as North America and Europe, these areas also showed the highest numbers of invasive species and, consequently, the most damage reports. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-invasive-species-global-south-significantly.html Plants & Animals Mon, 27 Jul 2026 12:40:06 EDT news704370541 The descriptions of the two new additions to the European snail fauna, named Cochlostoma komarnica and Cochlostoma dobrido, have been published in the open-access Biodiversity Data Journal. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-snail-species-bolster-case-montenegro.html Plants & Animals Mon, 27 Jul 2026 11:20:01 EDT news704368121 Insect wings are bristling with senses, feeling the wind blowing and even tasting potential mates, but little was known about whether moth wings are equipped with a sense of smell. Sonja Bisch-Knaden and Bill Hansson from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Germany, had a hunch that moth wings might be able to sniff out certain aromas. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-moth-wings-reveal-unexpected-ability.html Plants & Animals Mon, 27 Jul 2026 10:00:11 EDT news704363161 A virtual reality (VR) platform has given researchers new insights into how artificial light at night alters the way coral reef fish respond to predators. The study brings together, for the first time, the metabolic expertise of the University of Glasgow with an innovative immersive virtual reality (VR) platform designed at the Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone and implemented at CRIOBE (Center de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l'Environnement). https://phys.org/news/2026-07-virtual-reality-fish-platform-insights.html Plants & Animals Mon, 27 Jul 2026 06:00:01 EDT news704106481 In nature, the rarest ingredient can be the one that holds everything together. In a new article published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Dr. Erika C. Freeman of the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) in Berlin argues that a handful of scarce molecules can shape entire living communities, far out of proportion to how little is present. These are what ecologists call "keystone molecules." https://phys.org/news/2026-07-molecules-emerge-chemical-keystones-life.html Ecology Sun, 26 Jul 2026 13:00:01 EDT news703865858 Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus)—the world's biggest fish—are one of the most charismatic marine species. They connect with the hearts of anyone lucky enough to encounter them, making people deeply curious about their lives and invested in their conservation. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-cameras-whale-sharks-capture-krill.html Plants & Animals Sat, 25 Jul 2026 14:00:01 EDT news703863834 Imagine searching for a gemstone in a dark cave: You use a flashlight, looking for a rainbow-colored glint in the darkness. Now, imagine 10 other people in the cave with you, using different-colored flashlights at the same time. Suddenly, you can no longer tell which light is coming from your gemstone, which light is from another flashlight or which light is coming from a reflection off another unknown object. That is what echolocation with multiple, overlapping frequencies would be like. But now, imagine if every person in the cave were using a flashlight of the same color. The glint from the gemstone would be much easier to see. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-noise-horseshoe-echolocation-behavior-colonies.html Plants & Animals Fri, 24 Jul 2026 14:20:04 EDT news704117701 If you look up invasive species in a textbook, there's a good chance you'll find a picture of a brown tree snake. Native to Australia and the South Pacific, the brown tree snake arrived on Guam sometime after World War II, possibly by stowing away aboard cargo planes. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-inbred-brown-tree-snakes-island.html Ecology Fri, 24 Jul 2026 14:00:07 EDT news704023681 Birdsong carries meaning across open space, helping birds attract mates, defend territory and communicate with rivals. While there has been much research into the use of birdsong across species, researchers have lacked a single global framework that explains birdsong complexity and how it differs from place to place. But now, in a study recently published in Science, a group of researchers in France have analyzed more than 116,000 bird songs from 3,160 passerine species around the world, allowing them to identify eight common motifs and explain differences in birdsong. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-birdsong-differs-world-motifs.html Plants & Animals Fri, 24 Jul 2026 12:50:02 EDT news704113567 The number of chicks in the Coulman Island emperor penguin colony decreased by about 69% in 2025 compared with 2024, according to research published in Communications Earth & Environment. The authors suggest that a large iceberg, which grounded off the island between July 2025 and January 2026, likely restricted the colony's access to important foraging areas, demonstrating that individual iceberg movements may affect breeding success even when overall sea ice conditions appear favorable. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-iceberg-emperor-penguins-coulman-island.html Plants & Animals Thu, 23 Jul 2026 21:20:03 EDT news704037595 In mammals, males are usually stronger and more competitive than females. Males also show greater inequality in reproductive success—the number of offspring they produce—than females. In spotted hyenas, the opposite is true: Reproductive inequality is greater among females than males. The reason? Female spotted hyenas pass on their social rank and the associated privileges, such as priority access to food, to their offspring, whereas males do not. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-mothers-winners-alpha-female-lineages.html Evolution Thu, 23 Jul 2026 18:50:02 EDT news704046361 Plant diversity has long been regarded as key to stable and resilient ecosystems. However, until now, little has been understood about why it has different effects in agricultural areas than in grasslands or forests. An international research group, in which the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) played a leading role, has now investigated this question for the first time on a global scale. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-diversity-boosts-natural-pest-farms.html Ecology Thu, 23 Jul 2026 18:10:02 EDT news704044141 New research from the University of St Andrews and Université de Neuchâtel has uncovered the mechanism that allows sperm whales to sleep in a unique vertical position just under the ocean surface. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-sperm-whales-restful-vertical.html Plants & Animals Thu, 23 Jul 2026 18:00:04 EDT news703932062