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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Sperm whales produce powerful clicks to communicate. To our ears, they sound nothing more than a series of repetitive, mechanical taps. But we could be a step closer to understanding some of their complex communication, as scientists have discovered that the large marine mammals organize their sounds in patterns similar to those of human speech. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-sperm-whale-clicks-similar-human.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:50:01 EDT news695468227 Research published in Nature Water found that widespread application of the common farm fertilizer, urea, severely degrades water quality in the Canadian Prairies. Researchers at the University of Manitoba and the University of Regina added urea to farm ponds to simulate the effects of agricultural fertilization in the southern Prairies. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-safe-fertilizer-linked-extreme-quality.html Ecology Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:40:04 EDT news695461502 Animal communication can look wildly different—flashing lights, chirping calls, croaking songs and elaborate dances. But new research from Northwestern University suggests many of these signals share a surprising feature: They repeat at nearly the same tempo. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-nature-universal-rhythm.html Ecology Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:20:09 EDT news695461382 Drought significantly reduces the reproductive success of bumblebee colonies, according to a new study conducted by a research team at the University of Würzburg and published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. This also has consequences for plant pollination. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-drought-heavy-toll-bumblebees.html Plants & Animals Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:00:01 EDT news695461261 Rice has historically been a heat-loving plant. In fact, the wild ancestor of cultivated rice once grew primarily on the sweltering, rain-swept Malay and Indochina peninsulas as well as the islands of Southeast Asia. It wasn't until Earth's climate warmed after the last ice age that wild rice substantially spread into central China and South Asia, where it was independently domesticated by humans in two events that arguably rank among the most important in the history of our species. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-years-cultivation-rice-thermal-limit.html Ecology Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:50:01 EDT news695403721 Research by microbiologists Reinier Egas and Cornelia Welte of Radboud University shows that many methane-consuming microorganisms actually prefer carbon monoxide over methane. When carbon monoxide is present, they consume far less methane. This suggests that in carbon monoxide–rich environments, more methane may be released from the soil into the atmosphere. The paper is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-picky-methane-consuming-microorganisms-carbon.html Ecology Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:00:05 EDT news695388781 Whether it is the climate, beaches, or simply being away from the hustle and bustle, island cultures around the world often do things differently to the mainland. It turns out this phenomenon isn't unique to humans. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-island-songbirds-music-culture.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:40:02 EDT news695385543 Bonobos are often described as gentle apes, generally calm primates that are seen as peacemakers in the animal kingdom. But this reputation may be coming under attack as a new study published in Scientific Reports reveals that wild bonobos may engage in group aggression that is more dangerous than previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-bonobos-peaceful-reputation-rival-group.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:50:02 EDT news695381629 What do bats do at night when they're not hunting? Using tiny GPS trackers, Leiden researchers discovered that pond bats spend a substantial portion of the night resting—often outdoors. This surprising insight could change the way we protect them. "To rest or to roam: Functional habitat use of an insectivorous bat species during active and resting behavior" is published in Biological Conservation. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tracking-secret-life-pond.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Apr 2026 09:20:04 EDT news695374561 A new study has shown that whale calls are reduced by as much as 50% in response to seismic surveys, which are commonly used to find oil and gas reserves. Researchers are worried that such surveys could impact vulnerable marine species, which rely on sound for communication, navigation, and foraging. The paper, published in Scientific Reports, reveals how fin whale calls dropped dramatically along a key migratory corridor off northwestern Spain during seismic surveying. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-whales-quiet-noisy-underwater-surveys.html Plants & Animals Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:40:01 EDT news695374441 To save money, Rachel Fordyce parked her car for free at Ithaca's East Hill Plaza and walked through East Lawn Cemetery to her job as a technician in an entomology lab on Cornell's campus. One spring day in 2022, she walked in to work with a jar full of bees. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-beneath-cemetery-million-wild-bees.html Ecology Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:20:03 EDT news695305361 Ants are known for many things. They fight, bite and sometimes compete for every crumb. We can now possibly add cleaning services to that list, according to a study published in the journal Ecology and Evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-arizona-tiny-ants-hygienists-climbing.html Plants & Animals Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:20:04 EDT news695296823 Common human painkillers also work on Norway lobsters, according to research from the University of Gothenburg. This is further evidence that crustaceans may feel pain and that more humane methods of killing them need to be developed. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-painkillers-pain-responses-norway-lobsters.html Plants & Animals Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:20:02 EDT news695289050 Beans of the cacao plant, Theobroma cacao, are used in chocolates, pharmaceuticals and other products, but they're under threat. Increased drought associated with climate change has already begun to stress cacao-growing regions of Colombia and other countries, and models predict it will get worse. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-cacti-fungal-endophytes-cacao-tolerate.html Ecology Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:00:05 EDT news695030941 A large-scale experiment shows that warmth brings bees and wasps out of hibernation earlier—leaving some of them with poorer starting conditions. This is particularly true for species in cooler regions that emerge during spring. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-global-hatching-bees-wasps.html Plants & Animals Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:40:01 EDT news695288341 Gray whales migrate from Arctic waters full of food to the lagoons of Baja Mexico—but as the climate crisis gathers pace, they have been sighted foraging in unexpected places. Recently, some have begun to explore the dangerously busy waters of San Francisco Bay. Scientists at the Marine Mammal Center and the California Academy of Sciences investigating an unexpectedly high death toll among gray whales have found that almost 20% of individuals seen entering the Bay died there, in large part due to boat strikes. The team's study appears in Frontiers in Marine Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-gray-whales-san-francisco-bay.html Plants & Animals Mon, 13 Apr 2026 00:00:04 EDT news694964761