https://phys.org/biology-news/ecology/ en-us The latest science and research news on ecology Researchers have identified two new species in the genus Bogidiella, small shrimp-like amphipods that live in subterranean aquatic environments, from cave waters on the Ryukyu Islands, a subtropical island chain in southwestern Japan. These creatures are clear products of their underground aquatic environment, often lacking pigmentation and eyes, with elongated appendages and reduced swimming legs, called pleopods. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-eyeless-shrimp-species-japan-groundwater.html Plants & Animals Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:00:01 EDT news706175761 Four more belugas have arrived at a Chicago aquarium as part of a plan to move Canada's last remaining captive whales from a shuttered theme park to aquariums in the United States and Spain. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-belugas-chicago-aquarium-shuttered-canadian.html Ecology Sat, 15 Aug 2026 07:40:02 EDT news705983202 In ant colonies, a single ant can be the catalyst for a wave of mob activity, launching brief bursts of coordinated movement involving hundreds or even thousands of swarming workers, according to new simulations from New Jersey Institute of Technology. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-scientists-simulating-ant-swarms-mover.html Ecology Sat, 15 Aug 2026 07:00:03 EDT news705724257 More than 40 years after the end of commercial whaling, new research reveals a recent increase in sightings of the world's two largest whale species in the southeastern Atlantic. The findings, published in the African Journal of Marine Science, compiled more than 60 years of confirmed sightings and strandings from Namibia and South Africa's west coast. Although overall numbers remain low, sightings of both species have increased markedly in recent years—with 95% of observations recorded since 2012. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-commercial-whaling-erased-blue-fin.html Plants & Animals Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:01 EDT news695381581 Decades of climate change have not left Europe's mountain vegetation unscathed. However, the changes observed do not always match expectations. As a new international study by a research team led by researchers from the University of Vienna, the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the BOKU University shows, alpine vegetation has shifted significantly towards warmth-associated species. However, the direct link between this so-called thermophilization and local warming is surprisingly weak. The study has recently been published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-europe-mountain-summits-vegetation-ways.html Evolution Fri, 14 Aug 2026 18:00:01 EDT news705935104 A host that sheds an abundance of parasites might seem like an obvious disease-spreading threat. But new research suggests that shedding large volumes of parasites does not dictate transmission efficiency—and "super-shedders" may not be the superspreaders of infectious disease outbreaks. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-quality-quantity-super-shedders-superspreaders.html Ecology Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:40:01 EDT news705916929 How many sharks should a coral reef have? It sounds like a simple question, but almost nowhere on Earth is there a reef that has not at some time been fished or otherwise affected by humans, so there is no yardstick against which to measure what has been lost or what recovery would look like. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-oceans-country-sharks-prehistoric-pacific.html Ecology Thu, 13 Aug 2026 19:40:01 EDT news705856143 Scientists from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador officially described Pristimantis milpe, an abundant and widely distributed species that had been confused with another species for more than a century. To solve the mystery, researchers reviewed historical specimens collected in Ecuador during the 19th century and preserved at the Natural History Museum in London. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-mystery-london-discovery-ecuadorian-frog.html Plants & Animals Thu, 13 Aug 2026 17:20:04 EDT news705846001 If you want to know how rapidly pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere will affect future forest ecosystems, you have to look into the distant past. The researchers behind a new study published in Science have done just that, reconstructing the forest canopy of 56 million years ago, during a massive and abrupt emission of carbon into the atmosphere during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). For the first time, the study's authors used fossilized leaf cells to reconstruct the tree canopy of the PETM, Earth's most recent period of comparable global warming, with chilling implications for our near future. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-paleontologists-reconstruct-forests-million-years.html Ecology Thu, 13 Aug 2026 14:00:06 EDT news705678121 An international team of researchers from Belgium, France, Switzerland, Spain and the U.S. has reconstructed the evolution of body mass in carnivorous mammals during the Paleogene—a crucial window in the diversification of mammals that followed the extinction of dinosaurs. This work, published in Biology Letters, challenges the long-standing hypothesis that competition decided the fate of ancient top predators. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-climate-predator-million-years.html Ecology Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:40:03 EDT news705841742 Some of Earth's oldest living organisms may be right beneath our feet: not ancient trees or coral reefs but fungi. Yet despite their ubiquity and importance, scientists still don't know how long most fungi can live—or even how to define their age. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fungal-age-elusive-underground-networks.html Ecology Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:00:09 EDT news705656522 Why do two individuals faced with the same information sometimes make completely different decisions? It is a question made famous by Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, whose book "Thinking, Fast and Slow" explored the contrast between rapid, intuitive decisions and slower, more deliberative thinking in humans. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fast-wild-fish-reveal-cognition.html Evolution Thu, 13 Aug 2026 10:40:02 EDT news705832989 Long before humans discovered biodegradable plastics, microorganisms had already invented their own. Many bacteria and archaea produce natural bioplastics called polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), storing them inside their cells as reserves of carbon and energy. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nature-bioplastic-fed-animals-hundreds.html Evolution Thu, 13 Aug 2026 05:00:01 EDT news705655861 The severe, drought-fueled fires now burning across much of the American West and Canada may be scorching forests so thoroughly that they cannot recover to the forests they once were, new research shows. A study by Colorado State University, Western Colorado University and others found that the fastest-moving forest fires not only burn more area but also burn more severely, leaving fewer surviving trees to reseed the landscape and opening the door to different species and vegetation types. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fast-wildfires-western-forests-recovering.html Ecology Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:50:01 EDT news705772441 For many people, the fear of venomous snakes is linked to one thing: pain. Yet new research led by scientists at Bangor University suggests that, for Europe's vipers, at least, causing pain may never have been a driving force in the evolution of their venom. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-pain-isnt-european-viper-venoms.html Evolution Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:40:05 EDT news705757441 The DNA of Asian elephants tells a concerning story. Although all four subspecies are under pressure, there are considerable differences in their genetic health. In an article published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution, researchers show how whole-genome analyses can help identify more precisely which populations are most vulnerable and where conservation measures could have the greatest impact. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dna-highlights-genetic-vulnerability-asian.html Ecology Wed, 12 Aug 2026 16:50:02 EDT news705755261 Scorching heat waves, severe cold snaps and other extreme weather events are limiting where species can exist—and affecting biodiversity estimates—for more than 500 North American bird species, according to a new, Yale–led study. The issue is particularly acute in the Great Plains and southwestern regions of the United States, where species ranges and total species counts are significantly overestimated when variable and extreme weather are not considered, the study says. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-severe-weather-key-predictor-bird.html Ecology Wed, 12 Aug 2026 16:40:06 EDT news705755761 Scientists from Brazil and other countries have discovered a new species of frog in the flooded forests of the western Amazon. They named it Adenomera varcena. This finding significantly advances our understanding of Amazonian biodiversity and cryptic diversity, or cases in which two or more animals appear identical but are actually different species. To distinguish this species, the researchers analyzed details such as the frog's call and DNA. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-frog-species-amazon-forests.html Plants & Animals Wed, 12 Aug 2026 15:10:04 EDT news705765001 For thousands of years, the Anindilyakwa people have lived in deep connection with the waters surrounding Groote Eylandt, a remote island in the Gulf of Carpentaria. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-rangers-scientists-vulnerable-reefs-remote.html Plants & Animals Wed, 12 Aug 2026 14:00:01 EDT news705671161 From the American West to Europe, droughts are drying up rivers, fueling destructive fires and reshaping ecosystems. They are also changing the spread of infectious diseases, leading to surges in illnesses like cholera and West Nile virus around the world. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-drought-reshaping-infectious-diseases.html Ecology Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:00:11 EDT news705749461 Tropical forests store enormous amounts of carbon and harbor most of the world's terrestrial biodiversity, but scientists fear that increasingly severe droughts threaten their ability to survive and continue absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. A new study published in Nature offers unexpected hope, however, and shows that tropical trees may be more adaptable to drought than scientists had previously believed. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tropical-trees-unexpected-drought-puerto.html Plants & Animals Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:00:10 EDT news705656761 Much like an indecisive single person on a dating app, female treefrogs struggle to pick the most desirable mates when they have too many options to choose from. According to a new study published Aug. 12 in the journal iScience, when female Cope's gray treefrogs gather around ponds during mating season to listen to large groups of males chirping in noisy "choruses," they struggle to pick the most desirable male. The researchers call this phenomenon "choice overload," and it may affect the way species evolve over time. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-male-suitors-abound-female-treefrogs.html Plants & Animals Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:00:01 EDT news705588684 In a rare study of snakes as nest predators, scientists found nesting birds were loath to strike rattlesnakes even though they likely had no previous experience with vipers. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-unfamiliar-rattlesnakes-blackbirds-defending.html Plants & Animals Wed, 12 Aug 2026 10:40:03 EDT news705745921 Bumblebees are able to learn to associate new odors with their colony's queen, instead of being preprogrammed to recognize the queen's pheromones from birth, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State. For the study, published in the journal Communications Biology, the researchers treated buff-tailed bumblebee queens daily with one of two different floral scents as they built their colonies. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bumblebees-associate-queen.html Ecology Wed, 12 Aug 2026 08:40:03 EDT news705742562 Nearly 30 years ago, a simple question sent University of Washington researchers into the Puget Sound lowlands to look for birds. With Seattle's population swelling and housing developments pushing into once-forested suburbs, researchers wanted to know how land conversion was affecting birds and whether the type of development mattered. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-decade-seattle-suburbs-sensitive-bird.html Plants & Animals Tue, 11 Aug 2026 16:10:01 EDT news705680222 Platypuses rescued during a severe drought quickly returned to their old routines after being released back into the wild, suggesting emergency rescues can help protect vulnerable populations. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-platypuses-quickly-months-captivity.html Plants & Animals Tue, 11 Aug 2026 11:20:03 EDT news705663603 Humans trust dogs to help find missing people, and bees to pollinate their crops. But scientists still don't fully understand how these animals use their extraordinary sense of smell to locate the source of an odor. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-decoding-reveals-odor.html Ecology Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:20:05 EDT news705657481 The genetic diversity of the largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis), a critically endangered ray, has plummeted over the past century and a half, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. The species once lived in tropical waters worldwide but has disappeared from much of its former range. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-historical-dna-reveals-largetooth-sawfish.html Ecology Tue, 11 Aug 2026 08:00:04 EDT news705585534 In the coastal forests of a tropical Japanese island near Okinawa grows an inconspicuous plant that is easy to mistake for a mushroom. It is a non-green parasite that feeds on the roots of other plants and produces up to 1 million tiny seeds, each covered in a minuscule, dry fruit. The seeds, in particular, present a mystery to scientists: How do they get dispersed? https://phys.org/news/2026-08-secret-gardeners-parasitic.html Plants & Animals Tue, 11 Aug 2026 06:00:01 EDT news705585324 Combining drone data and machine learning can help cover more ground in monitoring forest soil health, University of Alberta research shows. The findings are published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management. Using both tools to map and monitor soil fungal diversity—a key indicator of a healthy forest ecosystem—proved highly effective and could help reduce the need for boots-on-the-ground soil sampling over huge areas of forest, says Dr. Cameron Carlyle, a professor in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences and a co-author of the study. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-machine-forest-soil-fungal-diversity.html Ecology Mon, 10 Aug 2026 19:40:02 EDT news705600242