https://phys.org/biology-news/plants-animals/ en-us The latest science news on plants and animals Finding highly venomous box jellyfish that are almost invisible in water is not an easy task—but researching them is crucial so that we can learn how to safely avoid them. Stings from these "sea-wasps" are extremely painful and can be fatal. Knowing more about box jellyfish helps us know where to expect them, when to expect them, and how we can minimize the risk of encountering them while out for what should be a pleasant swim. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-species-venomous-jellyfish-singapore.html Plants & Animals Fri, 15 May 2026 08:49:22 EDT news698053742 Even large and conspicuous insects remain unknown to science. This is highlighted by a new study from the Natural History Museum Denmark, where researchers have discovered and described 61 new species within the rove beetle genus Platydracus. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-beetle-species-reveal-biodiversity.html Plants & Animals Fri, 15 May 2026 08:44:26 EDT news698053441 How people view and treat wild animals can vary dramatically from one part of the world to another. In the first international study of wildlife values, research led by Colorado State University found a distinct difference between Latin American views toward wildlife and those in the United States and Canada—and traced the divergence in views to European colonization centuries ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-colonial-roots-north-latin-america.html Plants & Animals Fri, 15 May 2026 05:00:06 EDT news697977241 A new approach to better assessing whale population data has emerged, led by a research team of marine biologists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and statisticians from Cal Poly. Scientists typically monitor whale presence through a variety of traditional methods such as visual surveys, photo identification, acoustic monitoring, satellite imagery, and increasingly, genomic methods. But monitoring can be challenging due to a wide-ranging migration area and intermittent surface pop-ups, among other difficulties. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tiny-ocean-life-scientists-whale.html Plants & Animals Thu, 14 May 2026 17:00:55 EDT news697996801 Many male hoverflies have bigger eyes than females, giving them the advantage of better optics and faster photoreceptors in high-speed pursuits to find a preferred partner to breed. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-sex-differences-hoverfly-eyes-insight.html Plants & Animals Thu, 14 May 2026 12:16:50 EDT news697979761 Researchers have developed an autonomous system for seeking out and mapping hotspots of biodiversity on coral reefs with unprecedented precision, offering a powerful new tool for studying and protecting some of the ocean's most valuable ecosystems. The work, published in Science Robotics, demonstrates how combining audio and visual data in a single autonomous system can reveal where marine life concentrates and why. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-autonomous-underwater-robot-hidden-coral.html Plants & Animals Thu, 14 May 2026 11:20:01 EDT news697975468 Swimming among the corals of the Great Barrier Reef is a fish that could be a doppelganger for the famous Sesame Street character Mr. Snuffleupagus. This bright orange-red, hairy, long-snouted ghost pipefish is a new species that has been hiding in plain sight for years, often confused with other ghost pipefish. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-hairy-fish-species-great-barrier.html Plants & Animals Thu, 14 May 2026 09:20:04 EDT news697967512 Have you ever wondered how a fly manages to dodge you in a split second? Scientists have long been fascinated by the lightning-fast reflexes that help flies escape danger almost instantly. But despite decades of research, they still don't fully understand exactly how the brain coordinates these rapid reactions at the level of individual neural connections. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-flies-dodge-fast-brain-reveals.html Plants & Animals Wed, 13 May 2026 16:00:04 EDT news697905726 Storm petrels are among the smallest and most mysterious seabirds. Until recently, the use of biologgers to track their movements was impossible. A new study published in Biology Letters reveals that they routinely travel hundreds of kilometers while deliberately seeking crosswinds, an unexpected strategy that slows their flight but may help them survive above the open ocean. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-small-seabirds-crosswinds-ocean.html Plants & Animals Wed, 13 May 2026 14:46:44 EDT news697902362 In many primate species, males are much larger than their female counterparts, which is generally attributed to male competition for mates (sexual selection). But bigger bodies may not just be about alpha males defeating rivals. They could also come about because of competition between neighboring social groups, according to a new study published in the journal Biology Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-rivalry-neighboring-groups-key-driver.html Plants & Animals Wed, 13 May 2026 10:30:01 EDT news697886163 Harbor porpoises were once found across a much wider area of the Baltic Sea than they are today, including regions where they are now rare or absent. This is shown in a new study that uses centuries-old Swedish newspapers to reconstruct past distribution patterns. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-newspapers-track-porpoise-populations-baltic.html Plants & Animals Tue, 12 May 2026 19:40:05 EDT news697817161 Beneath the tropical trees of southern Mexico, enormous shoals of sulfur mollies blanket the water surface of toxic sulfur springs, where survival depends on collective defense against relentless attacks from predatory birds. The tiny fish survive attacks of birds through creating spectacular collective waves. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-shoal-memory-predator-prey-arms.html Plants & Animals Tue, 12 May 2026 19:10:07 EDT news697796582 Human childbirth is commonly viewed as uniquely difficult and dangerous. The reason: The combination of bipedalism and large brains creates a tight fit between the baby and the birth canal. Research at the University of Vienna has now shown that many other mammals—from domestic livestock to wild species—face similar birth problems and mortality. In some species, these complications even occur as often as in some human populations, such as hunter-gatherers without modern medical care. The findings suggest that difficult childbirth is not uniquely human. The study is published in Biological Reviews. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-human-childbirth-uniquely-difficult-mammals.html Plants & Animals Tue, 12 May 2026 17:30:01 EDT news697821182 Although about half of primate species play as adults with other adults, a team of international researchers has just unlocked a key factor in the reason why some don't. The answer lies in the type of society in which the animals live. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-despotic-primate-societies-rarely-play.html Plants & Animals Tue, 12 May 2026 16:40:02 EDT news697815339 Plant roots are far more than simple absorption organs: they can adjust their structure to better cope with water stress. Scientists at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with the University of Lausanne (UNIL), studied 284 natural varieties of Arabidopsis thaliana and discovered that the amount and distribution of suberin—a protective barrier deposited in roots—vary according to geographic origin and climate. The researchers also identified a new gene regulating suberin that is linked to the water-stress hormone. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-roots-reveal-climate-varieties-reshape.html Plants & Animals Tue, 12 May 2026 13:20:14 EDT news697802140 Experiences in the first days and weeks of life can have a profound impact on humans—and birds. A new study led by Sage Madden, a graduate student in evolution and ecology at the University of California, Davis, shows how weather conditions and family dynamics affect the growth of barn swallow (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster) chicks. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-baby-bird-mild-weather-attentive.html Plants & Animals Tue, 12 May 2026 12:20:07 EDT news697797325 Extreme weather poses a big threat to birds. Yet there is a lack of both knowledge and methods for measuring its negative effects. In a new study published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, researchers from Lund University in Sweden have identified knowledge gaps and propose practical tools for analyzing the risks to birds. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-birds.html Plants & Animals Tue, 12 May 2026 11:40:09 EDT news697799103 Firework shows are controversial in this day and age. While beautiful, fireworks are loud, bright, and smoky, and they can be dangerous to the surrounding environment, releasing contaminants into the air and frightening both pets and wildlife alike. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-brown-fireworks.html Plants & Animals Tue, 12 May 2026 10:20:09 EDT news697707301 Look up at the clouds. What do you see? A sailboat? A seahorse? Your great-aunt Rosemary? As humans, we're prone to seeing patterns where they don't actually exist. This behavior is so common there's a name for it: apophenia. But sometimes, those patterns really do exist. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Associate Professor Saket Navlakha specializes in finding them. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-nature-algorithm-chinese-money.html Plants & Animals Tue, 12 May 2026 09:40:07 EDT news697794232 Mice do more than just squeak when they want to make a noise. They can also sing. And the way they do it is different from most mammals that produce sounds by vibrating their vocal cords. When Alston's singing mouse (Scotinomys teguina) makes its music, it does so by puffing up an air sac in its throat. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-mice-inflatable-air-sacs.html Plants & Animals Tue, 12 May 2026 09:30:18 EDT news697796976 Ever felt like mosquitoes bite you while ignoring everyone else? Scientists are now making progress in deciphering the complex chemical cocktail that makes particular people more enticing to these disease-spreading bloodsuckers. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-people-mosquito-magnets-clues-emerging.html Plants & Animals Tue, 12 May 2026 05:09:51 EDT news697781303 Invasive woody plants present a major ecological challenge in eastern U.S. forests by outcompeting native species and spreading quickly, forming dense thickets that crowd out native plants and disrupt ecosystems. Land managers have tried, with some success, to use prescribed fire to kill them, but is it effective? Researchers at Penn State reported mixed results when it comes to two of the most aggressive colonizers across North American landscapes: burning bush and border privet. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-invasive-shrubs-resprout-die.html Plants & Animals Mon, 11 May 2026 20:40:01 EDT news697734301 When the Atlantic herring colonized the Baltic Sea thousands of years ago, it needed to adapt to the low salinity. Genes with a vital role in the functioning of sperm, eggs and embryos were crucial to this adaptation. A new study by researchers from Uppsala University and other institutions, published in the journal PNAS, shows that mutations in four specific genes were particularly important. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-atlantic-herring-brackish-baltic-sea.html Plants & Animals Mon, 11 May 2026 15:00:04 EDT news697719117 We are all born completely helpless, with little of the knowledge and skills we will need to survive as adults. Even our ability to communicate is almost entirely learned from our parents or caregivers. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-birds-babies-humans-zebra-finches.html Plants & Animals Mon, 11 May 2026 13:00:05 EDT news697718342 For more than a decade, conservation biologist Steve Boyes searched for "ghost elephants"—nocturnal giants rumored to roam a remote, high-altitude wetland in eastern Angola. When a motion-sensor camera finally captured their image in 2024, Boyes turned to Stanford scientists for help answering a deeper question: Who are these elephants, and where did they come from? https://phys.org/news/2026-05-genetics-link-angola-ghost-elephants.html Plants & Animals Sat, 09 May 2026 09:00:03 EDT news697281772 Metamorphosis, that profound transformation enabling certain animals to shift between habitats such as from an aquatic to a terrestrial environment, is generally viewed in terms of its benefits. A team of researchers from the University of Liège has now demonstrated that it also entails a direct and immediate cost for the individuals undergoing it, a cost that varies by sex and could influence long-term evolutionary trade-offs. The study is published in the journal BMC Biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-metamorphosis-newts-sex-paying-heavier.html Plants & Animals Fri, 08 May 2026 13:40:07 EDT news697464901 Male strepsipterans develop inside a host insect during their larval stage and, upon reaching the adult stage, emerge from the host body to begin a free-living phase. In a new study, researchers at University of Tsukuba directly observed the emergence behavior of male strepsipterans parasitizing stink bugs, where emergence sites are concealed beneath the host's wings, and found that, during emergence, the host exhibits a characteristic wing-raising behavior. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-infected-bugs-wings-hidden-parasite.html Plants & Animals Fri, 08 May 2026 12:20:05 EDT news697460941 When an asteroid as big as Mount Everest struck Earth 66 million years ago, it wiped out all non-avian dinosaurs and roughly a third of life on the planet. But many plants survived the devastation. In a new study published in Cell, researchers reveal that the accidental duplications of genomes—a natural phenomenon—might have helped many flowering plants survive some of the most extreme environmental upheavals in Earth's history. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-survived-dinosaur-asteroid-duplicating-genomes.html Plants & Animals Fri, 08 May 2026 11:00:03 EDT news697367702 Male bumblebees are more active and flexible in behavior than female bees, new University of Chester–led research has found, after creating tasks to analyze how the insects explore, recognize colors and learn to earn rewards. The study by researchers from the University of Chester in collaboration with Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK Ltd (Deeside), Newcastle University and the University of Sheffield has highlighted how the different roles of female workers and male drones shape their behavior and ability to change in new surroundings. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-task-male-bumblebees.html Plants & Animals Fri, 08 May 2026 10:20:01 EDT news697454281 A carnivorous fruit fly living in bubbling African streams may sound like a fever dream. However, with the help of DNA analysis of a pinned insect from a museum in Zurich, researchers have managed to draw an evolutionary map of a mysterious species that has not been seen since 1981. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-strange-fruit-fly-bloodthirsty-underwater.html Plants & Animals Fri, 08 May 2026 09:40:12 EDT news697450561