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The basis of the marine food web in the Arctic, the phytoplankton, responds to heat waves much differently than to constantly elevated temperatures. This has been found by the first targeted experiments on the topic, which were recently conducted at the Alfred Wegener Institute's AWIPEV Station. The phytoplankton's behavior primarily depends on the cooling phases after or between heat waves, as shown in a...

Scattered across the Penobscot Experimental Forest are veritable treasure troves for its denizens, each containing riches beyond comprehension. These caches do not contain gold or jewels—they're filled with eastern white pine seeds and were placed by a team of researchers at the University of Maine for one purpose: to catch furry thieves red-handed.

Considerable progress has been made in curbing the trade of big cat-derived products in South Korea, but some illegal trade remains, reports a new study led by a UCL researcher.

Marine microbes control the flux of matter and energy essential for life in the oceans. Among them, the bacterial group SAR11 accounts for about a third of all the bacteria found in surface ocean waters.

Sea otters are one of the few animals that use tools to access their food, and a new study has found that individual sea otters that use tools—most of whom are female—are able to eat larger prey and reduce tooth damage when their preferred prey becomes depleted.

Many organisms are far more complex than just a single species. Humans, for example, are full of a variety of microbes. Some creatures have even more special connections, though.

A University of Rhode Island oceanographer leading her first research cruise in the southern Pacific uncovered a surprise when her vessel looked below the waters in the Polynesian nation of Tonga.

Georgia's saltwater marshes—living where the land meets the ocean—stretch along the state's entire 100-mile coastline. These rich ecosystems are largely dominated by just one plant: grass.

Even in dry times, Waller Creek on The University of Texas at Austin campus is never without water. That's because a significant portion of the water that flows through it—anywhere from 25% to 50%—can be traced to wastewater from leaky city pipes.

Bee and butterfly populations are in decline in major regions of North America due to ongoing environmental change, and significant gaps in pollinator research limit our ability to protect these species, according to a study published May 15, 2024, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Sara Souther of Northern Arizona University, US, and colleagues.

Researchers from Project CETI (Cetacean Translation Initiative) and collaborating institutions have developed a method to investigate sperm whale communication by determining their vocal style, finding that groups living in close proximity can develop similar styles to each other.

The baobab (Adansonia) is a genus of trees with eight currently extant species and a long history of humans marveling at them. For as much admiration as the baobabs get, there is an equal amount of mystery surrounding their origin.

An emperor penguin's sex determines the nature of their courtship call—male vocalizations are composed of long, slow bursts with lower frequency tones than the female version. But calls of SeaWorld San Diego male penguin E-79 caught the attention of researchers by defying this binary. Also unusual was this penguin's male companion, E-81. The pair "kept company" and sometimes exhibited ritual courtship displays.

Researchers have found that heavily used shipping lanes pass through crucial whale shark feeding grounds, posing a threat to this endangered species.

Scientists are one step closer to combating coral-destroying crown-of-thorns starfish, following a University of Queensland study into the pest's genetics.

Bats, as the main predator of night-flying insects, create a selective pressure that has led many of their prey to evolve an early warning system of sorts: ears uniquely tuned to high-frequency bat echolocation. To date, scientists have found at least six orders of insects—including moths, beetles, crickets and grasshoppers—that have evolved ears capable of detecting ultrasound.

Resistance to antibiotics has been found in the environment across Scotland, according to a new international study involving Strathclyde.

In a study published in PeerJ, scientists have revealed the intricate vocal patterns of Bornean orangutans, shedding new light on the complexities of their communication. Titled "Vocal Complexity in the Long Calls of Bornean Orangutans," the research, led by Dr. Wendy Erb from the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, unveils the remarkable diversity and variability within...

Researchers say the discovery of very high genetic diversity in leopards found in the Highveld region of South Africa has increased the need for conservation efforts to protect leopards in the country.

Capuchin monkeys are omnivores whose diet in the wild may include buds, flowers, leaves, seeds, nuts, fruit, and berries; as well as birds, eggs, small mammals, mollusks and arthropods such as insects and spiders.

Grass, clover and herbs are the foundation of Swiss agriculture: Two-thirds of Switzerland's agricultural land is grassland, much of which is barely suitable for arable farming. Vast areas of grassland are to be found primarily in the foothills of the Alps, in the Alps themselves and in the Jura Mountains. And grassland, in turn, is the basis for Swiss dairy and meat production.

The silver croaker (Plagioscion squamosissimus), a fish native to the Amazon (corvina or pescada-branca in Portuguese), is the most probable cause of a sharp fall in the diversity of native species in the Jaguari reservoir, the Jaguari River and Rio do Peixe, all of which are part of the Cantareira Water Production System and the Paraíba do Sul Basin in São Paulo state, Brazil.

The Giant Hummingbird of western South America is not one species but two, according to an international group of researchers. The northern population stays in the high Andes year-round while the southern population migrates from sea level up to 14,000 feet for the nonbreeding months. The two species appear identical. But looks deceive—their genomes and behaviors tell a different story.

Suddenly they appear, and like the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, can trigger major epidemics: Viruses that nobody had on their radar. They are not really new, but they have changed genetically. In particular, the exchange of genetic material between different virus species can lead to the sudden emergence of threatening pathogens with significantly altered characteristics.