Listen to the sounds three different plants might make if they were stressed Animals react to sounds being made by plants, new research suggests, opening up the possibility that an invisible ecosystem might exist between them. In the first ever such evidence, a team at Tel Aviv University found that female moths avoided laying their…
Quarter-sized white button mushrooms, which are typically found on pizza slices and in grocery produce aisles, are close relatives of what some consider the world’s largest organism. Their cousin? A single, massive organism, Armillaria ostoyae, is located in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest. Also known as the “humongous fungus,” many experts consider this vast honey mushroom…
Two major environmental shifts have triggered global transformations in large herbivore communities. A new study with researchers from the University of Gothenburg show how these ecosystems remained remarkably resilient despite extinction and upheaval. From mastodons to ancient rhinos and giant deer, large herbivores have been shaping Earth’s landscapes for millions of years. A new study,…
When trees and soil fungi form close associations with each other, both partners benefit. Many tree species have further enhanced this cooperation by forming a concurrent symbiosis with two different groups of mycorrhizal fungi. Those trees cope better with water and nutrient scarcity, which is an important trait for forestry in the face of climate…
The number of species does not increase evenly when going from local ecosystems to continental scales – a phenomenon ecologists have recognised for decades. Now, an international team of scientists, including researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), has developed a new theory to explain…
A novel paper led by Dr Ulrich Brose of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena is widening understanding of how species interact within ecosystems via the so-called “Internet of Nature.” Published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, the paper reveals that species not only exchange matter and energy…
A team of ecologists from The University of Hong Kong (HKU) are leading an international initiative to investigate the decline of insect populations in the world’s tropical forests. Insects, the most abundant and diverse group of animals on Earth, are experiencing alarming declines, prompting this research effort. The team’s work has earned them an invitation…
Scientists say the wolves, who go from flower to flower, may be the 1st-known large carnivore pollinators Ethiopian wolves like to feast on flower nectar, study finds Ethiopian wolves may be carnivores, but new research suggests they supplement their diet with the sweet, sticky nectar of native flowers. The sleek predators of the Ethiopian highlands have been observed…
Tiny, cold-blooded animals like flies depend on their environment to regulate body temperature, making them ideal “canaries in the mine” for gauging the impact of climate change on the behavior and distribution of animal species. Yet, scientists know relatively little about how insects sense and respond to temperature. Using two species of flies from different…
Some efforts to preserve or rewild natural habitats are shifting harmful land use to other parts of the world – and this could drive an even steeper decline in the planet’s species, according to a team of conservation scientists and economists led by the University of Cambridge. Researchers from over a dozen institutions worldwide have…