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…
Science tells us invasive species — like the spotted tilapia — are always on the move, making it difficult for scientists to simulate their spread and predict where they will go next. Researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences took a deep dive to understand why certain locations are more…
For generations, Lars Miguel Utsi’s family has lived in the small town of Jokkmokk in northern Sweden, where reindeer husbandry is a way of life. In a part of the world where most of us would see just an endless expanse of white snow, Utsi perceives the landscape in intricate detail, recognizing subtle features of…
How fruit flies mate may hold a key to limiting the spread of diseases by mosquitoes. In a new study, University of Iowa researchers found a gene that orchestrates the antenna movements of female fruit flies, which is central for them to detect the unique sound produced by prospective male mates. That gene, the Iowa…