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Researchers have published a comprehensive study on the significance of species differences for the most central cell maintenance mechanisms. The researchers used the brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and the mountain hare (Lepus timidus) as model organisms in their study. View the full article

Communication is everything -- and that applies for algae, too. However, their chemical language and its significance in aquatic ecosystems remain largely unknown. New research summarizes the current state of knowledge and identifies new approaches for future research in the language of algae and their ecological relationships. View the full article

New research conclusively shows that certain physical traits of flowers affect the health of bumble bees by modulating the transmission of a harmful pathogen called Crithidia bombi. In particular, the research shows that the length of a flower's corolla, or the flower's petals, affects how this pathogen gets transferred between bees because shorter corollas mean that fewer bee feces wind up inside the flower itself and in the path of the bees in search of nectar. View the full article

NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission can provide valuable information about the world's forests for wildlife scientists. View the full article

A study bu a conservation psychologist reveals overwhelming public ignorance of Australia's most threatened species, a factor that is contributing to the extinction crisis of endangered animals. View the full article

Scientists conducted a 7-year study on seedling recruitment and mortality in a national park in Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand. During the study period, an extremely strong El Niño event occurred, leading to a stronger and longer drought than normal. Seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTFs), which experience an annual dry season, are considered drought-tolerant. Nevertheless, the study found that seedling mortality increased in SDTFs when severe and prolonged drought occurred. View the full article

The efficient running of wastewater treatment plants is an essential part of modern society. Just like humans, wastewater treatment plants can get sick, due to viral attacks. Now, new research reveals the implications for the surrounding environment in case the plant catches a cold. From the study, the researchers have shown there is a clear relationship between virus concentration and the amount of dissolved organic carbon present in the effluent water. More of this carbon in the effluent water, means increased oxygen consumption in the surrounding bodies of water where the effluent is discharged. This could have potential negative impacts on the aquatic ecosystems nearby. View the full article

Scientists have developed a method for the direct observation of fine roots, which control the uptake of nutrients and water by trees. This provides a valuable addition to the existing knowledge of carbon and nutrient cycling in the forest floor, leading to further understanding of the carbon cycle from the view point of initial carbon input into the soil and aiding forest management and soil conservation. View the full article

Prescribed fire -- a tool increasingly used by forest managers and landowners to combat invasive species, improve wildlife habitat and restore ecosystem health -- also could play a role in reducing the abundance of ticks and the transmission of disease pathogens they carry, according to a team of scientists. View the full article

A new study shows for the first time that carefully placed no-fishing zones can help to restore tunas and other large, iconic fish species. View the full article

Researchers used artificial nests to test two methods for reducing the nest predation of vulnerable and endangered ground-nesting birds. The study showed that red foxes can be more easily deceived into not eating bird eggs than raccoon dogs. The methods could be used alongside hunting and offer an alternative, non-lethal solution for creating protection for vulnerable prey. View the full article

A new article adds a new chapter to the story of how some animals may respond to the warming oceans. View the full article

Jacks and barracuda in He?eia fishpond were found to feed on Australian mullet, an invasive species introduced to Oahu waters in the 1950s. This recently published finding suggests that these native predatory fish may provide a form of biocontrol on populations of the invasive mullet species in a traditional Hawaiian fishpond. View the full article

Genetic and genomic technologies have tremendous potential for protecting marine life, but are currently being underutilized, according to a new article. View the full article

Eating fire ants might prepare a lizard's immune system to be stung by the ants, according to a new study. View the full article

Alien floras in regions that were once occupied by the same European power are, on average, more similar to each other compared to outside regions and this similarity increases with the length of time a region was occupied. View the full article

A new study indicates previously unknown high altitude contests between two of America's most sensational mammals -- mountain goats and bighorn sheep -- over access to minerals previously unavailable due to the past presence of glaciers which, now, are vanishing due to global warming. View the full article

A new study shows that losing a particular group of endangered animals -- those that eat fruit and help disperse the seeds of trees and other plants -- could severely disrupt seed-dispersal networks in the Atlantic Forest, a shrinking stretch of tropical forest and critical biodiversity hotspot on the coast of Brazil. View the full article

Current protected areas only poorly cover the places most relevant for conserving soil ecological values. To assess global hotspots for preserving soil ecological values, an international team of scientists measured different facets of soil biodiversity (local species richness and uniqueness) and ecosystem services (like water regulation or carbon storage). They found that these facets peaked in contrasting regions of the world. For instance, temperate ecosystems showed higher local soil biodiversity (species richness), while colder ecosystems were identified as hotspots of soil ecosystem services. In addition, the results suggest that tropical and arid ecosystems hold the most unique communities of soil organisms. Soil ecological values are often overlooked in nature conservation management and policy decisions; the new study demonstrates where efforts to protect them are needed most. View the full article

Non-native species that invade and firmly establish themselves in new regions have staggering economic and ecological consequences. Recent studies estimate that, in the United States alone, invasive species now cause more than US$120 billion in monetary damages per year and have contributed to 70 percent of extinctions of native aquatic species this century, as well as many other adverse effects. View the full article

According to an agricultural ecologist, many cost estimates for cleaning up unwanted, invasive plants are just that: estimates, extrapolated via desktop analysis from relatively scant data. Unsatisfied with that, researchers have suffered hornet attacks and years of backbreaking labor to arrive at real dollars and cents associated with removal of escaped Miscanthus plants. View the full article

The Salton Sea, California's most polluted inland lake, has lost a third of its water in the last 25 years. New research has determined a decline in Colorado River flow is the reason for that shrinking. View the full article

In a new review article, biology researchers make the case for reevaluating maligned non-native species to consider benefits as well as costs. View the full article

A new study sheds new light on what is happening in pinyon-juniper woodlands across the West. The research is unique, in that it looks at both tree mortality, as well as recruitment, or new seedlings and saplings, to calculate a 'net effect.' And, the news isn't necessarily good, particularly in warmer, drier locations. View the full article

By documenting hundreds of new nectar plants for painted ladies, scientists have renewed hope these charismatic butterflies may prove resilient to climate change. View the full article