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A study appearing in Behavioral Ecology shows that in male wall lizards, certain behaviors have a greater influence on the way they resolve territorial disputes than their size and coloration.

A new PeerJ study has revealed that sloths, the famously slow-moving creatures of Central and South America, may face existential threats due to climate change. The research, conducted by scientists studying the metabolic response of sloths to rising temperatures, suggests that the energy limitations of these animals could make survival untenable by the end of the century, particularly for high-altitude populations.

Bacteria that live in soil and help roots fix nitrogen can boost certain plants' capacity to reproduce, according to an article published in the American Journal of Botany describing a study of this mechanism in Chamaecrista latistipula, a legume belonging to the Fabaceae family, which includes beans and peas.

The structural complexity of coral reefs creates a vibrant underwater city populated by a diverse assortment of characters. Ironically, this same complexity can impede coral recovery after disturbances.

A rescue effort can take many forms—a life raft, a firehose, an airlift. For animals whose populations are in decline from inbreeding, genetics itself can be a lifesaver.

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden are studying how nanoplastics affect aquatic organisms in lakes and rivers. Their findings are surprising, and the researchers are the first to show that some species are being wiped out, while others—such as cyanobacteria that contribute to algal blooms—are completely unaffected.

Squinting into the treetops won't reveal the tiny organisms up there. But these creatures leave clues, in the form of DNA, on the leaves and branches. Now, researchers report in Environmental Science & Technology that they have developed a way to collect this genetic material: a drone with a specialized fabric probe. The team flew the drone above the rainforest and, based on DNA...

Off the coast of Chile, in waters filled with krill and anchovy by the Humboldt Current system, live an elusive and little-known population of orcas. Thanks to citizen science and years of dedicated surveillance, a team of scientists led by Dr. Ana García Cegarra of the Universidad de Antofagasta is unveiling their secrets—starting with dinner.

At a tranquil nature reserve in South Michigan, an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist and her collaborators connected olden wild bee sample collections and modern technology to better decode the ecological traits and habits of pollinators, critical links to environmental stability.

Will modern coral reefs go extinct? The answer is uncertain, but some of their ancient counterparts managed to dodge a bullet—for a while, at least.

Drone footage captured by researchers in Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute is offering new insight into the acrobatics undertaken by gray whales foraging in the waters off the coast of Oregon.

In a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers at the UH Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) Toonen- Bowen "ToBo" Lab have identified scenarios under which eight of the most common species of coral found in Hawaiʻi can adapt to and survive ocean warming and acidification.

If you'd stopped monitoring the Adriatic Sea's marine life in the mid-20th century, the outlook would have been promising. Snails and the clams they hunt for food increased in abundance for several decades during the late 1800s and early 1900s, evidence of a vibrant and healthy ecosystem.

The ocean's twilight zone is deep, dark, and—according to new research—iron deficient. No sunlight reaches this region 200 to 1,000 meters below the sea surface, where levels of iron, a key micronutrient, are so low that the growth of bacteria is restricted. To compensate, these bacteria produce molecules called siderophores, which help the bacteria scavenge trace amounts of iron from the surrounding seawater.

A research team from Freie Universität Berlin has discovered that soil properties are severely impacted when subjected to a large number of different environmental stressors. The study is published in Nature Communications.

An international team of scientists has made a discovery that could reshape our understanding of how global biodiversity evolved. By reconstructing the evolution of species over the past 45 million years, researchers found that the geographic origins of many plants, insects and mammals are more closely linked than previously thought.

When thinking of animal camouflage, we typically imagine creatures remaining still, blending seamlessly into their surroundings. But remaining motionless isn't always practical, and many animals are highly mobile, constantly moving through their environment to graze their food.

In an innovative paper published today in the journal Plants, People, Planet, scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Huarango Nature and paramotorists from Forest Air, highlight the exciting potential of paramotoring as a means of aiding research and conservation efforts in some of the most fragile and challenging parts of the globe.

Electric power companies dedicate significant resources to clearing overgrown plants and debris from the area surrounding power lines. These areas are known as electric rights-of-way, and anything that obstructs access to them can threaten power outages, hinder public safety and make it harder for utility crews to perform necessary maintenance and repairs.

Fruit bats generate more diverse antibodies than mice, but overall have a weaker antibody response, according to a new study published September 24 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Dan Crowley from Cornell University and colleagues.

Until a few years ago, the butterfly known as the southern small white could barely be found north of the Alps. That was before a Europe-wide invasion that brought a huge increase in the insect's distribution—at the same time as a rapid decrease in genetic diversity within the species.

The Eiffinger's tree frog (Kurixalus eiffingeri), found on Ishigaki and Iriomote islands in Japan, has a unique biological adaptation: its tadpoles do not defecate during their early developmental stages. This finding by researchers at Nagoya University in Japan contributes to our understanding of how these small frogs survive in the tiny bodies of water where they spawn. The findings were published in the journal...

Coral reefs will continue to experience severe heat stress as rising temperatures cause the oceans to become unbearably hot—but a new study shows that altering their feeding habits could allow local populations to avoid total extinction.