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Some creatures defend territories extending over several kilometers, but when Jayne Yack (Carleton University, Canada) encountered miniature newborn warty birch caterpillars (Falcaria bilineata), she wondered if she might have discovered one of the world's smallest, and youngest, territorial critters.

North America's smallest falcon, the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius), has declined across the continent since the 1970s, yet the causes continue to stump raptor biologists. A new study published in the Journal of Raptor Research adds a piece to the puzzle with the discovery that in the Northeast, where declines are most alarming, fledglings demonstrate a relatively high survival rate.

A team of environmental scientists at the University of Sydney, working with a pair of colleagues from the University of Copenhagen, are pondering possible ways to save the extremely endangered orange-bellied parrot. In their paper published in the journal Molecular Ecology, the group outlines possible ideas for saving the birds, and the drawbacks of each.

A Yale-led study warns that global climate change may have a devastating effect on butterflies, turning their species-rich, mountain habitats from refuges into traps.

Aya Goldshtein, Omer Mazar, and Yossi Yovel have spent many evenings standing outside bat caves. Even so, seeing thousands of bats erupting out of a cave and flapping into the night, sometimes in densities so high that they appear liquid, astounds the scientists every time. But until recently, the bat biologists were even more baffled by what they didn't see.

University of Manchester scientists have discovered significant concentrations of microplastics in the male reproductive system of sea turtles.

It's tricky to predict precisely what the impacts of climate change will be, given the many variables involved. To predict the impacts of a warmer world on plant life, some researchers look at urban "heat islands," where, because of the effects of urban structures, temperatures consistently run a few degrees higher than those of the surrounding rural areas. This enables side-by-side comparisons of plant...

A new artificial intelligence tool could aid in limiting or even prevent pandemics by identifying animal species that may harbor and spread viruses capable of infecting humans.

In a study published in Systematic Biology, researchers from Imperial College London, UCL, Dalhousie University and the United Nations Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Center described how their new simulation methods improve understanding of how patterns of biodiversity emerge across the globe.

When monitoring the health of mammal populations, scientists often use camera traps to observe the animals in their habitats. But weasels are so sneaky they're rarely caught on camera—leaving scientists with questions about this population of predators.

Scientists have revealed for the first time that some fish sneak up on their prey by hiding behind sharks.

Why do some plants thrive in specific regions but not in others? A study led by researchers at the University of Göttingen explores the factors shaping plant distributions and how these patterns have changed over millions of years. Analyzing nearly 270,000 seed plant species worldwide, the research highlights the roles of environmental conditions and dispersal barriers in influencing global plant diversity. The results were...

A research team led by the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW) was able to revive dormant stages of algae that sank to the bottom of the Baltic Sea almost 7,000 years ago. Despite thousands of years of inactivity in the sediment without light and oxygen, the investigated diatom species regained full viability.

A team of scientists led by The University of Western Australia has discovered two new species of trapdoor spiders in the Kimberley region, marking the first time members of the species have been found in northern Australia.

Deforestation, farming and climate-fueled fires are driving increasing threats to fungi, the lifeblood of most plants on Earth, the International Union for Conservation of Nature warned Thursday.

It probably feels obvious that having a close friend can influence your well-being. But do the groups that you're a part of also affect your well-being? For example, does the culture of your work colleagues influence your productivity?

A new study led by McGill University researchers indicates that humpback whales in the southeastern Pacific combine real-time environmental cues with their memories of conditions in their Antarctic feeding grounds to determine when to embark on their annual 10,000-kilometer journey. With climate change accelerating, the researchers warn this strategy may become less effective amid shifting ocean conditions.

Coral diseases, particularly in the Caribbean, have caused major declines in coral populations, especially affecting staghorn (Acropora cervicornis) and Elkhorn (A. palmata) corals, which play a crucial role in reef ecosystems.

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have found that the critically endangered regent honeyeater faces hidden genetic risks while still retaining relatively high genetic diversity, risks that become apparent when combining genomic data across time with ecological modeling.

An extinct lineage of parasitic wasps dating from the mid-Cretaceous period and preserved in amber may have used their Venus flytrap-like abdomen to capture and immobilize their prey.

Scientists don't call it the "Great Dying" for nothing. About 252 million years ago, upward of 80% of all marine species vanished during the end-Permian mass extinction—the most extreme event of its kind in Earth's history.

While sneaking up on prey, cuttlefish employ a dynamic skin display to avoid detection in the last moments of approach, researchers at the University of Bristol have found.

A small international team of marine biologists has observed the first known instance of a shark intentionally making sounds. In their study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the group reveals that several of the sharks made clicking noises when they were handled, and they suggest ways the noises might have been made.

Getting zapped with millions of volts of electricity may not sound like a healthy activity, but for some trees, it is. A new study, published in New Phytologist, reports that some tropical tree species are not only able to tolerate lightning strikes, but benefit from them. The trees may have even evolved to act as lightning rods.