A new analysis of National Park Service data published in the journal Ecosphere shows a steady increase in non-native plant cover since 2014, and rapid regrowth of non-native annual grass and herbaceous species after the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which burned nearly 80% of the entire region.
A new method developed by the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior has counted Africa’s largest colony of bats with the greatest accuracy yet. The method uses GoPro cameras to record bats and then applies artificial intelligence (AI) to detect animals without the need for human observers.
Honey bees are more faithful to their flower patches than bumble bees when it comes to returning to collect more pollen and nectar, according to a study by U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service scientists.
The Wildlife Conservation Society released footage of a wolverine foraging for fish frozen in a perennial spring along a river in the Alaskan Arctic. It is the first-known observation of a wolverine eating fish – usual prey includes everything from snowshoe hares to caribou to voles.
In a study published in the journal Ecology, a University of Michigan-led research team used a pint-sized predator-prey-parasite system inside 20-gallon water tanks to test the “healthy herds hypothesis.”
Researchers compared cacao productivity and arthropod diversity in the presence and in the absence of birds and bats in organically managed, native cacao agroforests from northwestern Peru. Their results showed that the presence of birds and bats increased cacao productivity by 118%.
Healthy bat and bird populations don’t only help to keep the endangered tropical dry forests of northern Peru in equilibrium. For the regions’ farmers of cacao—the main ingredient in chocolate— these predators are worth almost $1,000 per hectare of annual production.
Tick season is here, along with the increased danger of Lyme disease, and it turns out the tiny arachnids are even tougher than scientists previously thought. A recent study in Ecological Monographs shows blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) are actually really good at surviving extreme cold and heat in nature.
Scientists at the ARS’s Jornada Experimental Range and Army Research Laboratory in N.M. used 100 years of measurements of perennial grass growth from their Long-Term Agroecosystem Research site to identify how climate controls abrupt changes in grass cover.
A new study has identified the bee’s knees of bumble bee dietary options in Ohio and the Upper Midwest.
Oak Ridge Associated Universities and the Ecological Society of America officially began a working relationship with the signing of a memorandum of understanding during the ESA’s 108th annual meeting in Portland, Oregon, on Monday, August 7, 2023.
ESA has named Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald as the editor-in-chief of the newest title in its portfolio of journals. The international open-access journal, Earth Stewardship, will be ESA’s first publication focused on integrating the natural and social sciences; the humanities; and technical, local and Indigenous Knowledges.
Leaders in U.S. environmental and science policy will review the emerging details of the first U.S. National Nature Assessment with the ecological community.
ESA will present its 16th annual Regional Policy Award to the Director for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s Department of Natural Resources Eric Quaempts on Sunday, Aug 6, 5:00pm EDT, during the ESA Conference Opening Plenary.
Many talks and posters at the Ecological Society of America’s upcoming Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, Aug. 6-11, will highlight collaborative and tribal-led research initiatives that bridge diverse knowledge systems.
(July 19, 2023) – New research published in the journal Ecology explores why some species of bees specialize in visiting one type of plant over others.
(July 18, 2023) – Wildlife ecology and conservation will feature prominently at ESA’s Annual Meeting in Portland, Ore., Aug. 6-11, with sessions on animal behavior, habitat restoration, pest management, natural history, and more.
(July 12, 2023) – Dozens of sessions at ESA’s upcoming Annual Meeting in Portland, Ore., Aug. 6-11, will feature research on the ecology of the Pacific Northwest and Cascadia Bioregion.
New research published in Ecosphere shows that smoke – even a lot of smoke – wasn’t enough to deter visitors to national parks between the years 1980 and 2019. National park attendance numbers held steady regardless of the presence of even a dramatic amount of wildfire smoke.
Cities provide important connections to nature as well as habitat for many species, according to new research in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.