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Amphibians, Reptiles, & Natural History
Amphibians, Reptiles, & Natural History
Tropical rainforests are home to almost two-thirds of all vertebrate species and three-quarters of all tree species: they are the most species-rich terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. However, over half of these diverse rainforests have already been cleared, and their area continues to decline drastically, primarily for agricultural purposes. Is there a chance of regeneration, and can not only trees but also the unique diversity of thousands of animal species return to cleared areas?
Sharing habitat with livestock is changing elephants’ gut bacteria in ways that could be harmful to their health, according to new research conducted by San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance in collaboration with Save the Elephants. The study, appearing in Royal Society Open Science, tracked known individual elephants in the Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves in Northern Kenya and found that when livestock numbers increased in the reserves, the elephants’ gut microbiomes shifted significantly. Microbes commonly found in livestock became more abundant in elephant guts, while beneficial microbes decreased.
For gardeners who love colorful, tidy flower beds, helping pollinators doesn’t have to mean going fully wild. A new study from plant biologists at Northwestern University and the Chicago Botanic Garden found that some cultivated plants—bred for their vibrant blooms, compact forms and visually appealing uniformity—can still provide meaningful support for bees, butterflies and other pollinators.
A crab named for mangrove forests is leaving them behind. New research from William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS shows that the Atlantic mangrove fiddler crab (Leptuca thayeri) is settling into temperate salt marshes along the southeastern U.S. coast. Published in the Journal of Crustacean Biology, the study documents the species as far north as Beaufort, South Carolina, almost 200 miles north of its traditional range in Florida.
For mating male octopuses, one limb is more important than all others. That is the third right arm or hectocotylus, which is used to transfer sperm to the female because the penis cannot do it directly. Losing the limb can severely affect their ability to father offspring, at least until a new one regenerates. That is why they take extra care to avoid damaging it or losing it to a predator, according to new research published in the journal Ethology.
Research led by James Cook University has shown the devastating impacts of severe cyclones on corals and coral reef fishes, highlighting changes in coral reef structure that influence long-term recovery and resilience. The team of JCU, AIMS and GBRMPA scientists published the research in PLOS One, describing declines in corals, damselfishes and butterflyfishes after Whitsunday Islands reefs were hit by severe Category 4 Cyclone Debbie in 2017.
Researchers have discovered a new species of glassfrog in Ecuador—the Dajomes glassfrog—named after Neisi Dajomes, the first Ecuadorian woman to receive an Olympic gold medal, which she won in Tokyo 2020 in women’s 76 kg weightlifting. Mylena Masache, a Biology student of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, and colleagues describe the frog in a new study published April 8, 2026 in the journal PLOS One.
Predators don’t expect to be preyed upon, and especially not by herbivores such as caterpillars. The slow-moving, leaf-eating larvae may only intend to consume plants, but sometimes tiny creatures making their homes under leaves unwittingly become dinner: cue the mites.
For more than a century, the fruit fly has been a workhorse of the biological sciences that has helped scientists to make fundamental breakthroughs in fields such as genetics and neuroscience. As it turns out, human scientists are not the only ones learning during these experiments. A recent study by Harvard neuroscientists in Current Biology shows how fruit flies are themselves figuring things out—in this case, how to manipulate balls with “play-like” experimentation.
Can our forests adapt to a hotter and drier future climate? Temperatures are predicted to rise up to 5°C compared to pre-industrial times. Forest management needs to adapt to these conditions, which requires a better understanding of how heat and drought affect trees. A new study by a team of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL and EPFL shows that warming itself is not the biggest issue for trees. The work is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
An international research team, including the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB), has described a new species of spider from the Ecuadorian Amazon: Taczanowskia waska. The species is characterized by an extraordinary form of mimicry: It represents the first documented case in which a spider mimics the appearance of a parasitic fungus. The findings are published in the journal Zootaxa.
Heat can change a honey bee’s hormone levels, but only if the bee is alone. New research from MSU entomologist Zachary Huang shows that isolated honey bees experience a rapid hormonal rise when exposed to high temperatures, while bees kept in groups stay stable. The discovery highlights how social conditions and chemical signals shape bees’ ability to withstand environmental stress.
The movement patterns of waterfowl, including ducks, swans and geese, may affect the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza in bird populations, according to a new study from the University of Georgia. The findings are published in the journal Ecology Letters.
A new study published in the Biodiversity Data Journal provides a profound look at life up to nearly 10 kilometers below the ocean’s surface in the Japan, Ryukyu, and Izu-Ogasawara trenches. The research catalogs at least 108 distinct organism groups (morphotaxa), including the deepest-ever observation of a fish and a baffling, unidentified animal that has left global taxonomic experts stumped.
Communication is central to the survival of most animals, including humans. Yet animals of different species communicate differently, and the complexity of their communication skills varies greatly. One characteristic of advanced communication systems is the ability to combine different sounds (i.e., vocal elements) to create structured sound sequences that convey more information. This ability, known as syntax or combinatoriality, was originally thought to be unique to humans, yet a growing body of research showed that it is also present in other species, including the Western Australian magpie.
Giving lemurs the chance to use technology to share control of sensory experiences with zoo visitors can help create meaningful connections between humans and animals, new research suggests.
Oyster reef living shorelines have been found to provide a resilient and adaptive alternative to conventional hard coastal protection, reducing wave energy while supporting oyster colonization.
Climate change may reduce yields of crops like corn and soybeans, but it can also give some plants an edge. That’s one of the takeaways of a recent study of tall goldenrod, a common wildflower that runs rampant in fields across its native range in North America and other parts of the world where it has been introduced.
Reef sharks are observed less frequently on Caribbean reefs that have high levels of diving activity and greater coastal development, according to new research published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. Even recreational activities that are often considered low impact are associated with fewer sharks on these reefs. Reef sharks play an important role in maintaining healthy reefs by helping to keep the ecosystem in balance.
New evidence suggests that a disease-causing tapeworm that has been spreading across the United States and Canada has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. The tapeworm, called Echinococcus multilocularis, lives as a parasite in coyotes, foxes and other canid species and can cause severe disease if passed to domestic dogs or humans.
Warming temperatures from climate change cause tree swallows to nest up to two weeks earlier than they did in the 1970s, but early spring cold snaps can hinder nestlings’ growth and survival, according to a new study that incorporates a four-decade Cornell dataset on the birds.
Snow leopards, leopards, and Himalayan wolves all share similar stomping grounds in Nepal’s Lapchi Valley in the Himalayas. A recent study, published in PLOS One, has taken a closer look at how these apex predators have found a way to coexist, despite limited resources.
A new study led by scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) reveals that endangered sei whales regularly use the New York Bight as a key spring habitat, underscoring the importance of this heavily trafficked region for one of the world’s fastest and most elusive baleen whales.
If you were rewarded for following a particular pattern of behavior, wouldn’t you keep doing it? The answer turns out to be more nuanced than you might think. In a new study, University of Iowa researchers report that pigeons rewarded with food after pecking five buttons in any order did, indeed, decrease the variety of their sequences. However, the birds kept their options open, never gravitating toward a single sequence and consistently electing to try different sequences.
Just because a female olive baboon has mated with a specific male doesn’t mean he will be the father of her offspring. According to a new study published in PLOS Biology, mate selection continues long after copulation as the vaginal tract appears to “weed out” genetically incompatible suitors.
A plant uses a rare scent to guide its pollinator to male flowers first and to female flowers later, finds a study led by Kobe University. The work, appearing in Current Biology, uncovers a precise chemical system that not only keeps this partnership specific but also helps ensure it remains beneficial to both parties.
In a striking example of nature’s ingenuity, a collaborative research team has revealed that a bioluminescent fish glows not by producing its own light-emitting molecules, but by “stealing” them from its prey. Details of the findings were published in Scientific Reports.