A large body of work in ecology of conservation is devoted to figuring out where species truly are and what causes them to be in some places and not others. Termed species distribution modeling, or SDM for short, this...
Migration is a captivating phenomenon that continues to fascinate both biologists and the public. In many species—ranging from the smallest insects to the largest mammals—thousands or even...
This Aldabra giant tortoise Aldabrachelys gigantea is eating the fruit of an endemic Pandanus plant on Rodrigues. There were no frugivores left that were large enough to be able to swallow and disperse their seeds until these tortoises were introduced to...
Conserving or managing migratory species is notoriously challenging since their seasonal movements can cross international borders and continents – even...
Adaptations to habitats with low temporal and spatial stability (such as the depicted area in the Scottish Highlands, where air temperatures can drop below minus 10°C until Summer) allowed lentic dragonfly species to recolonize areas north of the 0°C isotherm at the Last...
Statistical models in ecology are used not just to describe the present state of natural systems, but also to predict their change or development over time. Such models are fairly simple to create and have thus become ubiquitous in all areas of ecological research. To...
Fifteen years ago, Steven Phillips, a computer science researcher at AT&T Labs from South Africa, walked a few blocks from his apartment in New York City to the American Museum of Natural...
In simulations comparing a population spread in a spatially homogenous (left) versus patchy (right) landscapes, variation in the Allee effect induces variation in spread patterns and increases the overall rate of spread.
The sigmodontine rodent genus Eligmodontia includes highly specialized desert-dwellers in the Southern Cone of South America. Species of gerbil mice have inflated auditory bullae, and are also capable of bipedal jumping and elevated urine concentration. Photo by...
Underwater pictures taken on the wall of the new island at Potter Cove. Both pictures were taken between 10 and 15 m depth where a high abundances of filters feeders such as ascidians and sponges were found. Note the aluminum ruler (10 cm long) that was attached to the...
Sleep has been hypothesized to be fundamental to cognitive functioning, and extreme sleep deprivation can have lethal implications. In addition, sleep is one of the most susceptible times of day for an animal...
A rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) and a helmeted friarbird (Philemon buceroides) eye each other warily at a flowering Schefflera actinophylla in Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia. Photo by Bryan Suson....
Landscape genetics is emerging as an important way of supporting decision-making in landscape management, in response to the deterioration of matrix permeability due to habitat loss and fragmentation. In line with unremitting methodological...
Frugivorous bird assemblages at high latitudes consist mainly of bird species with an omnivorous diet containing both fruits and a wide range of other food types. This is here exemplified with the North American Turdus migratorius eating both earthworms and fruits...
