All Ecology articles
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NewsPandemic ‘beneath the surface’ has been quietly wiping out sea urchins around the world
Over the last four years, an unrecognized pandemic that has been wiping out sea urchins around the world has hit the Canary Islands. The consequences on marine ecosystems aren’t yet fully known, but likely profound.
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NewsStudy reveals how bacteria resist hostile attacks from rival bacteria
When attacked by bacteria from a different species, Pseudomonas rapidly assembles the type VI secretion system (T6SS) – to inject its aggressor with a toxic cocktail. A new study probes how Pseudomonas can strike back when it has already been hit by a deadly cocktail itself.
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NewsPreviously unrecognized pathway in plants and phytoplankton offers mercury-detox powers
Primary producers—including phytoplankton—possess a previously overlooked ability to internally break down and detoxify methylmercury. The demethylation pathway rapidly converts methylmercury into less toxic inorganic mercury, which is subsequently reduced to gaseous Hg⁰.
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NewsLargest study of nose microbiome helps highlight those at risk of staph aureus infection
People who persistently carry Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in their nose have fewer species of other bacteria, while certain bacteria may help to prevent S. aureus colonisation, according to the findings of the largest-ever study of the nasal microbiome.
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NewsMichigan cherry farmers find a surprising food safety ally: falcons
By shooing cherry-pecking birds away, kestrels also keep them from contaminating crops with their droppings, a new study shows. Kestrels were associated with a 3-fold reduction in droppings spotted on branches.
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NewsIsland-wide field surveys illuminate land-sea connections in Mo‘orea
A multi-year scientific expedition determined that land use on tropical islands can shape water quality in lagoons and rainfall can be an important mediator for connections between land and lagoon waters.
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NewsEarthquakes shake up Yellowstone’s subterranean ecosystems
Researchers chronicled the ecological changes in subsurface microbial communities that took place after a swarm of small earthquakes rattled the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field in 2021.
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NewsStaphylococci compete with other bacteria for biotin in the nasal cavity
A recently published study reveals that competition plays a major role in the nutrient-poor habitat of the human nose. There’s an active contest between S. aureus and nasal commensals for the vitamin biotin, which affects the fitness of S. aureus.
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NewsOceanographers present new conceptual framework to answer age-old question: What happens to carbon as it sinks through the ocean?
New research spanning multiple ocean regions has found upper ocean ecosystem conditions, such as nutrient availability and microbial interactions, play a major role in shaping the composition of carbon-rich particles sinking into the deep ocean.
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NewsNew study reveals how a common antibiotic disrupts nitrogen cycling and boosts greenhouse gas emissions in estuaries
Antibiotics may have far reaching impacts on wetland chemistry, according to a new study that identifies the bacteria responsible for breaking down the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole and links this process to increased emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas.
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NewsCircadian rhythms as a modulator of gut microbiota-tumor microenvironment crosstalk
A new review examines how circadian disruption modifies the diversity and metabolic functions of gut microbiota, resulting in alterations of microbial metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids and secondary bile acids.
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NewsFlower to fruit: tracking the changing fungal community on blueberry plants
A study identifies how fungal diversity changes over time and across tissue types in highbush blueberry, revealing dynamic transitions in the phyllosphere from buds to ripe fruits. Early-season buds and flowers harbor the highest fungal diversity, while unripe green fruits display the lowest.
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News$3.7 million awarded for research into sand flies, vectors of parasitic disease leishmaniasis
Professor Gideon Wasserberg at UNC Greensboro has been awarded a prestigious $3.7 million National Institutes of Health R01 grant to advance his research on controlling sand flies, the vectors of the parasitic disease leishmaniasis.
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NewsMedications change our gut microbiome in predictable ways
A study shows that many of the changes to the gut microbiome are driven by competition for nutrients – medications reduce certain bacterial populations and change the availability of nutrients, and the bacteria most able to capitalize on those changes are the ones to survive.
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NewsResearchers identify mangrove tree stems as previously underestimated methane source offsetting blue carbon benefits
A new study reveals that mangrove tree stems represent a significant yet previously underestimated source of methane. Additionally, stem emissions showed a strong correlation with soil methane fluxes, indicating that methane produced by anaerobic microbial activity in mangrove soils is transported upward through specialized aerenchyma tissues within the trees.
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NewsBacterial scents behind oak tree decline may be luring deadly beetles
The deadly decline of Britain’s native oak trees may be driven by an unexpected accomplice: their own smell. Scientists have discovered that trees affected by Acute Oak Decline (AOD) emit distinct odours that are highly attractive to the beetle Agrilus biguttatus, a key contributor to the decline.
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NewsPredicting the development of biological communities in different kinds of ecosystems
Researchers tested a mechanistic consumer-resource model and confirmed its high predictive capacity. Using the model, the researchers refined current rules on the coexistence of species, too. Their findings can be applied to any situation in which communities of organisms compete for resources.
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NewsNew study reveals microbial network restructuring mitigates long-term soil carbon emissions from warming
Scientists conducted a decade-long study that uncovered a previously unrecognized buffering mechanism in subtropical forest soils mitigating the effects of climate warming.
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NewsRainfall and temperature shape mosquito fauna in Atlantic Forest bromeliads, including malaria vectors
Results from a study of mosquito larvae conducted in a natural area in the municipality of São Paulo (Brazil) may help estimate the effects of climate change on disease transmission risk in the biome.
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CareersSummer studentship: Jonas investigates how metals influence bacterial ecosystems
Jonas Flohr from Portsmouth reports back on his AMI-sponsored summer studentship at Durham University investigating how metals influence bacterial ecosystems.