Articles tagged with Trophic Interactions
A global study of nearly 15,000 marine and freshwater fish communities found consistent shifts in species composition, body size and feeding relationships over recent decades. Smaller-bodied fish species dominate ecosystems, reshaping food webs and ecosystem function.
Neotropical otter study reveals 40 years of field data showing that otters aggregate environmental signals across time and space. The study highlights the critical Tropical Knowledge Gap in otter research, with 70% focusing on temperate species.
A new study reveals that cougars' dietary changes to smaller prey help them avoid wolf encounters and reduce competition. Researchers found that cougars tend to avoid areas where wolves have made kills and stay close to escape terrain.
Researchers studied diet changes among three whale species, fin, humpback, and minke whales, over 28 years. The study found that whales are adapting their feeding habits in response to limited resource availability and increased competition.
Research analyzing over 170 studies reveals human impacts like hunting and land-use changes have a greater impact on prey populations than large carnivores. Large predators do control populations of prey species under specific conditions, but effects are often spatially constrained or influenced by competing species.
A recent study found that light color affects phytoplankton growth and nutrient cycling in lake ecosystems. The researchers discovered that the less light available to microalgae, the more important the color of light became for their growth.
Researchers developed computational tools to analyze ecological data, identifying functionally equivalent species across different ecosystems. These tools use optimal transport distances to compare network structures, allowing for large-scale monitoring of ecosystem health and guiding conservation efforts.
Researchers found river otter scat containing parasites that infect prey, indicating otters may play a crucial role in shaping their ecosystems. The study also discovered diverse diets and invasive species among the otters' meals.
A new study found that river otters in Chesapeake Bay eat diverse prey and parasites, including flukes, dinoflagellates, and invasive fish. The researchers suggest that otters may be helping to clean up polluted environments by consuming parasite-infected animals.
A new scientific study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B found that voracious sunflower sea stars create a 'landscape of fear' among red sea urchins, reducing grazing on kelp. This study suggests using sunflower sea stars as a potential tool for restoring degraded kelp forests.
Researchers at University of Tsukuba discovered 'pirate parasitism' where parasitoid wasps lay eggs in unsuitable hosts, leading to successful parasitism. The phenomenon occurs when one parasitoid wasp takes advantage of a host's already suppressed immune system due to another parasitoid wasp.
A new paper reveals that information exchange between species influences behavior, interactions, and ecosystem dynamics. The authors identify three types of information links within ecosystems: trophic, pure, and environmental information links.
High-contrast patterns on humbug damselfish bodies serve dual purpose: camouflage when stationary and motion dazzle when moving. The fish adapt their behavior based on environment, using motion dazzle to confuse predators when feeding outside coral colonies.
A new study reveals that large apex species like tiger sharks and great whites are critical to healthy oceans, but their populations have plummeted by 71% in the past 50 years. Conservation efforts must prioritize protecting these ecological roles to maintain ocean balance.
A recent study found that climate warming is altering carbon flow and food web dynamics in Arctic tundra and boreal forest ecosystems, with fungi replacing plants as the main energy source for animals. This shift has significant implications for ecosystem function and animal responses to climate change.
Current measures to protect grasslands in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau are damaging the ecosystem and should be stopped. Small burrowing mammals, like the plateau pika and zokor, play crucial ecological roles in maintaining ecosystem health and biodiversity.
A study in Washington state found that when wolves and cougars moved into an area, coyotes and bobcats shifted their movements into regions with higher levels of human activity. However, it was humans who finished off the smaller predators, with over half of the coyotes killed by people during the study period.
A study reveals that over 50% of mammal food web links have disappeared due to animal declines, leading to a collapse of global ecosystems. Restoring extinct species to their historic ranges holds great potential to reverse these declines and restore food web complexity.
A study has discovered that humans are disrupting a fundamental pattern in ecosystems, which dates back at least 66 million years. The U-shaped relationship between diet and size in modern land mammals has been found to span across multiple vertebrate groups, including birds, reptiles, and fish.
Human activity on Hainan Island is causing changes in the body shapes and diets of tropical birds, resulting in biotic homogenisation. Despite efforts to protect biodiversity, the island's unique ecosystem is being affected by large-scale economic and land-use changes.
Researchers discovered that California mice consume monarch butterflies, which could disrupt ecosystems due to declining western monarch populations. The study highlights the interconnectedness of species and the importance of conservation efforts to protect native animals.