August research news from the Ecological Society of America

September 23, 2025
For Immediate Release

Contact: Mayda Nathan, mayda@esa.org

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) presents a roundup of five research articles recently published in its esteemed journals. Widely recognized for fostering innovation and advancing ecological knowledge, ESA’s journals consistently feature illuminating and impactful studies. This compilation of papers explores nighttime cooling in urban parks, the role of the arts in narrating environmental stories, overcrowding in sponge communities, a big hurdle to conserving genetic diversity and human-driven changes in elk migration.

From Ecological Applications:

Nightlife not so cool in some city parks
Author contact: Isabella C. Richmond (Isabella.richmond@mail.concordia.ca)

A new study finds that in the heat of summer, the cooling benefits urban parks provide to nearby communities depend on how the land was used in the past. Examining 33 sites in parks across the city of Montreal, the research team found that while the parks were all effective at cooling the immediate surroundings during the day, nighttime cooling was greater in parks built on agricultural or forested lands compared to parks occupying former industrial sites. The latter parks often lacked features that promote nighttime cooling — like dense stands of trees, a variety of tree species and a large park area. Notably, these industrial-sited parks were predominately located in lower-income neighborhoods largely populated by immigrants, resulting in unequal access to the benefits that greenspaces provide to city dwellers. Designing city parks with these issues in mind may be an effective way to overcome land-use legacies and maximize the cooling benefits of urban greenspaces.

Read the article: Land-use history causes differences in park nighttime cooling capacity and forest structure

From Earth Stewardship:

All the world’s a stage
Author contact: Johan Enqvist (johan.enqvist@su.se)

Using a play about conflict between humans and baboons in urban South Africa, researchers show how the arts can be an effective tool for informing audiences and opening minds about conservation issues of pressing concern. Set in Cape Town, where several hundred chacma baboons frequently venture into urban areas — sparking both fierce support and opposition from residents — Unruly portrays the complex human-baboon tussle through multiple lenses, including that of the baboons themselves. Analysis of eight post-show discussions revealed that staging the conflict in the form of theater inspired greater appreciation of different perspectives among affected residents and heightened compassion for the baboons’ plight. Debate over environmental issues is often highly charged and polarizing; harnessing the power of the arts to reframe the human relationship with nature may be one way to foster tolerance and empathy and alleviate social conflict.

Read the article: Mobilizing stewardship through theater: Pathways to transform polarizing conservation conflicts

From Ecology:

Sponging off the neighbors stunts sponge growth
Author contact: Joseph R. Pawlik (pawlikj@uncw.edu)

For ocean sponges and other bottom-anchored marine animals, biologists have long assumed that success hinges on real estate. However, a new study suggests that intense fighting over food, and not just space, restricts growth of marine sponges. Individuals relocated to less crowded conditions in the shallow waters of coastal Florida grew nearly ten times as large as sponges in high-density communities and three times as big as those in areas of average density. Measurements of food floating in the water showed that differences in food availability played a role in the size differences between the communities. When jam-packed together, the filter-feeders quickly depleted the surrounding water column of picoplankton and other goodies; as such, not only did less cramped sponges have more elbow room, they also had more to eat. The results of the experiment provide further evidence that congested conditions can prevent even the simplest organisms from reaching their full potential.

Read the article: Competition for waterborne food resources among tropical shallow-water sponges

From Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment:

Mapping the genetic gaps in global conservation
Author contact: Ivan Paz-Vinas (ivan.paz-vinas@univ-lyon1.fr)

Individuals of the same species vary slightly in their DNA, and this genetic diversity is a cornerstone of resilience and adaptability in nature. Yet a new global survey reveals that most protected areas (PAs) lack the genetic data needed to assess whether they are safeguarding this vital component of biodiversity. Researchers analyzed over 36,000 georeferenced populations across 2,809 species and found that genetic data are heavily concentrated in Europe and North America, with major gaps in Africa, Asia and marine biomes. Alarmingly, more than half of the world’s PA coverage has no genetically sampled populations. The study calls for targeted efforts to collect, harmonize and share genetic data to support conservation initiatives and ensure conservation planning truly protects genetic diversity.

Read the article: Sparse genetic data limit biodiversity assessments in protected areas globally

From Ecosphere:

Humans a bad influence on elk
Author contact: Gavin G. Cotterill (gcotterill@usgs.gov)      

Offering abundant food, shelter and protection from predators, residential areas in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem of the western U.S. are tempting some elk to stay put longer and undertake shorter seasonal migrations — by up to 60% — between summer and winter ranges. Due to their habit of sticking around human environments, these audacious elk are more likely to be involved in collisions with vehicles, squabble with people and their pets and potentially accelerate the spread of chronic wasting disease and other pathogens. Yet their populations are growing at a faster clip than those of their warier kin, which avoid built areas and travel longer migratory treks. If historical migrations are to be maintained, management must start to look beyond merely preserving physical corridors and begin to address behavioral changes among migratory animals in urbanizing landscapes.

Read the article: Elk personality and anthropogenic food subsidy: Managing conflict and migration loss

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The Ecological Society of America, founded in 1915, is the world’s largest community of professional ecologists and a trusted source of ecological knowledge, committed to advancing the understanding of life on Earth. The 8,000 member Society publishes six journals and a membership bulletin and broadly shares ecological information through policy, media outreach and education initiatives. The Society’s Annual Meeting attracts 4,000 attendees and features the most recent advances in ecological science. Visit the ESA website at https://www.esa.org

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