The occurrence of fires in the Arctic is linked not only to warming temperatures and increasingly dry conditions, but also human activity in the region. An international research team led by the University of Zurich found that fires occurred 2.5 times more often in lit areas associated with human activity than in climatically similar unlit areas. Effective fire prevention and response can help reduce risks whose impacts extend far beyond the Arctic.

Pollinators are important to humans and nature due to their role in ecosystem functioning and services. Research on the effects of pollinator management in protected areas is insufficient compared with that on farmlands and urban areas, potentially hindering appropriate policy implementation. To fill this gap, a new study investigated the impacts of pollinator-friendly management practices compared to conventional management in European protected areas.

This research was led by the HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research in collaboration with 30 European institutes. Published in Conservation Biology, the synthesis examines whether pollinator-friendly management in protected areas has positive effects on vegetation, floral resources, and a broad range of pollinator groups. The findings show that pollinator-friendly management had mostly neutral and only a few positive effects on plants and pollinators.

A new study provides experimental evidence that wild capuchin monkeys use more than just physical cues when selecting stone tools; they also rely on visible signs that a stone has previously been used for this purpose. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the University of São Paulo investigated how nut-cracking capuchin monkeys choose between stones of different hardness and appearance, examining whether evidence of prior use, as indicated by percussive damage, can override the influence of a stone's intrinsic material properties.

Monash‑led research has revealed that one in ten butterfly species globally has shifted its distribution range, with climate change and extreme weather driving nearly 80 per cent of documented movements.

Bull sharks have a slight preference for spending time with their relatives, new research shows.

The ghostly white corals of Mo’orea tell a story of a reef in crisis—and a hidden story of survival. New Texas A&M University-led research reveals that adult survivors of the deadly 2019 heat wave passed heat-tolerant genetic variants linked to survival to the next generation, providing one of the clearest records of rapid evolution in the wild.