EurekAlert! In the Spotlight

Welcome to In the Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on something exciting, timely, or simply fascinating from the world of science.

This August, we're exploring the science behind the animals that share our planet. From the behaviors and adaptations that help species thrive to the conservation efforts protecting wildlife around the world, animal awareness days like World Lion Day, World Elephant Day, International Cat Day, and International Wolf Day are an opportunity to celebrate biodiversity and discover the research helping us better understand and protect the species that call our planet home.

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 21-Oct-2026 10:17 ET (21-Oct-2026 14:17 GMT/UTC)

9-Oct-2026

AI platforms offer promise in limiting the illegal wildlife trade

University of Kent
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New University of Kent research has found promising signs that AI platforms have the potential to limit the illegal wildlife trade. While AI can present new risks in society, researchers from Kent (part of the LASE University Group) found that AI platforms currently appear to provide additional information to would-be consumers, allowing them to make a more informed purchasing decision compared with traditional internet searches.

Journal: Conservation Biology

9-Oct-2026

Nightjar wings reveal a trade-off between hunting slowly and travelling far

Lund University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The nightjar migrates thousands of kilometres, yet the same wings must also help it catch insects at low speeds. A new study from Lund University shows how these competing demands have shaped the bird’s flight performance.

Journal: PLOS Biology

8-Oct-2026

The story behind the butterfly’s enhanced visual world of color

University of California - San Diego
Peer-Reviewed Publication

UC San Diego biologists have unraveled the genetic adaptation that gave butterflies the ability to see rich, vivid color in their environment. The genetic change produces an additional photoreceptor that expands color vision for locating nectar and other butterflies.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: Hellman Foundation, NIH National Human Genome Research Institute/EDGE program

8-Oct-2026

African gemsbok spreading in New Mexico: How far could they go under climate change?

College of ACES at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Majestic African antelopes known as gemsbok have been roaming the U.S. southwest since their introduction in the 1960s and 1970s. Brought to New Mexico as game species for hunting, gemsbok quickly settled in, expanding more than 100 kilometers from their introduction point. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers say that’s due to their exceptional adaptations to arid conditions, which they predict will dramatically expand under climate change.

Journal: Journal of Mammalogy
Funder: National Institute of Food and Agriculture

8-Oct-2026

Sperm whale study highlights need for ‘extensive & dynamic’ conservation

University of Exeter
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study of sperm whales highlights the need for ocean conservation that covers large areas – with boundaries redrawn as our climate changes.

Journal: Endangered Species Research

8-Oct-2026

Cows can become pregnant even without embryonal interferon tau

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Peer-Reviewed Publication

LMU researchers challenge a decades-old model: genetically modified embryos lacking interferon tau can establish pregnancies and develop into healthy calves.

Journal: Nature Communications

8-Oct-2026

Healthy reef sounds can boost coral and fish recovery efforts

University of California - San Diego
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Two new studies led by UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography reveal how underwater acoustic enrichment — the playback of sounds from healthy reefs — can help spur the recovery of degraded coral reefs and their fish communities.

Journal: Communications Biology
Funder: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

8-Oct-2026

Novel device will help show how wildfire smoke impacts wildlife

Colorado State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Colorado State University researchers have developed an air quality monitoring device that can be paired with systems that track wildlife location and physiological data to learn how smoke impacts wildlife health and behavior.

Journal: Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Funder: U.S. Forest Service