Ecology 

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Latest news on ecology, providing comprehensive coverage of biodiversity, ecosystems, conservation, wildlife, habitats, extinction, rewilding, invasive species, food webs, food chains, biomass, biomes and the biosphere, as well as the work of ecologists around the world.

Ecology is the science of how living things interact with each other and with their surroundings. The German biologist Ernst Haeckel introduced the term in 1866, and the botanist Arthur Tansley coined the word "ecosystem" in 1935. Ecological research spans single populations, whole biomes and the global biosphere.

Healthy ecosystems depend on biodiversity: biodiverse habitats support food webs and food chains that move energy between species, and keystone species shape the habitats around them. The return of wolves to Yellowstone in 1995 is often cited as an example of how one predator can reshape a landscape. Ecologists also measure biomass, population change and species richness to track how nature is responding to pressure.

A major global assessment in 2019 estimated that around one million animal and plant species face extinction, many within decades. Habitat loss, invasive species, pollution, overexploitation and climate change are the main pressures, affecting wetlands, rainforests, coral reefs and pollinators alike. Governments agreed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022, including a target to protect 30 percent of land and sea by 2030, and progress remains closely watched.

Ecology is also a human story. Citizen scientists count birds, insects and plants, community groups restore rivers and meadows, and Indigenous and local knowledge informs how land is managed. Rewilding projects, wildlife gardening and nature reserves show how people can help ecosystems recover, while conservation and development often compete for the same land.

The field has deep roots in natural history and in Darwin's idea of a struggle for existence, and it grew through the twentieth century into a data-driven science using satellites, DNA analysis and long-term monitoring. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of 2005 helped put the value of nature on the political agenda, and modern conservation biology builds on that work.

The NewsNow Ecology feed gathers the latest headlines on ecology, biodiversity, ecosystems, conservation, wildlife, endangered species, habitats, extinction and nature loss, updated throughout the day from reliable science and environment sources.