The middle spotted woodpecker has disappeared from Sweden, while the European fire-bellied toad has been reintroduced. (Photos: Wikimedia Commons) Researchers in Lund, Copenhagen and Norwich have shown that harmful mutations present in the DNA play an important – yet neglected – role in the conservation and translocation programs of threatened species. “Many species are threatened by extinction, b

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/genomics-informed-decisions-can-help-save-species-extinction - 2025-08-25

A great snipe in Jämtland, Sweden (Photo: Åke Lindström) Extreme differences in flight altitude between day and night may have been an undetected pattern amongst migratory birds – until now. The observation was made by researchers at Lund University in Sweden in a study of great snipes, where they also measured a new altitude record for migratory birds, irrespective of the species, reaching 8 700

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/astonishing-altitude-changes-marathon-flights-migratory-birds - 2025-08-25

Claudia Tocco, researcher at Lund University, performing experiments with dung beetles at a light-polluted site in central Johannesburg. Photo: Marcus Byrne For the first time, researchers have been able to prove that city lights limit the ability of nocturnal animals to navigate by natural light in the night sky. Instead, they are forced to use streetlamps, neon light or floodlights to orient the

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/artificial-light-disrupts-dung-beetles-sense-direction - 2025-08-25

A red mason bee at its nest. The new study shows that trees could be just as important as flowers for bees' survival. Photo: Melanie Karlsson There is an increasing awareness that pollinating insects need flowers rich in pollen and nectar. A new study shows that trees can be just as important for survival – at least for the red mason bee, and probably for other wild bees too. Researchers have inve

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/bees-need-more-trees - 2025-08-25

Poppen the budgie (Photo: Per Henningsson) How do birds avoid collision when flying in dense foliage and other cramped environments with many obstacles? And what does flying in such complex environments entail for the birds? These were the questions Per Henningsson of Lund University in Sweden pondered before engaging the help of the family’s own pet budgie to get some answers. His study has now b

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/pandemic-restrictions-enabled-unique-bird-study - 2025-08-25

A spruce bark beetle. Photo: Fredrik Schlyter Researchers have successfully mapped the entire genome of the Eurasian spruce bark beetle. The breakthrough paves the way for new research into bark beetles and better prospects for effective pest control of a species that can destroy more than 100 million cubic metres of spruce forest during a single year in Europe and Asia. Mapping the genome of the

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/entire-genome-common-forest-pest-now-revealed - 2025-08-25

A globe skimmer dragonfly. Photo: Johanna Hedlund Can dragonflies migrate thousands of miles across the Indian Ocean, from India via the Maldives to Africa, and back again? An international research team led by Lund University in Sweden has used models and simulations to find out if the hypothesis could be true. In 2009, marine biologist Charles Anderson put forward a hypothesis after observing gl

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/study-supports-theory-dragonflies-migrate-across-indian-ocean - 2025-08-25

The researchers have discovered airborne DNA from bees, moths, beetles, mosquitoes, wasps and flies. Photo: Photorama/Pixabay. Scientists at Lund University have discovered for the first time that it is possible to detect insect DNA in the air. Using air from three sites in Sweden, insect DNA from 85 species could be identified. This offers scope for exploring a whole new way to monitor terrestria

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/skys-limit-using-airborne-dna-monitor-insect-biodiversity - 2025-08-25

Black swift (Photo: Zak Pohlen) An international research team led by Lund University in Sweden has managed to study the flight behaviour of the mysterious black swift. They found, among other things, that the black swift rises to extreme heights during a full moon, seemingly catching insects in the moonlight. And, during a lunar eclipse, the birds simultaneously lost altitude. The results are pub

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/black-swifts-descended-rapidly-during-lunar-eclipse - 2025-08-25

Stanley Heinze and Anna Runemark. Photo: Johan Joelsson and private. Brain cells that control the behaviour of insects, extreme gene expression in Italian sparrows and how radiotherapy alters the microenvironment in aggressive brain tumours. Three researchers at Lund University have been awarded five-year grants from the European Research Council. Stanley Heinze, a researcher at the Department of

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/two-researchers-biology-receive-erc-consolidator-grants - 2025-08-25

Olivier Van Aken and Essam Darwish. Photo: Johan Joelsson. A 30-year-old genetic mystery has been solved. It has previously been established that touch can trigger stress reactions in plants. However, the molecular models for explaining this process have been quite spartan so far. Now researchers at Lund University in Sweden have found genetic keys that explain how plants respond so strongly to me

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/what-happens-when-plants-have-stress-reactions-touch - 2025-08-25

Photo: Charlie Cornwallis The ostrich is genetically wired to adapt to rising or falling temperatures. However, when the temperature fluctuates more often, as it does with climate change, the flightless bird with a 40-gram brain finds it much more difficult. A research team at Lund University has shown that the ostrich is very sensitive to fluctuating temperatures in terms of whether it reproduces

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/ostriches-can-adapt-heat-or-cold-not-both - 2025-08-25

Researchers at Lund University have developed a new method for dating human remains. Photo. By analyzing DNA with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), an international research team led by Lund University in Sweden has developed a method that can accurately date up to ten-thousand year-old human remains. Accurately dating ancient humans is key when mapping how people migrated during world his

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/researchers-develop-first-ai-based-method-dating-archeological-remains - 2025-08-25

Photo: Unsplash The most common analytical method within population genetics is deeply flawed, according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden. This may have led to incorrect results and misconceptions about ethnicity and genetic relationships. The method has been used in hundreds of thousands of studies, affecting results within medical genetics and even commercial ancestry tests. The stu

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/study-reveals-flaws-popular-genetic-method - 2025-08-25

Photo: Albin Andersson Solitary bees that ingested the pesticide clothianidin when foraging from rapeseed flowers became slower. In addition, the strawberries pollinated by these bees were smaller. This is shown by a new study from Lund University in Sweden. Strawberries are known to become bigger if bees have visited their flowers, but how strawberry growth is affected if the bees have been expos

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/strawberries-were-smaller-when-bees-ingested-pesticides - 2025-08-25

Courtney Stairs and Sissel Sjöberg (Photo: Emma Wallenlöw/Anders Örtegren) Biology researchers Courtney Stairs and Sissel Sjöberg have been awarded just over SEK 15 million each in starting grants from the European Research Council, ERC. Their five-year projects will study marine interactions between microorganisms and complex migratory bird behaviour. Congratulations Courtney! Can you tell us a l

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/two-lund-university-biologists-awarded-erc-starting-grants - 2025-08-25

The winning picture: The eyes of a Helena's treefrog seem to glow in the dark. Photo: Roberto García-Roa Roberto García-Roa, postdoc at the department of Biology has won yet another prestigious photo award. This time he’s the overall winner of “Capturing Ecology”, the British Ecological Society photo competition. Congratulations Roberto, what does this award mean to you?– It’s very special! First,

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/sharp-shooting-biologist-winner-international-photography-award - 2025-08-25

Christoffer Johansson with the robotic wing. Photo: Anders Örtegren. Birds fly more efficiently by folding their wings during the upstroke, according to a recent study led by Lund University in Sweden. The results could mean that wing-folding is the next step in increasing the propulsive and aerodynamic efficiency of flapping drones. Even the precursors to birds – extinct bird-like dinosaurs – ben

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/feathered-robotic-wing-paves-way-flapping-drones - 2025-08-25

The male crucian carp can change appearance in the presence of predators. Photo: Jörgen Wilklund. Only males among the fish species crucian carp have developed a strategy to protect themselves from hungry predators, according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden. The explanation could lie in that the surrounding environment affects the stress system in males and females differently. Some

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/stress-may-trigger-male-defense-against-predators - 2025-08-25

The songbirds’ direction of travel is determined by two areas in the genome. Photo: Harald Ris Since antiquity, humans have been fascinated by birds’ intercontinental migratory journeys. A new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that two areas in their genome decide whether a willow warbler flies across the Iberian Peninsula to western Africa, or across the Balkans to eastern and southern A

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/genes-decide-willow-warblers-migration-routes - 2025-08-25