Ecology articles from across Nature Portfolio

Climate change is predicted to increase extremes of weather, affecting ecosystems and resulting in biodiversity losses. We leveraged advances in climate seasonal forecasts to develop an early warning system that helps identify exposure of species to extreme temperatures. The forecasts provided by this system can guide the implementation of mitigation measures.

An exploration of chaos theory in population dynamics showed that unpredictable systems can often be modelled using surprisingly simple mathematics.

Tropical forest expansion into previously unforested areas contributes substantially to carbon sequestration, offering an additional pathway for offsetting CO₂ emissions and enhancing the resilience of future carbon dynamics.

Biodiversity indicators are essential for tracking progress towards international biodiversity goals, but existing indicators have important shortcomings and are not based on animal movement data. This Perspective outlines why incorporating movement data into biodiversity indicators can help to address these shortcomings, improve monitoring and inform effective conservation actions.

Sediment loads present on Florida’s reefs are impeding the recovery of coral populations by inhibiting larval settlement and reducing the survivorship of recruits for multiple reef-building coral species.

Global warming threatens to eradicate Earth’s tropical corals. As legal interventions addressing climate change expand, fossil fuel companies’ historical awareness of their products’ damaging effects is increasingly important. We searched historical documents using a large-language-model-based agent, finding that carbon majors were aware by the 1980s of prospective impacts of fossil fuels on corals from ocean acidification, marine heatwaves, sea-level rise, and intensified storms and later funded efforts downplaying such impacts.

Canada’s forest disturbance costs have been rising quickly. This Comment proposes that silviculture must be reframed as a risk mitigation tool under an ‘avoided costs’ framework, as proactive investments become essential to prevent far greater damage to society and ecosystems.

Climate change is predicted to increase extremes of weather, affecting ecosystems and resulting in biodiversity losses. We leveraged advances in climate seasonal forecasts to develop an early warning system that helps identify exposure of species to extreme temperatures. The forecasts provided by this system can guide the implementation of mitigation measures.

As Kew Botanic Gardens completes a scan of its collections, AI tools could help in the fight against biodiversity loss.

Climate change, extreme weather and socioeconomic change drive surges in dengue and other mosquito-borne infectious diseases. Strengthening dengue resilience in a changing climate requires improved vector control, surveillance, climate-informed disease burden projections, sustainable urban and environmental management, and stronger community engagement. Partnerships that span health, environment, climate, economic and community sectors are critical for creating climate-resilient systems that improve health, environment and well-being.