Nature reports

Birds play a larger role in the dispersal of wild cotton than previously thought. A study published in the journal Oikos shows that they collect cotton fibres as nesting material and can move seeds over distances of more than a..

The increasing number of westerly storms, expected as a result of climate change, will lead to a decline in the availability of food for wading birds, such as the red knot. This is shown in a study by master student Timo Keuning..

Fruiting plants rely on fruit-eating animals for seed dispersal. These animals have become increasingly scarce, especially the large ones. This is especially the case in areas where the balance is lost due to human interference...

Great tits can't complain about a lack of attention. NIOO has hung nearly two thousand nesting boxes for this 'model species'. For seven decades researchers have been following these songbirds. This makes it the longest-running..

Since 2012, the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) has been conducting research into the effect of artificial light at night on our natural environment. For this research – Light on Nature – streetlights have been..

Spoonbills spend a large part of the summer outside their protected breeding grounds. After breeding, the migratory birds gather on the mudflats of Lutjewad, on the coast of Groningen. Research by BirdEyes shows the seasonal..

According to the IUCN Red List, over 47,000 plant and animal species are threatened with extinction. Most species, however, are at little to no risk. What makes one species much more vulnerable than another?..

As climate change drives earlier spring conditions in the Arctic, birds species that travel there to breed are under pressure to migrate faster. Despite their remarkable ability to adapt, researchers warn that speeding up spring..

Ringing of wild birds has become indispensable as a research method to track individual birds. Since 1911, some 16 million birds have been fitted with a metal ring in the Netherlands. What has that brought in terms of knowledge,..

Many animal species become smaller or larger in recent decades, with climate change often mentioned as a cause. Red knots, shorebirds travelling ten thousand kilometers every year between breeding grounds in Arctic Russia and..