Nature reports

Which oysters are released matters when restoring European flat oyster reefs. To preserve genetic diversity and prevent inbreeding, the origin and relatedness of the oysters should be considered for each restoration area. This is..

PhD research shows that sharks and rays are present in operational wind farms in the North Sea and that power cables do not form a barrier. Exposure to the electromagnetic fields does, however, affect behaviour and growth. Whether..

A new species of antlion from South India has been named after Mónica Guimarães Cruz, collection manager at Naturalis. The type specimen is, in fact, part of the Naturalis insect collection, which she manages. This gesture is not..

There's black gold to be found on Dutch beaches: ancient fossils. But determining what you have found is no easy task. Researchers from Naturalis and other institutions have trained artificial intelligence to recognize fossils...

The DNA of Asian elephants tells a concerning story. Although all four subspecies are under pressure, there are considerable differences in their genetic health. The Sri Lankan elephant appears to have a relatively large amount of..

Mixed teams of scientists and citizens, including Leiden evolution biologist Menno Schilthuizen, have discovered two new snail species in northwestern Montenegro. The discovery underscores the region's importance for hidden..

People with hay fever may be exposed to much more allergenic pollen in one street than just a few streets away. Research in Leiden shows that pollen levels in urban air vary considerably at a local scale. Plants in public spaces..

For shorebirds such as sanderlings, food availability is determined not only by the abundance of prey, but also by the precise locations and periods during which prey are available. Research by Emma Penning and others shows that..

Most sidewalks are paved with square grey concrete slabs. If you look closely at older paving stones, you will often spot pale grey circular patches, about the size of the base of a soft drink can. These are lichens, living..

In marine environments, sponges tend to eat other organisms to get their nutrients, but they can also use photosynthesis, in collaboration with microbes. This phenomenon can help with the productivity – the amount of energy and..