Mutualistic interactions—beneficial exchanges between species—are fundamental to ecosystem structure, function and resilience. From pollination and seed dispersal to microbial nutrient exchange, ...

In nature, species will sometimes form unexpectedly close bonds and work to their mutual benefit. Symbiotic relationships are the close associations formed between pairs of species. They come in a ...

New research shows that pitcher plants, long seen as insect predators, may have a mutualistic relationship with wasps. The nectar of these carnivorous plants provides a key food source for wasps, ...

An entomologist documents a rare interaction between ant species, suggesting a possible mutualistic “cleaning” system similar ...

Webs of mutualistic species often expand as new species are introduced. Here a female Anna’s hummingbird visits a Mexican bush sage in a California garden. (Photo by John Thompson) Coevolution, which ...

A new North Carolina State University study finds that climate change could be destabilizing the mutualistic relationships between insects and plants. The findings could portend the future fracturing ...

Scientists discovered that swollen-thorn acacias invested more in ant rewards during a drought, suggesting that mutualistic interactions play a crucial role in the plant’s survival, even during ...

Mutualistic interactions—reciprocal relationships in which both participants derive benefit—form the backbone of many ecological communities, from plant–pollinator assemblages to seed dispersal and ...

In one of the most significant synergies in technology set for the forthcoming years, advanced sensors, artificial intelligence (AI), digital twins, extended reality (XR) and robotics are projected to ...