hillside with tree trunks burned in a forest fire and many small bushes and other plants growing in their place

Montana Institute on Ecosystems

Recent News

Our researchers conduct impactful scientific research that's hard to ignore! Below are recent news stories covering some of our research affiliates. Explore the menu on the left to view our news archive, and learn more about upcoming seminars and relevant events.

AN orange and purple salamander floats in water.

How amphibians breathe through their skin to survive

10/29/2025 - A-Z Animals
"Amphibian skin has a lower concentration of oxygen than the water surrounding it, and since the capillaries are so close to the surface, oxygen can easily cross the thin barrier between the water and the cells," says Eric Lyons, PhD candidate at UM
Read the full story
Two researchers sit in front of a wind tunnel, holding Eurasian collared doves.

The new science of Aeroecology reveals so much [about birds]

10/1/2025 - Smithsonian Magazine
At the University of Montana Flight Lab, director Bret Tobalske and his PhD student Rémy Delplanche have been filming Eurasian collared doves that are pulled off course as they fly in a wind tunnel.
Read the full story
A small songbird is gently held between fingers

Bird banding project gathers scientific data in Bitterroot Valley

9/25/2025 - NBC Montana
"We're excited to share some knowledge with them and hope that people leave with a yeah, a little bit more awareness of nature and what's happening around them," UM Bird Ecology Lab Project Manager Tricia Rodriguez said.
Read the full story
A group of four field researchers sit in lawn chairs in a park at night, using headlamps to stare at something in the canopy off camera.

Japan journey: UM undergrad revels in Rhino Beetle research

9/2/2025 - UM News
For several weeks this summer, University of Montana student Iris McKean found herself sitting in the dark all night with UM IoE graduate fellow Sophie Fitzgerald in an urban park an hour’s train ride south of Tokyo.
Read the full story
A colony of butterflies huddles on a branch in a tree's canopy.

Wings of wonder: Butterfly migration enchants Bengaluru

5/31/2025 - South First
“This year appears to be a good migration year, since large numbers (of butterflies) are observed — likely due to the strong monsoon rains in the Western Ghats,” Nitin Ravikanthachari [...] told South First.
Read the full story

Last updated on January 27, 2026