Press releases

In the past, bee-eaters in Doñana nested in natural substrates along the vera, the transitional zone between marshland and Mediterranean scrub. Over the past two decades, they’ve increasingly moved their nesting sites to the edges of roads and tracks. A new study by the Doñana Biological Station – CSIC suggests that this shift may be linked to rising livestock pressure


Román J., Blas J., Bastianelli G., Suárez-Couselo M.A., Revilla E., D'Amico M. (2025). Colonizers on the road: European bee-eaters shift nest-site selection to roadside habitats. Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70125

Understanding trophic relationships is key to predicting species range shifts and protecting ecosystems. Researchers analyzed over three million localizations from approximately 3,000 bears, representing 14 European and Turkish populations

REFERENCE: P.M. Lucas et al.. (2025) Trophic interactions are key to understanding the effects of global change on the distribution and functional role of the brown bear. Global Change Biology DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70252

A new study shows a common pattern in the distribution of species globally. The discovery will help to understand life on Earth -including how ecosystems respond to global environmental changes

REFERENCE: Bernardo-Madrid R, González-Suárez M, Rueda M, Revilla E, Rosvall M, Carrete M, et al. A general rule on the organization of biodiversity on Earth’s biogeographical regions. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02724-5

The costs could have reached 35 billion dollars per year over the last 60 years, a figure comparable to the global economic impact of extreme events associated with climate change. The international study, which combines estimated national costs and data on the global distribution of these species, was carried out with the participation of the Doñana Biological Station - CSIC


Ismael Soto, Pierre Courtois, Arman Pili, Enrico Tordoni, Eléna Manfrini, Elena Angulo, Céline Bellard, Elizabeta Briski, Miloš Buřič, Ross N. Cuthbert, Antonín Kouba, Melina Kourantidou, Rafael L. Macêdo, Boris Leroy, Phillip J. Haubrock, Franck Courchamp & Brian Leung. Using species ranges and macroeconomic data to fill the gap in costs of biological invasions. Nature Ecology and Evolution. Nature Ecology & https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02697-5

May 20 marks World Bee Day, aimed at raising awareness about the importance of bees and other pollinators for biodiversity, food security, and the environment. A research team at the Doñana Biological Station focuses on understanding how global change impacts the structure and composition of ecological communities, especially those made up of plants and pollinators.

Montserrat Vilà, an expert in Ecology and the impacts of invasive alien species is a Professor of Research at the Spanish National Research Council at the Estación Biológica de Doñana and an Associated Professor of the University of Seville. The award recognizes the scientific contributions of a researcher who is not a U.S. citizen and is not currently residing in the United States.

"Environmental experts from across the country—including researchers from the Doñana Biological Station—gathered yesterday as part of the ‘CICERÓN Itineraries’ to present initiatives aimed at managing and restoring biodiversity." The event, held at the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE-CSIC) in the Aragonese city of Jaca, provided a forum for dialogue between researchers, policymakers, and society to address ecosystem conservation challenges through scientific knowledge.

The role of the microbiota may determine the ability of mosquitoes to transmit disease. Bacteria from the families Burkholderiaceae and Erwiniaceae were predominantly identified. On the other hand, bacteria of the genus Wolbachia, which block virus replication in other mosquito species, were rare.

Marta Garrigós, Mario Garrido, María José Ruiz-López, María José García-López, Jesús Veiga, Sergio Magallanes, Ramón Soriguer, Isabel Moreno Indias, Jordi Figuerola, Josué Martínez-de la Puente. Microbiota composition of Culex perexiguus mosquitoes during the West Nile virus outbreak in southern Spain. PLos One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314001

A study conducted by the Doñana Biological Station – CSIC and the University of Seville analyses how individual plants in various populations establish their interactions with the animals that consume their fruits. On average, a sigle individual attracts 70% of the diversity of frugivores animals present in its community, yet only a very small fraction of individuals play a central role in the network of interactions.

Quintero, E., Arroyo-Correa, B., Isla, J., Rodríguez-Sánchez, F., Jordano, P. (2025). Downscaling mutualistic networks from species to individuals reveals consistent interaction niches and roles within plant populations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(7), e2402342122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2402342122

Since 2004, the Doñana Biological Station has used remote sensing to monitor changes and trends in the Doñana Natural Area at a landscape scale. Research continues to integrate new techniques and expand its capabilities. Doñana stands out for its potential to become an international calibration and validation site for remote sensing products.

1. Coccia, Cristina, Eva Pintado, Álvaro L. Paredes, David Aragonés, Daniela C. O’Ryan, Andy J. Green, Javier Bustamante, and Ricardo Díaz-Delgado. 2024. “Modelling Water Depth, Turbidity and Chlorophyll Using Airborne Hyperspectral Remote Sensing in a Restored Pond Complex of Doñana National Park (Spain).” Remote Sensing 16 (16). 2996. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16162996

2. Gómez-Giráldez, Pedro J., Jordi Cristóbal, Héctor Nieto, Diego García-Díaz, and Ricardo Díaz-Delgado. 2024. “Validation of Gross Primary Production Estimated by Remote Sensing for the Ecosystems of Doñana National Park through Improvements in Light Use Efficiency Estimation.” Remote Sensing 16 (12). 2170. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16122170

3. Gómez-Giráldez, Pedro J., Marcos Jiménez, Ma Pilar Cendrero-Mateo, Shari Van Wittenberghe, Juan José Peón, Adrián Moncholí-Estornell, Jesús Delegido, Jose F. Moreno, and Ricardo Díaz-Delgado. 2024. “The Spafleximp Project: Spanish Flex-S3 Mission Calibration and Validation Plan Implementation.” In IGARSS 2024 - 2024 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 296–300. doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/IGARSS53475.2024.10640946 .