Science AI Journal
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Research topic

Open research questions in Plant and animal studies

914 gap statements mined from Plant and animal studies papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 3,696 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

Choosing where to publish on Plant and animal studies? See the ranked Biology journals.

What the literature leaves open

  • Little is currently known about the consequences of living in natural versus anthropogenic cavities for social bees. There is a need to understand the impacts of urban expansion on bees.

    Nesting in human-made versus natural cavities affects colony demography and nest architecture in an urban-adapted Neotropical stingless bee · 2026 · DOI

  • The bee fauna of the southern French Alps remains poorly documented. There is a lack of data on the distribution and abundance of wild bee species in the area.

    Wild bee diversity in the village of Peyresq and the surrounding areas in the southern French Alps · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of understanding of wild bee abundance and species richness in commercial lavender fields. Prior work has focused on food crops, leaving a gap in knowledge about non-food crops like lavender.

    Abundance and Richness of Wild Bees on Organically Managed Lavender Farms · 2026 · DOI

  • The research highlights the need to address dependence among repeated observations of the same quadrat. The study notes the challenge of limiting interference from weekend visitor numbers and ensuring the route was not fixed.

    Seasonal Variation in Floral Resources and Their Associations with Flower-Visiting Bees and Butterflies in Five Urban Parks in Guangzhou, China · 2026 · DOI

  • The research highlights the need for further monitoring and study of the continuity of floral resources.

    Seasonal Variation in Floral Resources and Their Associations with Flower-Visiting Bees and Butterflies in Five Urban Parks in Guangzhou, China · 2026 · DOI

  • The taxonomy of the genus Sclerodermus is poorly resolved, with many species exhibiting morphological reduction and simplification. There is a lack of molecular data for many species within the genus. The study highlights the need for further research on the systematics of Sclerodermus.

    Molecular and Morphological Analyses for Delimiting Species Boundaries: The Case of Sclerodermus cereicollis Kieffer, 1904 (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) · 2025 · DOI

  • The need to account for seasonal variations and individual population changes.

    Species List and Temporal Trends of a Butterfly Community in an Urban Remnant in the Atlantic Forest · 2025 · DOI

  • The need to preserve natural grassland habitats to support the conservation of wild bees.

    Plants for Wild Bees—Field Records in Bulgaria · 2025 · DOI

  • The lack of knowledge about the flowering plants favored by European wild bees. The need for more studies on seed germination specifics of plants used by wild bees. The importance of preserving natural grassland habitats to support the conservation of wild bees.

    Plants for Wild Bees—Field Records in Bulgaria · 2025 · DOI

  • The lack of understanding of reproductive interactions between firefly species. The lack of knowledge on the consequences of these interactions on fitness and population dynamics.

    Interspecific Courtship Between Two Endemic Fireflies · 2025 · DOI

  • The need to address methodological issues, such as systematic biases in IEV data. The challenge of predicting future invasion risks in a complex and dynamic system.

    Analysis of Influencing Factors and Trend Prediction of Invasive Alien Plants in China · 2025 · DOI

  • The study faced challenges in terms of sampling and data collection, including the need to minimize variations attributable to weather parameters. The study also faced challenges in terms of data analysis, including the need to account for differences in species composition and abundance between the two areas.

    Habitat Fragmentation on Bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) Diversity, Food Niches, and Bee–Plant Interaction Networks · 2025 · DOI

  • One of the main deterrents to researchers publishing state-level bee species checklists is the availability and reliability of data. The paper highlights the challenges of developing comprehensive and informative regional checklists due to the limited distributions, seasonal and annual population fluctuations, small size, and elusive behaviors of bees.

    A Checklist of the Bees of Utah · 2025 · DOI

  • The need to integrate findings from fieldwork and herbarium revisions to refine the understanding of orchid diversity in Montenegro.

    Exploring the Orchid Flora of Montenegro: Ten Newly Identified Taxa · 2025 · DOI

  • The lack of understanding of how environmental modifications can affect biodiversity on a local and regional scale. The need to comprehend how environmental variables and spatial filters contribute to the structuring of assemblages.

    The Importance of Different Biomes (Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Caatinga) in the Regional Structuring of Neotropical Dragonfly Assemblages · 2025 · DOI

  • The study notes the complexity of working with large datasets and the need for robust statistical methods to analyze community data.

    Landscape Heterogeneity and Island Identity as Drivers of Mesoscale Structure of Pollination Networks · 2025 · DOI

  • There is a need to develop strategies for maintaining pollination ecosystem services in agricultural environments. The study seeks to address the gap in the understanding of the efficacy of wildflower strips in supporting pollinator populations.

    Wildflower Strips Increase Aculeate Pollinator Diversity but Not Abundance in Agricultural Landscapes with Rapeseed in Crop Rotations · 2025 · DOI

  • The subgenus Halictus (Monilapis) is a complex group in which females are often indistinguishable, requiring a revision to correctly identify specimens. Mountain bees are particularly vulnerable to climate change, which can force them to shift upslope with limited possibilities of dispersal. Land-use change, through overgrazing and habitat closure, can also affect wild bee populations in the area.

    Wild bee diversity in the village of Peyresq and the surrounding areas in the southern French Alps · 2026 · DOI

  • Nectar and nectary measurements were not taken on the same flowers, - The study only examined two Salvia taxa, - The study was conducted over a limited time period…

    Do nectary morphology, anatomy, and nectar production differ between two Salvia taxa with contrasting floral traits and floral visitor assemblages? · 2026 · DOI

  • Further study of the nectary morphology and anatomy of other Salvia taxa, - Investigation of the effects of nectar production on pollinator attraction and plant fitness, - Comparison of the nectar-mediated interactions of S. uliginosa and S.

    Do nectary morphology, anatomy, and nectar production differ between two Salvia taxa with contrasting floral traits and floral visitor assemblages? · 2026 · DOI

  • New research and initiatives are needed to further advance the knowledge of temporal ecology, - Studies should incorporate both climatic transitions into sampling designs, - Long-term studies are necessary to understand changes in biodiversity due to current climatic and urban…

    Species List and Temporal Trends of a Butterfly Community in an Urban Remnant in the Atlantic Forest · 2025 · DOI

  • Low phylogenetic resolution in previous molecular phylogenetic studies - Limited number of DNA markers used in previous studies - Unavailable data for some…

    Comparative Plastomics of Tropidia (Orchidaceae): Unraveling Structural Evolution and Phylogenetic Implications in Epidendroideae · 2025 · DOI

  • Further investigation of plastome evolution and phylogenetic relationships within Epidendroideae - Analysis of more species and tribes to improve phylogenetic…

    Comparative Plastomics of Tropidia (Orchidaceae): Unraveling Structural Evolution and Phylogenetic Implications in Epidendroideae · 2025 · DOI

  • Limited geographic data deficiencies exist regarding bee diversity and distributions, - Spatial gaps, data that are not digitized, and dispersed records across isolated databases, - Sampling effort may impact county level species…

    A Checklist of the Bees of Utah · 2025 · DOI

  • Incorporating phylogenies could provide valuable insights into network stability, - Analyzing the complementarity and redundancy of species' roles may increase the network's resilience…

    Landscape Heterogeneity and Island Identity as Drivers of Mesoscale Structure of Pollination Networks · 2025 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Plant and animal studies

Most recent work

Find a gap in your own Plant and animal studies sub-topic

This page shows what the Plant and animal studies literature already flags as unresolved. To narrow it to your specific question, search the Research Gap Finder: the search is free with a free account and lists the papers closest to your topic first. Unlocking that topic (50 credits, charged once) fills the comparison table from our 7.9M-paper local library and writes the gaps from its rows.

Open the Research Gap Finder →

Related topics in Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
2,621 open questions
Smart Agriculture and AI
2,325 open questions
Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity
1,584 open questions
Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance
1,486 open questions
Plant Molecular Biology Research
1,308 open questions
Probiotics and Fermented Foods
1,284 open questions
Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
1,082 open questions
Animal Nutrition and Physiology
969 open questions
Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) There is a need to understand the impacts of urban expansion on bees (“Nesting in human-made versus natural cavities affects colony demography and…”, 2026); (2) There is a lack of data on the distribution and abundance of wild bee species in the area (“Wild bee diversity in the village of Peyresq and the surrounding areas in the…”, 2026); (3) There is a lack of understanding of wild bee abundance and species richness in commercial lavender fields (“Abundance and Richness of Wild Bees on Organically Managed Lavender Farms”, 2026); (4) There is a lack of molecular data for many species within the genus (“Molecular and Morphological Analyses for Delimiting Species Boundaries: The…”, 2025); (5) The lack of knowledge about the flowering plants favored by European wild bees (“Plants for Wild Bees—Field Records in Bulgaria”, 2025). 914 gap statements have been mined from Plant and animal studies papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 3,696 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

Tools for your next paper

Gaps & Literature SearchFind open questions in any field — 1,100,000+ open gaps mined from our own library.Pre-CheckIs your paper ready? Acceptance odds for top, mid and open/emerging journals, in seconds.Journal FinderA ranked shortlist of target journals from a 17,500-venue index.Duplicate Publication CheckerCheck for prior publication across 7 sources and our local library.Citation GeneratorFreeA DOI or title → APA, MLA, Vancouver, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS. No signup.Graphical Abstract MakerFreeTurn your findings into a colorblind-safe graphical abstract.

How Pre-Check worksHow AI Review works

Compare the category — Honest roundups of the AI research tools, ours listed alongside the alternatives.

Command palette

Jump anywhere, run any action.