Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Life Sciences
Reintroducing a nationally extinct predator, the forest caterpillar hunter (Calosoma sycophanta), for biocontrol of the invasive oak processionary (Thaumetopoea processionea) in Britain: considerations, benefits and risks
Published: 2026-03-18
Subjects: Life Sciences
1. Controlling invasive species remains one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. Sustainably managing invasive pests like the oak processionary moth (Thaumetopoea processionea; OPM), which lacks natural enemies in Britain, may require the introduction, or reintroduction, of suitable biocontrol agents. 2. The forest caterpillar hunter (Calosoma sycophanta; FCH) is thought to have been [...]
Historical mating systems and the origin of sexual ornam
Published: 2026-03-18
Subjects: Life Sciences
Ornamental traits are commonly interpreted as products of runaway sexual selection or costly signals of male quality, but many ornamental traits appear to be functionally redundant, and, especially in birds, multiple ornaments coexist without clear links to condition or survival. This new proposal explains the evolution of ornament through sexual selection. based on looking for historic [...]
The Finite Element method to aid modelling of complex ecological systems
Published: 2026-03-18
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Predicting how biodiversity responds to environmental change and management interventions remains a major challenge in ecology. Ecological systems are shaped by the interplay of demographic processes, species interactions, dispersal, and spatial heterogeneity across landscapes. Yet, many existing modelling approaches face a trade-off between spatial and ecological complexity, which limits their [...]
The scent of survival in a warming world: how monoterpenes drive thermal adaptation in thyme
Published: 2026-03-18
Subjects: Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Other Plant Sciences, Physiology, Plant Biology, Plant Sciences, Population Biology
1 Monoterpenes are key plant secondary metabolites with well known defensive and ecological functions, yet their role in abiotic stress tolerance remains poorly understood. In many Mediterranean plants, monoterpene composition varies markedly within and among species and is associated with climatic gradients, suggesting that these compounds may mediate plant responses to extreme heat. 2 We [...]
Adaptive strategies for biodiversity monitoring integrating Indigenous ecological calendars and community science data
Published: 2026-03-18
Subjects: Life Sciences
Integrating Indigenous and Western ecological knowledge can strengthen understanding of phenological patterns, yet this integration is often constrained by epistemological differences, power asymmetries, and histories of exclusion. We evaluated the potential of the Two-Eye Seeing guiding principle, which integrates the strengths of both knowledge systems, in ongoing biocultural conservation [...]
Flexibility training does not increase behavioral flexibility of Florida scrub-jays
Published: 2026-03-18
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Human modifications of environments are expanding, causing global changes that other species must adjust to or suffer from. Behavioral flexibility (hereafter 'flexibility') could be key to coping with rapid change. Behavioral research can contribute to conservation by determining which behaviors can predict the ability to adjust to human modified environments and whether these can be manipulated. [...]
Habitat disturbance interacts with Bd infection to shape the skin bacterial communities of an Amazonian frog
Published: 2026-03-17
Subjects: Life Sciences
Amphibians are the most threatened vertebrate class globally, with habitat alteration and the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) representing two major and often co-occurring drivers of decline. However, how these stressors interact to shape host-microbiome-pathogen dynamics remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated whether variation in anthropogenic habitat disturbance, [...]
Calendario ecológico sobre las aves desde la cosmovisión Pamiwã (Cubeo) en el departamento del Vaupés, Amazonía colombiana
Published: 2026-03-17
Subjects: Life Sciences
Los calendarios ecológicos son marcos ecoculturales que vinculan escalas temporales y espaciales con el uso, el manejo y la comprensión del entorno. A partir de diálogos de saberes con las comunidades indígenas Pamiwã (familia lingüística Tukano oriental) principalmente entre 2016 y 2021, presentamos un calendario ecológico que vincula la estacionalidad de la diversidad ornitológica en Mitú, [...]
Guidelines and best practices for the scientific use of global iNaturalist data
Published: 2026-03-16
Subjects: Life Sciences
Participatory science platforms are undoubtedly changing how biodiversity research is being conducted. Among these, iNaturalist has emerged as the largest and most widely used global infrastructure for biodiversity observation data, generating millions of new records each year and contributing substantially to global biodiversity repositories such as GBIF. As a result, iNaturalist data are [...]
Heterogeneity: Meaning and Measurement, Causes and Consequences
Published: 2026-03-16
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Heterogeneity—the variation within and among collectives whose constituent entities interact and integrate into larger, functioning wholes, distinguished fundamentally from diversity as mere variation within non-interacting populations—has emerged as a central organizing principle across ecology and its allied fields. Yet the term remains ambiguously defined, often conflated with diversity [...]
Evaluating population resilience to anticipated stressors using integrated population modeling: a case study of Peregrine Falcons
Published: 2026-03-15
Subjects: Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Ornithology, Population Biology
Reliable estimates of demographic parameters are fundamental to understanding population dynamics and guiding conservation efforts. Integrated population models (IPMs) provide a powerful framework for jointly analyzing diverse data sources to estimate demographic rates and population trajectories, evaluate resilience to environmental stressors, and project population dynamics info the future. We [...]
A widespread gap in U.S. Endangered Species Act implementation: Risk of genetic erosion within populations
Published: 2026-03-15
Subjects: Biodiversity, Life Sciences
Despite its importance to fitness and population viability, genetic diversity is rarely incorporated into biodiversity assessments. The recent adoption of indicators of intraspecific genetic diversity by the Convention on Biological Diversity has highlighted the importance of evaluating genetic diversity in wild species. Genetic indicators are useful even in the absence of genetic data because [...]
Assessing the dual utility of nuptial patterning in the rainbow darter (Etheostoma caeruleum)
Published: 2026-03-15
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
In this study, we assessed the possible dual utility of nuptial color patterns in male rainbow darters (Etheostoma caeruleum) in the context of male-male territorial interactions and female mate choice. Using a cohort of wild-caught male E. caeruleum, we conducted simulated territorial contests between pairs of males in the lab. We scored the “winner” and the “loser” of each contest based on [...]
Impacted Bones: Can extant primates help identify tool-use in early hominins?
Published: 2026-03-15
Subjects: Life Sciences
Despite recent advances pushing back the earliest record of tool use, how and when it first emerged in the hominin lineage, and the extent to which it featured amongst the numerous co-existing hominin species, remain critical questions in palaeoanthropology. In addition to analysing extinct hominin fossils and lithic toolkits, tool-use in extant primates should be studied to help answer this [...]
The use of multi-response models to improve inferences about natural selection
Published: 2026-03-14
Subjects: Life Sciences
Natural selection, the relationship between trait and fitness, is a key determinant of evolutionary change and population adaptation. Therefore, accurate estimation of natural selection is important. In 1983, Lande and Arnold proposed a simple regression-based approach which allows the measurement of selection on a range of traits whilst accounting for confounding variables. However, issues [...]