Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Life Sciences
Spatial structure before algorithmic complexity: evidence-based guidance for marine species distribution modelling where data are limited
Published: 2026-09-23
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Aim Species distribution models increasingly underpin marine conservation decisions, but most evidence on model performance comes from data rich settings unlike the sparse, clustered and irregularly sampled records typical of marine systems. We synthesise published evidence to establish which modelling choices govern predictive reliability when data are limited and translate the result into [...]
Caenorhabditis elegans and Serratia marcescens host-parasite coevolution model strains derived through mutagenesis and experimental evolution
Published: 2026-09-23
Subjects: Life Sciences
Here we present a detailed description of the derivation of a collection of Caenorhabditis elegans and Serratia marcescens strains and populations that have been mutagenized and passaged in a series of experimental evolution projects over the past two decades. These experimental strains and populations provide a powerful resource for the study of host-parasite coevolution and have so far been [...]
A Geospatial informed Conservation Strategy for Sustainable Management of Dalbergia sissoo (Roxb.) Population in India amidst Climate Change and Pathogen Induced Mortality Stress
Published: 2026-09-22
Subjects: Life Sciences
The natural population of Dalbergia sissoo, is declining due to biotic and abiotic stressors. Existing studies focus on pathogen-induced mortality in D. sissoo, but the impact of climate on habitat loss and population decline is limited. This study fills this gap by integrating climate change impacts and pathogen outbreaks to assess their combined influence on the distribution and survival [...]
Global assemblage stability is driven by asynchrony shaped by environmental heterogeneity
Published: 2026-09-22
Subjects: Life Sciences
Evidence suggests the diversity-stability relationship relies on asynchrony among populations. Yet our limited understanding of how the mechanisms underlying stability and asynchrony manifest across ecological scales prevents reliable forecasts of ecological stability amid ongoing biodiversity change. Here, linking stability, asynchrony and species richness across plant, bird, mammal, amphibian, [...]
Mining online behavioural data to measure zoonotic spillover risk
Published: 2026-09-22
Subjects: Life Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Efforts to predict zoonotic disease dynamics rarely directly quantify the fine-scale animal-human interactions that drive spillover. Public digital data (i.e., iEcology) could capture these behaviours at large scales, across time and space. Further, recent statistical advances allow us to semi-automate these processes, providing a framework for continuous exposure monitoring and risk prediction. [...]
Subsistence fisheries in Small Island Developing States: the case study of the goby-fry fishery in Guinea Gulf
Published: 2026-09-22
Subjects: Aquaculture and Fisheries Life Sciences, Community-based Research, Life Sciences, Marine Biology
1. Artisanal and subsistence fisheries are crucial for the livelihood and food security of local communities of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), yet they remain largely excluded from formal catch statistics and management frameworks. Using Ostrom’s Social-Ecological Systems (SES) diagnostic framework, this study characterizes the previously unreported goby-fry (“peixinho”) fishery across 14 [...]
When and how to integrate probability and nonprobability samples to monitor biodiversity
Published: 2026-09-22
Subjects: Life Sciences
1. Species occurrence and abundance data are generated by probability or nonprobability sampling. Under probability sampling, sites are selected according to a known design (e.g. stratified random sampling). Under nonprobability sampling—for example, the collection of data by citizen scientists at sites of their own choosing—they are not. Whereas probability samples tend to be relatively small [...]
AphidTraits: an open dataset of temperature-dependent trait responses in aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae)
Published: 2026-09-22
Subjects: Life Sciences
Aphids are among the most destructive and economically impactful group of agricultural pests. Their successful management hinges on integrative and sustainable control practices. Given the global scope of aphid impacts, mathematical models are invaluable for developing informed control strategies, particularly in the context of changing climate. Such models typically require detailed empirical [...]
Foraging group size affects repeatable individual variation and strategic social plasticity
Published: 2026-09-22
Subjects: Animal Studies, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Although game theory successfully predicts how negative frequency dependence can maintain behavioural variation through stable equilibria, it does not predict whether this variation reflects repeatable differences among individuals or variation within individuals. Because social group size influences how individuals respond to social information, it may shape how individual variation is [...]
Growing disequilibria in species distributions and assemblage diversity until the end of the 21st‑century
Published: 2026-09-22
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Biodiversity forecasts almost universally assume that species are in equilibrium with contemporary environmental conditions. The consequences of this assumption are rarely tested, yet it may systematically bias inference and prediction whenever past natural or anthropogenic disturbances leave legacy effects keeping biodiversity in disequilibrium. Here we test how accounting for such legacy [...]
Quantification of total fish eDNA concentration to optimize the detection of rare species and sampling effort
Published: 2026-09-22
Subjects: Life Sciences
eDNA metabarcoding is now a widely used method for monitoring aquatic biodiversity, but detecting rare species from extra-organism eDNA samples remains a challenge. Yet, rare species, whether threatened or newly colonizing organisms, are the primary targets of biological conservation measures. Replication and sample volume, as well as PCR replication, are among the main parameters studied to [...]
Stomatal responses of herbaceous plants to climate change since the 1800s: A case study using herbarium specimens
Published: 2026-09-21
Subjects: Biodiversity, Botany, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Plant Sciences
Background and Aims: As climate change accelerates, plants are expected to respond in myriad ways, such as shifting phenology or altering the density or size of stomata. Nonetheless, most studies to date have focused on just a single facet at a time. Methods: Here, we used herbarium specimens to examine stomatal responses to climate change in two perennial herbaceous species that have not [...]
Migration of the Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola through Morocco: historical records and new evidence from Atlantic coastal wetlands
Published: 2026-09-21
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
The Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola is a globally threatened long-distance migrant whose occurrence in Morocco remains poorly documented, particularly during post-breeding migration. Historical records document both pre- and post-breeding migration through Morocco, although only nine post-breeding records were reported before 2000, with subsequent targeted surveys resulting in the capture [...]
mycoBaseCL: un catálogo actualizado de los hongos de Chile
Published: 2026-09-21
Subjects: Biodiversity, Life Sciences, Other Life Sciences
El Reino Fungi constituye un grupo taxonómico megadiverso cuyas múltiples funciones ecosistémicas tienen repercusiones directas sobre el bienestar y desarrollo humano. Las bases de datos de biodiversidad resuelven la fragmentación de la información, existiendo en el contexto local compendios históricos sobre hongos de Chile desarrollados previamente. En los compendios de datos referidos se [...]
Evolution of frugivory across a large radiation of non-seed-dispersing animals
Published: 2026-09-16
Subjects: Life Sciences
The origin of Angiosperm fleshy fruits, a novel nutritious resource, has led to the evolution of frugivory in a wide range of animals. While the (co)evolutionary dynamics between fruits and seed dispersers has received much attention, the evolution of frugivory in non-seed-dispersing animals remains overlooked. Here, we elucidate the macroevolution of frugivory in a large radiation of an insect, [...]