Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
A Sharma–Mittal Geometry of Evenness: Representation, Cardinal Resolution, and Relative Merits
Published: 2026-09-11
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
The proliferation of evenness indices creates an interpretive problem whenever several admissible measures assign different numerical values to the same assemblage. We study that problem by normalizing Sharma–Mittal entropy to its maximum at complete uniformity. Written in terms of the Hill number of order α, the resulting surface is [...]
Do we need all of this research synthesis in ecology and conservation? A highly subjective criticism of reviews and meta-analyses
Published: 2026-09-11
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Research synthesis, which includes systematic reviews and meta-analyses, provides applied ecologists and conservationists with big pictures of ecological processes and the effectiveness of conservation interventions. It can therefore hugely benefit applied ecology and conservation science. However, while in some areas of ecology and the conservation sciences study design, measurements and [...]
Behavioural strategy and predator control: a coupled evolutionary predator-prey model for kiwi conservation in New Zealand
Published: 2026-09-11
Subjects: Applied Mathematics, Behavior and Ethology, Dynamic Systems, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Population Biology
Conservation management of endangered species can be enhanced by quantitative frameworks that simultaneously model behavioural adaptations alongside population dynamics. This paper presents a Coupled Evolutionary Predator-Prey Model (CEPPM) that integrates replicator dynamics from Evolutionary Game Theory with an extended Lotka-Volterra predator-prey framework, applied to kiwi (Apteryx spp.) [...]
Does roadless rule? Social-ecological consequences of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule
Published: 2026-09-11
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Sciences, Forest Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The Roadless Rule, established 25 years ago to maintain 58.5 million federal forest acres in roadless condition, is one of the U.S.’s most expansive and debated natural resource experiments. We synthesize research on the effects of the Roadless Rule on biodiversity, wildfire, forest and watershed health, and economics to guide current and future decision making. Research shows the Roadless Rule [...]
Multiple genetic routes to pelvic spine loss in brook stickleback
Published: 2026-09-10
Subjects: Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
Pelvic spine loss has evolved repeatedly in stickleback species and represents an intriguing opportunity to study genetically parallel adaptation. While previous work has identified key loci associated with this trait, the extent to which different populations rely on the same genetic mechanisms remains unclear. The genetic basis of pelvic spine loss in Culaea inconstans (Kirtland 1840) has only [...]
Developmental and Adult Thermal Environments Interactively Shape Calling Song Plasticity in the Decorated Cricket Gryllodes sigillatus
Published: 2026-09-09
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Temperature influences insect development and adult behaviour, yet the extent to which thermal conditions experienced during development shape thermally sensitive communication in adulthood remains poorly understood. We investigated the independent and interactive effects of developmental and recording temperature on the calling song of the decorated cricket, Gryllodes sigillatus. Crickets were [...]
Time-lagged responses of soil biota are pervasive and require new approaches
Published: 2026-09-09
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Life Sciences, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
When land-use changes, soil biodiversity is typically assumed to respond immediately. Nonetheless, soils are inherently slow systems. We argue that soil communities often remain in a transient state for decades to centuries, generating persistent ecological legacies. These lags can arise through two interacting mechanisms: environmental inertia, as the physical and chemical properties of soils [...]
Density-dependent body-size distributions reveal populations state relative to carrying capacity
Published: 2026-09-09
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Phenotypic traits may provide accessible information about population dynamics, but how population-level trait distributions change along density-dependent trajectories remains poorly understood in populations with complex life cycles. Here, we quantified body-size distributions in three experimental populations of the bulb mite (Rhizoglyphus robini) as they increased from low density towards [...]
Allee effects in corals during fertilisation
Published: 2026-09-09
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Population Biology
Allee effects – where individual fitness declines at low population densities or sizes – are pivotal in shaping the reproductive ecology of broadcast-spawning corals. In these species, successful external fertilisation requires that gametes remain at sufficiently high concentrations for long enough periods before turbulent water movement disperses them below fertilisable levels. As reefs degrade [...]
Scenario-dependent functional connectivity in a crowded seascape: habitat suitability, shipping pressure and marine infrastructure in the North Sea
Published: 2026-09-09
Subjects: Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Marine Biology
Marine spatial planning increasingly needs seascape connectivity evidence to balance biodiversity conservation, offshore energy development and shipping. However, predicted functional connectivity depends strongly on how habitat suitability and human-use pressures are translated into resistance surfaces. This study tested how shipping and marine infrastructure alter HSM-derived connectivity [...]
Plasticity and subfertility at the evolution of eusociality: an empirical test of the evolution of role specialisation
Published: 2026-09-08
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
At the origin of eusociality, some individuals (workers) gave up reproducing to help another individual (queen) raise their offspring. In Hymenoptera, females are just as related to their siblings as they are to their own offspring meaning only a small benefit of role specialisation is required for selection to favour this strategy. However, it is yet to be established what conditions promoted [...]
A curated bioacoustics dataset of European bat vocalizations
Published: 2026-09-08
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Zoology
Acoustic surveys represent the primary method for monitoring bat populations and assessing their habitat use, yet reference recordings and associated metadata remain fragmented across repositories, recording programs, and private collections. We present ChirosetEurope, a curated dataset of European bat vocalizations (echolocation and social calls) assembled from multiple open repositories and [...]
The reported decline in bird diversity tracks birdwatching effort, not birds
Published: 2026-09-06
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
A recent analysis in Science links a photovoltaic policy-stringency index to citizen-science bird records aggregated to county-months and concludes that China’s solar-expansion policy reduced Shannon diversity by 2.10% per standard deviation of stringency. Reproducing that estimate exactly from the replication package and checking its inputs against record-level data from the same platform, we [...]
Meta-analysts must lead by example and embrace all FAIR principles
Published: 2026-09-05
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Meta-analyses rely on comprehensive reporting of results and data in primary studies. They should therefore also strive for exemplary reporting and follow FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) for data sharing. Yet, despite growing calls for open, reliable, and transparent science, the quality, reporting and FAIRness of meta-analyses in ecology, evolution, and [...]
Assessing habitat associations of critically endangered big-headed turtles to support grassroots river conservation
Published: 2026-09-05
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Modern wildlife conservation relies primarily on state-run protected areas and hunting regulations, whereas grassroots initiatives to protect ecosystems from various threats such as large-scale infrastructure development are underrecognized and receive limited scientific support. We studied critically endangered big-headed turtles (Platysternon megacephalum) to support a grassroots river [...]