Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
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 [...]
Are earthworms really in decline? Representative data and rigorous models are needed to assess large-scale, long-term trends in earthworm populations
Published: 2026-03-15
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Declines in aboveground invertebrates have been reported widely but similar assessments belowground are rare. A recent quantitative study aimed to address this gap, presenting findings which suggested alarming long-term declines in earthworm abundance in the UK. Estimating temporal trends in abundance from diverse sources of data presents many challenges and there is a need for rigour toward [...]
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 [...]
Drivers of roe deer use in fragmented forest landscapes; implications for management in the context of policy driven forest expansion
Published: 2026-03-13
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Forest Management, Forest Sciences, Life Sciences, Zoology
Forest expansion is a major current land use change across Europe. How this will affect the forest use of the most common European wild ungulate species, roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and associated forest ecosystem services and disservices is poorly understood. Using a forest-agricultural mosaic landscape in northeast Scotland, we selected forests across a size and connectivity gradient as a [...]
Understanding Conservation Decision-makers’ Preferences for Evidence
Published: 2026-03-11
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Policy, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Other Economics, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
1. Effective conservation depends on decisions informed by evidence that is both trustworthy and relevant to specific local contexts. However, little is known about which characteristics of evidence conservation decision-makers prioritise when deciding what information to trust. 2. We explored decision-makers’ preferences for different attributes of evidence using a discrete choice experiment in [...]
The lens of the Sonic Holobiont. A perspective on acoustic influence on microbial communities and its application as an additional layer to the holobiont concept.
Published: 2026-03-11
Subjects: Arts and Humanities, Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology, Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Microbiology, Other Arts and Humanities, Other Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
When studying micro and macro biomes in the quest for a more general understanding, we can hardly escape from a holistic perspective. At first, symbiosis was demonstrated to be a ubiquitous phenomenon in living cells, shaping evolutionary patterns across species at very different scales. The “holobiont” concept gains a central role in modern biology. The observation of the complex inter- and [...]
Global latitudinal and bathymetric gradients in body size among cartilaginous fishes (Gnathostomata: Chondrichthyes)
Published: 2026-03-11
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Understanding the macroecological rules governing body size variation across environmental gradients has long been a central focus of biology for centuries. Bergmann’s rule – the tendency for animals to reach larger body sizes in colder environments – has been studied in endotherms but with mixed support. However, phylogenetically informed tests of this rule in ectotherms remain scarce, and there [...]
Separating good from bad – a methodological assessment of the critical temperature that separates stressful and permissive temperatures in ectotherms
Published: 2026-03-11
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Context and aim: Estimating the thermal limits of ectothermic organisms is critical for predicting their responses to climate change. A key physiological threshold in this context is the critical temperature (Tc), which separates the permissive temperature range, where organisms maintain homeostasis and complete their life cycle, from the stressful range, where thermal stress causes physiological [...]
Population genomics of Uperoleia daviesae (Anura: Myobatrachidae) highlights the vulnerability of naturally fragmented short-range endemics to urban development
Published: 2026-03-10
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Urbanisation and land use change threaten short-range endemic amphibians. Uperoleia daviesae, the Howard River toadlet, is a threatened frog species endemic to sandsheet heath, a unique, naturally patchy mosaic of habitats near Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory. We generated a chromosome-level genome assembly and performed genome-wide SNP analyses using data from 115 individuals across 15 [...]
Who leads diversity efforts in science? Evidence of minority tax in DEI committees of international learned societies in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Published: 2026-03-10
Subjects: Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Learned societies are key in shaping scientific communities, yet many face inequities rooted in their histories and governance. The inequities can be addressed by Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committees or officers, but little is known about these organisational structures. We present the first analysis of 70 DEI structures across 50 international ecology and evolutionary biology [...]
Seven principles for engaging schools with nature: pooling the expertise of teachers and nature educators
Published: 2026-03-05
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Education, Environmental Studies, Nature and Society Relations
Nature connection in schools can address several issues faced in both environmental and educational fields. However, guidance is limited and many aspects can feel daunting or risky for schools under multiple other constraints. As a group of researchers, schoolteachers, and nature educators, we have co-produced seven guiding principles for integrating nature within UK schooling, particularly in [...]
Measuring biodiversity impact, change and restoration opportunity for business
Published: 2026-03-04
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Most pressures that cause biodiversity loss are driven by economic activity. There is significant interest from the private sector in understanding impacts and dependencies of business activity on biodiversity. However, measuring the impacts of direct and indirect business activities on biodiversity, including species, at multiple scales remains a considerable challenge. There are no currently [...]
Do harbour porpoise mortality records reflect living population structure? A matrix population model diagnostic
Published: 2026-03-04
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Population Biology
Effective conservation of marine mammals depends on reliable demographic information, yet acquiring such data for highly mobile cetaceans is challenging. Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) are widely used as sentinel species, but much of what is known about their demography comes from opportunistic sources, such as stranding and bycatch records. While invaluable, these data may be subject to [...]
Three decades later: A resurvey of vegetation biodiversity in Italian coastal dunes
Published: 2026-02-26
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Mediterranean coastal dunes have undergone substantial transformations over the last 70 years due to increasing anthropogenic pressure and environmental change. However, most studies on dune vegetation dynamics have been conducted at local scales, limiting our understanding of long-term plant diversity trends across broader regions. Here, we present the first national-scale assessment of [...]