Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Shared acoustic manifolds for exploratory comparison of passerine vocalizations
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Research Methods in Life Sciences
This study presents a fixed-parameter pipeline designed to support reproducible embedding of frame-level representations of multiple passerine vocalizations within shared low-dimensional spaces. Three passerine species are considered: Eurasian Wren, Tree Pipit and Common Chaffinch, with a selection of four individuals for each species group. Vocalization frames from each species group are mapped [...]
Emergent functions in the chemodiversity landscape
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Nature produces countless metabolites that regulate organismal performance and the functioning of ecosystems. Specialised metabolites are particularly diverse and mediate ecological interactions across all geographic scales and levels of biological organisation. While chemodiversity, i.e., the richness, relative abundance and disparity of specialised metabolites within a blend of metabolites, has [...]
Inspiring systematic inclusion of individual animal states to enhance the quality of research
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Animal Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Population Biology
Studies on animals continue to attract criticism over data quality, reproducibility and generality of findings, yet one source of variation remains rarely addressed: differences in individuals’ affective states. In this paper, we suggest that evaluating affect should be considered standard good practice in ecological and behavioural research with wild animals, alongside familiar variables such as [...]
Seasonal camouflage as a model to understand the scope for rapid adaptation in a changing world
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Molecular Biology
Human-driven environmental change is reshaping ecosystems and challenging species’ ability to adapt. Understanding how genetic variation enables adaptation is crucial for conservation and requires exemplary systems to test hypotheses and make predictions. One particularly suitable model for studying climate-driven adaptation is seasonal color change (SCC), a phenological trait in which [...]
Volcanic deposits select for woodiness on islands
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Oceanic islands’ unique biodiversity often arises from woody plant radiations derived from non-woody continental ancestors. Since Darwin, various theories have tried to explain the evolution of woodiness on islands (insular woodiness). Recently, frequent volcanic activity and burial of vegetation by volcanic ash (tephra) depositions were linked to the abundance of woody species on islands. In a [...]
Supporting wildlife movement amid the rise of border infrastructure
Published: 2026-01-21
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Law, Environmental Studies, Forest Management, Nature and Society Relations, Zoology
Transboundary areas of conservation importance affected by border infrastructure and militarization urgently need connectivity conservation solutions. Where human conflicts are ongoing and peace initiatives may be unviable, smaller-scale approaches can still be implemented. We propose a multi-faceted approach to support animal movement and minimize impacts of multiple border barriers on medium to [...]
Scaling from Metawebs to Realised Webs: A Hierarchical Approach to Network Ecology
Published: 2026-01-21
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Ecological networks provide a critical framework for understanding the architecture of biodiversity and predicting ecosystem responses to environmental change. However, the application of network ecology is often hindered by a lack of clarity regarding the assumptions inherent in different network representations. Here, we present a hierarchical framework that distinguishes between ‘metawebs’ [...]
The missing branches of the bee Tree of Life: addressing global Darwinian shortfalls and their drivers
Published: 2026-01-21
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Understanding the Darwinian shortfall (i.e., the lack of knowledge about phylogenetic relationships) can help us to guide future biodiversity research and conservation efforts. Overcoming this shortfall is essential to develop robust strategies to preserve the Tree of Life while facing the ongoing biodiversity crisis. Here, we present the first global assessment of Darwinian shortfalls and their [...]
Delivering Nature Positive outcomes through landscape conservation: credible actions and shared responsibility in the mining sector
Published: 2026-01-19
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences, Natural Resources and Conservation, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Sustainability
The mining sector is increasingly expected to align their corporate nature commitments with global biodiversity goals. Emerging Nature Positive frameworks require companies not only to mitigate impacts of direct operations, but also to contribute to biodiversity recovery at the landscape scale, where impacts, dependencies and conservation priorities intersect. Yet expectations for credible [...]
Developmental density shapes adult mate guarding strategies in an invertebrate
Published: 2026-01-19
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Entomology, Evolution, Life Sciences
Post-copulatory mate guarding is a widespread reproductive strategy that reduces sperm competition but can generate sexual conflict when male and female optima diverge. While mate guarding is known to respond plastically to immediate social conditions, the extent to which early-life social environments of both sexes shape adult guarding behaviour remains poorly understood. We experimentally [...]
How does the rate of environmental change affect density-dependent population dynamics?
Published: 2026-01-19
Subjects: Dynamic Systems, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Numerical Analysis and Computation, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Population Biology
Natural populations experience variable environments. Anthropogenically driven environmental change, in particular, is expected to impose trends on key demographic parameters such as reproduction and survival. Theoretical studies of how such environmental changes affect populations have highlighted dynamical phenomena including bifurcation-related tipping points – typically identified by [...]
How Large Cooperative Groups Avoid Local Competition
Published: 2026-01-19
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution
Large cooperative groups are a common sight in nature. Their existence is puzzling, however, because local competition should keep groups relatively small. A simple but untested way large groups can avoid local competition is by increasing their resource base. We conducted a systematic review and phylogenetic meta-analysis to look for evidence of this effect in wild populations of cooperatively [...]
Introducing relative pollen productivity estimates for Iberian taxa: methodological insights and implications for landscape modelling in the Western Mediterranean
Published: 2026-01-19
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Understanding the impact of ongoing global change on plant communities requires long-term quantitative reconstructions of past vegetation dynamics. Fossil pollen records offer one of the most powerful tools to reconstruct past landscapes, yet for their accurate interpretation it is important to take into account the differential pollen productivity of plant taxa. For southern Europe, and [...]
The role of barrier zones in controlling invasive species: A microcosm experiment
Published: 2026-01-15
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Population Biology
Around the world, invasive species have altered ecosystems, entailing both social and economic consequences. Further, preventing and controlling their spread requires high costs. One common approach to control invasive species is through barrier zones. A barrier zone is a region surrounding an initial invasion where management of the invasive species is conducted, including direct harvesting. [...]
The interplay between epigenetic mechanisms and deleterious mutations: implications for fitness, evolution and conservation
Published: 2026-01-13
Subjects: Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Genetics and Genomics, Genomics, Life Sciences, Molecular Genetics
Understanding the causal effects of genetic mutations is essential for explaining fitness variation, forecasting evolutionary trajectories and assessing extinction risk, yet remains a fundamental challenge, particularly in natural populations. While amino acid substitutions can alter protein structure and function, mutations affecting gene regulation can also have significant fitness [...]