Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Cross-scale interaction of host tree size and climatic water deficit governs bark beetle-induced tree mortality
Published: 2019-12-13
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
The recent Californian hot drought (2012-2016) precipitated unprecedented ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) mortality, largely attributable to the western pine beetle (Dendroctonus brevicomis; WPB). Broad-scale climate conditions can directly shape tree mortality patterns, but mortality rates respond non-linearly to climate when local-scale forest characteristics influence the behavior of [...]
Multivariate Mixed Models in Ecology and Evolutionary biology: Inferences and implementation in R
Published: 2019-12-12
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Multivariate mixed models (MMM) are generalized linear models with both fixed and random effect having multiple response variables. MMM allow partitioning of total (phenotypic) (co)variances for multiple traits into (co)variances on hierarchically lower levels. We outline why ecologists and evolutionary biologists should be interested in such partitioning as well as the levels of analyses that [...]
Post-release exploration and diel activity of hatchery, wild and crossbred strain brown trout in semi-natural streams
Published: 2019-12-11
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Aquaculture and Fisheries Life Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Behaviours that are adaptive in captivity may be maladaptive in the wild and hence compromise after-release survival of hatchery fish. Understanding behavioural differences displayed straight after the release could help improving hatchery protocols and developing behavioural tests for assessing the fitness of fish reared for releases. We characterized the post-release behaviour in two [...]
Measurement and analysis of interspecific spatial associations as a facet of biodiversity
Published: 2019-12-07
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Research Methods in Life Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Interspecific spatial associations (ISA), which include co-occurrences, segregations, or attractions among two or more species, can provide important insights into the spatial structuring of communities. However, ISA has primarily been examined in the context of understanding interspecific interactions, while other aspects of ISA, including its relations to other biodiversity facets and how it [...]
Behavioral Modification of Eastern Hoolock Gibbon in Non-Protected Fragmented Rainforest Patches of North Eastern Himalayas
Published: 2019-12-07
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Life Sciences, Zoology
Presence of Eastern Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock leuconydes) was confirmed recently in and around Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, where the last remnant rainforest region of Eastern Himalaya still exists. A total of 13 groups of Eastern Hoolock Gibbon were located in this Lower Dibang valley in the outskirts and periferi of Mehao WLS where they coexist with humans at the non-protected [...]
Relative contribution of plant traits and soil properties to the functioning of a temperate forest ecosystem in the Indian Himalayas
Published: 2019-12-04
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Plant-soil interactions are a major determinant of changes in forest ecosystem processes and functioning. We conducted a trait-based study to quantify the contribution of plant traits and soil properties to above- and below-ground ecosystem properties in temperate forest in the Indian Himalayas. Nine plant traits (leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf water content, leaf dry matter content, leaf [...]
Effects of ambient climate and three different warming treatments on fruit production in an alpine meadow community
Published: 2019-12-02
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Plant Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Climate change is already having a major impact on alpine and arctic regions, and inter-annual variations in temperature are likely to increase. In a four-year study focusing on fruit production by an alpine plant community in northern Sweden, we applied three different warming regimes over the years. Treatments consisted of (a) a static level of warming with open-top chambers (OTC), (b) press [...]
Effective ecological monitoring requires a multi-scaled approach.
Published: 2019-11-28
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Environmental monitoring data is fundamental to our understanding of environmental change and is vital to evidence-based policy and management. However, different types of ecological monitoring, along with their different applications, are often poorly understood and contentious. Varying definitions and strict adherence to a specific monitoring type can inhibit effective ecological monitoring, [...]
Sex- and context-specific associations between personality and a measure of fitness but no link with life history traits
Published: 2019-11-22
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
The pace of life syndrome hypothesis posits that personality traits (i.e., consistent individual differences in behaviour) are linked to life history and fitness. Specifically, fast-paced individuals are predicted to be proactive (i.e., active and aggressive) with an earlier age at first reproduction, a shorter lifespan, and a higher fecundity than slow-paced individuals. Environmental conditions [...]
Environmental effects on the covariation among pace-of-life traits
Published: 2019-11-21
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
Pace-of-life syndromes (POLSs) are suites of life-history, physiological and behavioral traits that arise due to trade-offs between allocation to current and future reproduction. Traits generally show covariation that can arise from genetic and environmental influences on phenotypes and constrain the independent evolution of traits, resulting in fitness consequences and impacts on population [...]
The hidden value of trees: quantifying the ecosystem services of tree lineages and their major threats across the contiguous US
Published: 2019-11-18
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Forest Sciences, Life Sciences, Other Forestry and Forest Sciences
Trees provide critical contributions to human well-being. They sequester and store greenhouse gasses, filter air pollutants, provide wood, food, and other products, among other benefits. These benefits are threatened by climate change, fires, pests and pathogens. To quantify the current value of the flow of ecosystem services from US trees, and the potential threats they face, we combine [...]
Ageing and senescence across reproductive traits and survival in superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus)
Published: 2019-11-14
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Why do senescence rates of fitness-related traits often vary dramatically? By considering the full ageing trajectories of multiple traits we can better understand how trade-offs and life-history shapes the unique evolution of senescence rates within a population. Here, we examine age-related changes in survival and six reproductive traits in both sexes using a long-term study of a wild population [...]
Quantifying the autonomic response to stressors – one way to expand the definition of "stress" in animals
Published: 2019-11-07
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Endocrinology, Life Sciences, Physiology, Systems Biology
Quantifying the impact of changes or stimuli in the external and internal environment that are challenging (“stressors”) to whole organisms is difficult. To date, physiological ecologists and ecological physiologists have mostly used measures of glucocorticoids (GCs) to assess the impact of stressors on animals. This is of course too simplistic as Hans Seyle himself characterized the response of [...]
Bryophyte cover and richness decline after 18 years of experimental warming in Alpine Sweden
Published: 2019-11-07
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Background and Aims: Climate change is expected to affect alpine and Arctic tundra communities. Most previous long-term studies have focused on impacts on vascular plants, but this study examined potential impacts of long-term warming on bryophyte communities. Methods: Experimental warming with open-top chambers (OTCs) was applied for 18 years to a mesic meadow and a dry heath alpine plant [...]
Decoupled morphological and biomechanical evolution and diversification of the wing in bats
Published: 2019-11-06
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
Bats use their forelimbs in different ways, flight being the most notable example of morphological adaptation. However, different behavioural specializations beyond flight have also been described in several bat lineages. Understanding the postcranial evolution during the locomotory and behavioural diversification of bats is fundamental to understanding bat evolution. We investigate whether [...]