Preprints

Filtering by Subject: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Behavioural plasticity shapes population ageing patterns

Marta Acácio, Kaija Gahm, Nili Anglister, et al.

Published: 2024-02-29
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences

Studying the mechanisms shaping age-related changes in behaviour (“behavioural ageing”) is important for understanding population dynamics in our changing world. Yet, studies that capture within-individual behavioural changes in wild populations of long-lived animals are still scarce. Here, we used a 15-year GPS-tracking dataset of a social obligate scavenger, the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), [...]

Evaluating Compatibility between the Key Biodiversity Area Proposal Process and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Environmental Priorities with evidence from Canada and Mi'kma'ki (Nova Scotia)

Jeffrey Robert Wall

Published: 2024-02-29
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration, Social and Behavioral Sciences

This report will demonstrate that no meaningful (non-random) compatibility exists between the Key Biodiversity Area proposal process – as it now exists and is being implemented globally and in Canada – and the biocultural priorities of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IP&LC’s)*. It is precisely because it is a global standard that no claim that KBA proposal meaningfully (non-randomly) [...]

Minimum reporting standards can promote animal welfare and data quality in biologging research

Allison Payne, Conner Hale, Jessica Kendall-Bar, et al.

Published: 2024-02-28
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Biologging best practices have been carefully considered since the field’s inception six decades ago. The biologging research community has reduced instrument impacts on study animals by miniaturizing devices, employing sophisticated release mechanisms, and developing novel technological advancements. However, the field still needs standardized best practices for balancing data quality and animal [...]

Quantifying taxon-specific habitat connectivity requirements of urban wildlife using structured expert judgement

Steph Courtney Jones, Luke O'Loughlin, Danswell Starrs, et al.

Published: 2024-02-28
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Research Methods in Life Sciences

Urban planning which enhances native biodiversity in and around cities is needed to address the impacts of urbanisation and conserve urban biodiversity. The “Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design” (BSUD) framework incorporates ecological knowledge into urban planning to achieve positive biodiversity outcomes through improved urban design and infrastructure development. BSUD includes principles to [...]

Biologging for the future: how biologgers can help solve fundamental questions, from individuals to ecosystems

Roxanne Beltran, A. Marm Kilpatrick, Simona Picardi, et al.

Published: 2024-02-25
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences

Archival instruments attached to animals (biologgers) have enabled exciting discoveries and have promoted effective conservation and management for decades. Recent research indicates that the field of biologging is poised to shift from pattern description to process explanation. Here we describe how biologgers have been - and can be - used to test hypotheses and challenge theory in behavior and [...]

The response of trophic interaction networks to multiple stressors along a large-scale latitudinal range in the Southern Hemisphere

Tomas Ignacio Marina, Leonardo A Saravia, Iara D Rodriguez, et al.

Published: 2024-02-24
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Marine Biology

Ecological networks offer valuable insights into community structure, key species identification, and ecosystem management. Understanding how these networks respond to global change stressors is of increasing interest, especially along geographical gradients. This review summarizes potential stressor responses in marine food webs from the Southwest Atlantic to the Antarctic (45 - 78°S), [...]

Sex-specific discrimination of familiar and unfamiliar mates in the Tokay gecko

Marie-Ornelia Verger, Maëlle Devillebichot, Eva Ringler, et al.

Published: 2024-02-23
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences

Social animals need to keep track of other individuals in their group to be able to adjust their behaviour accordingly and facilitate group cohesion. This recognition ability varies across species and is influenced by cognitive capacities such as learning and memory. In reptiles, particularly Squamates (lizards, snakes, and worm lizards), pheromonal communication is pivotal for territoriality, [...]

The changing landscape of text mining - a review of approaches for ecology and evolution

Maxwell J Farrell, Nicolas Le Guillarme, Liam Brierley, et al.

Published: 2024-02-20
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences

In ecology and evolutionary biology, synthesis and modelling of data from published literature is a common practice for generating insight and testing theories across systems. However, the tasks of searching, screening, and extracting data from literature are often arduous. Researchers may manually process hundreds to thousands of articles for systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and compiling [...]

Tempo and mode of diapause evolution in butterflies

Sridhar Halali, Etka Yapar, Christopher Wheat, et al.

Published: 2024-02-19
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Entomology, Life Sciences

Quantifying the tempo and mode via modern phylogenetic comparative methods can provide insights into how selection and constraints shape trait evolution. Here we elucidate the evolution of diapause, a complex and key trait that allows temporal escape from unfavorable conditions in many insects, including our model system, butterflies. Using a thorough literature survey, we first scored the [...]

Limited plasticity but increased variance in physiological rates across ectotherm populations under climate change

Daniel W.A. Noble, Fonti Kar, Alex Bush, et al.

Published: 2024-02-17
Subjects: Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences

Climate change causes warmer and more variable temperatures globally, impacting physiological rates and function in ectothermic animals. Acclimation of physiological rates can help maintain function. However, it is unresolved how variance in physiological rates changes with temperature despite its potential ecological and evolutionary importance. We tested whether thermal variation affects [...]

Assessing the risk of climate maladaptation for Canadian polar bears

Ruth Rivkin, Evan Richardson, Joshua Miller, et al.

Published: 2024-02-10
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences

Abstract The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the world, threatening the persistence of Arctic species. It is uncertain if Arctic wildlife will have sufficient time to adapt to such rapidly warming environments. We used genetic forecasting to measure the risk of maladaptation to warming temperatures and sea ice loss in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) sampled across the Canadian [...]

Survival patterns and population stability of cliff plants suggest high resistance to environmental variability

Ane Múgica Carnicero, Maria Begoña Garcia, Héctor Miranda

Published: 2024-02-10
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Cliffs are marginal and poorly studied habitats that are home to a high proportion of endemic or threatened species. Here, we review the survival patterns and population dynamics of plants growing on vertical cliffs and compare them to other plants with similar life histories that grow on the ground. To this end, we have compiled studies of cliff and ground plants from two main sources: MONITO [...]

Ten Simple Rules to build a Model Life Cycle

Timothée Poisot, Daniel J Becker, Cole B Brookson, et al.

Published: 2024-02-09
Subjects: Bioinformatics, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Software Engineering

Just like data, models have their own life cycle. By recognizing how one’s model fits within the life cycle of the data (or at least, ensuring that the model life cycle is understood), we can identify opportunities to foster new collaborations, encourage better practices in data analysis, and ultimately accelerate research. In this manuscript, we introduce the Model Life Cycle and develop a [...]

Global exposure risk of frogs to increasing environmental dryness

Nicholas C. Wu, Rafael P Bovo, Urtzi Enriquez-Urzelai, et al.

Published: 2024-02-08
Subjects: Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Zoology

Species exposed to prolonged drying are at risk of population declines or extinctions. Understanding species' sensitivity to water loss and microhabitat preference, or ecotype, is therefore vital for assessing climate change risks. Here, we mapped global areas where water-sensitive vertebrates, i.e., anurans, will face increasing aridity and drought, analysed ecotype sensitivity to water loss, [...]

Large-scale spatiotemporal variation in vital rates and population dynamics of an alpine bird

Chloé R. Nater, James A. Martin, Erlend Birkeland Nilsen

Published: 2024-02-01
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Population Biology, Statistical Models

Quantifying temporal and spatial variation in animal population size and demography is a central theme in ecological research and important for directing management and policy. However, this requires field sampling at large spatial extents and over long periods of time, which is not only prohibitively costly but often politically untenable. Participatory monitoring programs (also called citizen [...]

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