Preprints

Filtering by Subject: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

What is the evidence that counter-wildlife crime interventions are effective for conserving African, Asian, and Latin American wildlife directly threatened by exploitation? A Systematic Map

Trina Rytwinski, Matt J Muir, Jennifer RB Miller, et al.

Published: 2024-02-01
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

1. Counter-wildlife crime interventions ̶ those that directly protect target wildlife from illegal harvest/persecution, detect and sanction rule-breakers, and interdict and control illegal wildlife commodities ̶ are widely applied to address biodiversity loss. This systematic map provides an overview of the literature on the effectiveness of counter-wildlife crime interventions for conserving [...]

How bottlenecks shape adaptive potential: from theory and microbiology to conservation biology

Jasmine Gamblin, Loïc Marrec, Laure Olazcuaga

Published: 2024-02-01
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences

Wild populations frequently undergo demographic changes that can destabilize their persistence and, thus, the equilibrium of ecosystems. For instance, habitat loss due to human activities leads to a drastic population size reduction, a process called a bottleneck. By reducing genetic diversity, a bottleneck may prevent a population from adapting to subsequent environmental changes. In the context [...]

The relative contribution of acoustic signals versus movement cues in group coordination and collective decision-making

Chun-Chieh Liao, Robert D. Magrath, Marta B Manser, et al.

Published: 2024-01-30
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences

To benefit from group living, individuals need to maintain cohesion and coordinate their activities. Effective communication thus becomes critical, facilitating rapid coordination of behaviours and reducing consensus costs when group members have differing needs and information. In many bird and mammal species, collective decisions rely on acoustic signals in some contexts but on movement cues in [...]

The Distraction Function of Extrafloral Nectaries: Keeping Ants Away From Flowers and Preventing Disruption of Pollination

Mario A. Sandoval Molina, Emilio González-Camarena, Jessica Rosas-Sánchez, et al.

Published: 2024-01-30
Subjects: Desert Ecology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

In exchange for extrafloral nectar, ants deter herbivores from the plants, reducing the amount of herbivory they suffered. However, this defensive mutualism can sometimes have negative effects on plants, as ants may also visit flowers, deterring pollinators and reducing plant fitness. The Distraction Hypothesis posits that extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) have the function of attracting ants and [...]

Comparing conservation land acquisition strategies using agent-based models

Robert J. Smith, Assaf Shwartz, Claire Stewart, et al.

Published: 2024-01-29
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Most unprotected biodiversity is found outside state-owned protected areas, so developing effective conservation initiatives on privately and communally-owned land is critical. Conservationists have a long history of working with these landowners and their actions can be divided into two broad categories. The first is where they agree to take over responsibility for management, either by buying [...]

Experimental protocol for validation of Computational Fluid Dynamics palaeoecological simulations

Harriet B. Drage, Stephen Pates, Nicholas J. Minter

Published: 2024-01-29
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are increasingly used to test palaeoecological hypotheses. These analyses output simulated velocity and pressure flow profiles, and drag and lift force values acting on a model. These outputs are presumed to be internally consistent, assuming consistently applied parameters, but it is unclear whether these reflect real-world force measurements. [...]

The fossil record of the Neogene Carnivore Mammals from Spain

Jorge Morales, Juan L. Cantalapiedra, Alberto Valenciano, et al.

Published: 2024-01-25
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences

Carnivore mammals (Carnivora, Mammalia) constitute a significant component of the Spanish Neogene faunas, not so much due to their fossil abundance, which is generally low, but rather because of their high degree of taxonomic diversity. We assessed their evolutionary dynamics from the fossil record of Iberian carnivores using per-taxon rates of origination, extinctions and turnover combined with [...]

Hybridization potential of brown trout, with particular reference to invaded environments

Craig F Purchase, Connor Hanley, Tyler H. Lantiegne, et al.

Published: 2024-01-25
Subjects: Aquaculture and Fisheries Life Sciences, Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Marine Biology, Population Biology

Hybridization is a complex process beginning with the mating of two species. However, hybrid offspring frequency does not predict hetero-specific mating frequency, as post-mating, both pre-zygotic and post-zygotic barriers influence their occurrence. Post-zygotic outbreeding depression usually results in poor embryo-juvenile survival or the production of sterile hybrid offspring. Females have [...]

Quantifying soil microbial effects on plant species coexistence: a conceptual synthesis

Gaurav Kandlikar

Published: 2024-01-25
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Soil microorganisms play a critical role in shaping the biodiversity dynamics of plant communities. These microbial effects can arise through direct mediation of plant fitness by pathogens and mutualists, and over the past two decades, numerous studies have shined a spotlight on the role of dynamic feedbacks between plants and soil microorganisms as key determinants of plant species coexistence. [...]

Puma space use and dispersal in tropical biodiversity hotspots: bridging a gap to connect individuals to populations

Bernardo Brandão Niebuhr, Sandra Maria Cintra Cavalcanti, Ermeson A. Vilalba, et al.

Published: 2024-01-25
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Zoology

Assessing residency and dispersal behavior of apex predators and its consequences for landscape connectivity is of paramount importance for understanding population- and ecosystem- effects of anthropogenic land use change. However, basic information on animal space use is still lacking, particularly in the Tropics. Here we synthesize ranging and dispersal ecological information on pumas (Puma [...]

Predicting organismal response to marine heatwaves using mechanistic thermal landscape models

Andrew R Villeneuve, Easton R White

Published: 2024-01-23
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Marine Biology, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Marine heatwaves (MHWs) can cause thermal stress in marine ectotherms, experienced as a pulse against the press of anthropogenic warming. When thermal stress exceeds organismal capacity to maintain homeostasis, organism survival becomes time-limited and can result in mass mortality events. Current methods of detecting and categorizing MHWs rely on statistical analysis of historic climatology, and [...]

A systematic review and meta-analysis of anti-predator mechanisms of eyespots: conspicuous pattern vs eye mimicry

Ayumi Mizuno, Malgorzata Lagisz, Pietro Pollo, et al.

Published: 2024-01-22
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Eyespot patterns have evolved in many prey species. These patterns were traditionally explained by the eye mimicry hypothesis, which proposes that eyespots resembling vertebrate eyes function as predator avoidance. However, it is possible that eyespots are not the mimicry of eyes: according to the conspicuousness hypothesis, eyespots are just one form of vivid aposematic signals where only [...]

Evidence to inform spatial management of a western Pacific Ocean tuna purse seine fishery

Eric Gilman, Milani Chaloupka, Nialangis Posanau, et al.

Published: 2024-01-22
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Marine Biology

Fisheries can have profound impacts on co-occurring species exposed to incidental capture, particularly those with life history traits that make them vulnerable to elevated mortality levels. Fisheries spatial management holds substantial potential to balance socioeconomic benefits and costs to threatened bycatch species. This study analyzed observer program data for a western Pacific Ocean tuna [...]

No time to die: Temporal patterns of nest predation in a multi-brooded Southern Hemisphere passerine bird

Richard S. Turner, Helen L. Osmond, Robert D. Magrath, et al.

Published: 2024-01-18
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Ornithology

1. Nest predation is frequently the primary cause of early-life mortality in wild avian populations, generating selection for optimising the timing of reproduction to reduce predation risk. Investigating temporal patterns of nest predation is therefore necessary for understanding the intricate relationships between birds and their predators. 2. In this study, we considered the role of temporal [...]

Opportunity Begets Opportunity to Drive Macroevolutionary Dynamics of a Diverse Lizard Radiation

Laura Alencar, Orlando Schwery, Meaghan R. Gade, et al.

Published: 2024-01-18
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences

Evolution proceeds unevenly across the tree of life, with some lineages accumulating diversity more rapidly than others. Explaining this disparity is challenging as similar evolutionary triggers often do not result in analogous shifts across the tree, and similar shifts may reflect different evolutionary triggers. We used a combination of approaches to directly consider such context-dependency [...]

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