Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Finding fungal ecological strategies: Is recycling an option?
Published: 2019-08-09
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
High-throughput sequencing (e.g., amplicon and shotgun) has provided new insight into the diversity and distribution of fungi around the globe, but developing a framework to understand this diversity has proved challenging. Here we review key ecological strategy theories developed for macro-organisms and discuss ways that they can be applied to fungi. We suggest that while certain elements may be [...]
Fungal functional ecology: Bringing a trait-based approach to plant-associated fungi
Published: 2019-08-09
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Fungi play many essential roles in ecosystems. They facilitate plant access to nutrients and water, serve as decay agents that cycle carbon and nutrients through the soil, water and atmosphere, and are major regulators of macro-organismal populations. Although technological advances are improving the detection and identification of fungi, there still exist key gaps in our ecological knowledge of [...]
The commonness of rarity: Global and future distribution of rarity across land plants
Published: 2019-08-09
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
A key feature of life’s diversity is that some species are common but many more are rare. Nonetheless, at global scales, we do not know what fraction of biodiversity consists of rare species. Here, we present the largest compilation of global plant species observation data in order to quantify the fraction of Earth’s extant land plant biodiversity that is common versus rare. Tests of different [...]
Individual variation in thermal plasticity and its impact on mass-scaling
Published: 2019-08-02
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
1. Physiological processes of individuals can be highly variable and there is mounting evidence that individuals can differ in how they respond to environmental change. The ability for individuals to reversibly adjust their metabolic rate in response to temperature (i.e., metabolic thermal plasticity) may affect mass-scaling at the population level. This process has rarely been investigated [...]
The hierarchy-of-hypotheses approach: A synthesis method for enhancing theory development in ecology and evolution
Published: 2019-07-29
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
In the current era of Big Data, existing synthesis tools (e.g. formal meta-analysis) are useful for handling the deluge of data and information. However, there is a need for complementary tools that help to (i) structure data and information, (ii) closely connect evidence to theory and (iii) further develop theory. We present the hierarchy-of-hypotheses (HoH) approach to address these issues. In [...]
Pet or pest? Stable isotope methods for the early detection of invasive alien species
Published: 2019-06-29
Subjects: Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
The illegal pet trade facilitates the global dispersal of invasive alien species (IAS), providing opportunities for new pests to establish in novel recipient environments. Despite the increasing threat of IAS to the environment and economy, biosecurity efforts often lack suitable, scientifically-based methods to make effective management decisions; such as identifying an established IAS [...]
The ‘Holy Grail’ in Phylogenetic Reconstruction: Seeing the Forest for the Trees?
Published: 2019-06-18
Subjects: Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Systematic/macroevolutionary biology has dedicated much of the past 50 years of its energy and resources in an effort to resolve definitively the one true ‘tree of life’ and to explain materially its cause. But, no matter the quantity/quality of data, experimentation, and analysis, the effort is hampered by persistent and ever-accumulating contradictory observations. This may be an indication [...]
Accurate forest projections require long-term wood decay experiments because trait effects change.
Published: 2019-06-15
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Deadwood is a large aboveground carbon (C) pool that regulates how forests respond to global change. Due to slow decomposition, CWD delays C emissions following major forest disturbances so predicting how carbon balance will respond to changing disturbance regimes requires identifying factors that influence the full temporal trajectory of wood decay from senescence to complete mineralization. [...]
On the importance of the megabiota to the functioning of the biosphere
Published: 2019-06-15
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences, Natural Resources and Conservation, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
A prominent signal of the Anthropocene is the extinction and population reduction of the megabiota – the largest animals and plants on the planet. However, we lack a predictive framework for the sensitivity of megabiota during times of rapid global change and how they impact the functioning of ecosystems and the biosphere. Here, we extend metabolic scaling theory and use global simulation models [...]
Into the wild: microbiome transplant studies need broader ecological reality
Published: 2019-05-08
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Gut microbial communities (microbiomes) profoundly shape the ecology and evolution of multicellular life. Interactions between host and microbiome appear to be reciprocal, and ecological theory is now being applied to better understand how hosts and their microbiome influence each other. However, some ecological processes that underlie reciprocal host-microbiome interactions may be obscured by [...]
Open Access Principles and Practices Benefit Conservation
Published: 2019-05-02
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Open access is often contentious in the scientific community, but its implications for conservation are under-discussed or omitted entirely from scientific discourse. Access to literature is a key factor impeding implementation of conservation research, and many open access models and concepts that are little-known by most conservation researchers may facilitate implementation. Conservation [...]
Forest management effects on survival of a long-lived bird
Published: 2019-04-29
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
1. A high number of reproductive events is a critical fitness correlate for long-lived species. Thus, individuals of these species should be sensitive to factors that increase their mortality. Living in habitats with high exposure to predators can decrease lifespan, but the ecological drivers of longevity within populations remain poorly studied. Forest management in boreal forests can increase [...]
Lack of definition of mathematical terms in ecology: The case of the sigmoid class of functions in macro-ecology
Published: 2019-04-12
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Defining mathematical terms and objects is a constant issue in ecology; often definitions are absent, erroneous, or imprecise. Through a bibliographic prospection, we show that this problem appears in macro-ecology (biogeography and community ecology) where the lack of definition for the sigmoid class of functions results in difficulties of interpretation and communication. In order to solve this [...]
Improving scientific impact: how to practice science that influences environmental policy and management
Published: 2019-03-29
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Scientists devote substantial time and resources to research intended to help solve environmental problems. Environmental managers and policymakers must decide how to use the best available research evidence to prioritize actions leading to desired environmental outcomes. Yet decision-makers can face barriers to using scientific evidence to inform action. They may be unaware of the evidence, lack [...]
Mapping and understanding the digital biodiversity knowledge about vertebrates in the Atlantic Rainforest
Published: 2019-03-18
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Biodiversity data are fundamental for macroecological studies. Recent efforts on gathering global data have not been sufficient to surpass biases and gaps. This incompleteness has serious consequences on conservation and ecological understanding, therefore it is of major importance to map, quantify and describe these flaws. In this paper we aimed to assess inventory incompleteness for the [...]