Preprints

Filtering by Subject: Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Temperature-dependant, developmental plasticity and its effects on Allen’s and James’ rule in endotherms

Joshua Kenneth Robertson Tabh, Andreas Nord

Published: 2023-03-07
Subjects: Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology, Integrative Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Ecogeographical rules, describing common trends in animal form across space and time, have provided key insights into the primary factors driving species diversity on our planet. Among the most well-known ecogeographical rules are Bergmann’s Rule and Allen’s rule, with each correlating ambient temperature to the size and shape of endotherms within a species. These two rules have recently [...]

Solar radiation drives potential demographic collapse in a perennial bunchgrass via dramatically reduced seedling establishment

Timothy H Parker, Alex Gerber, Erin Campbell, et al.

Published: 2023-02-20
Subjects: Biology, Desert Ecology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Other Plant Sciences, Plant Sciences, Population Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Many perennial plants in semi-arid rangelands have experienced population declines, and understanding the ecological and demographic processes behind these declines is important to slowing or reversing them. Although anthropogenic disturbances drive many declines, other sorts of environmental variability, such as the differences in solar radiation with aspect, may impact population success [...]

The impact of rising temperatures on the prevalence of coral diseases and its predictability: a global meta-analysis

Samantha Burke, Patrice Pottier, Malgorzata Lagisz, et al.

Published: 2023-01-24
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Life Sciences, Marine Biology, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Statistical Models

Coral reefs are under threat from disease as climate change alters environmental conditions. Rising temperatures exacerbate coral disease, but this relationship is likely complex as other factors also influence coral disease prevalence. To better understand this relationship, we meta-analytically examined 108 studies for changes in global coral disease over time alongside temperature, expressed [...]

Developmental environments do not affect thermal physiological traits in reptiles: An experimental test and meta-analysis

Rose Zhang, Kris Wild, Patrice Pottier, et al.

Published: 2023-01-18
Subjects: Evolution, Integrative Biology, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

On a global scale, organisms face significant challenges due to climate change and anthropogenic disturbance. In many ectotherms, developmental and physiological processes are sensitive to changes in temperature and resources. Developmental plasticity in thermal physiology may provide adaptive advantages to environmental extremes if early environmental conditions are predictive of late-life [...]

Moving beyond heritability in the search for coral adaptive potential

Thomas J Richards, Katrina McGuigan, J David Aguirre, et al.

Published: 2023-01-17
Subjects: Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Global environmental change is happening at unprecedented rates. Coral reefs are among the ecosystems most threatened by global change. For wild populations to persist, they must adapt. Knowledge shortfalls about corals’ complex ecological and evolutionary dynamics, however, stymie predictions about potential adaptation to future conditions. Here, we review adaptation through the lens of [...]

Like little lagoons: the contribution of valli da pesca to the Ecosystem Services supply of the Venice Lagoon

Alice Stocco, Laura Basconi, Silvia Rova, et al.

Published: 2022-12-23
Subjects: Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

The Venice lagoon social-ecological system is characterized by a strong relationship between the natural environment and human activities. This is especially noticeable in the aquaculture and hunting reserves of the lagoon, locally known as valli da pesca. Previous works about Ecosystem Services (ESs) in the Venice lagoon focused on the so-called “open lagoon”, overlooking the role of the valli [...]

Advances in the reconstruction of the Spider Tree of Life: a roadmap for spider systematics and comparative studies

Siddharth Kulkarni, Hannah Wood, Gustavo Hormiga

Published: 2022-12-14
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Entomology, Evolution, Genomics, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

In the last decade and a half, advances in genetic sequencing technologies have revolutionized systematics, transforming the field as studying morphological characters; a few genetic markers have given way to genomic data sets in the phylogenomic era. A plethora of molecular phylogenetic studies on many taxonomic groups have come about, converging on, or refuting prevailing morphology or [...]

Hybridization boosters diversification in a Neotropical orchid group

Cecilia F. Fiorini, Eric de Camargo Smidt, L. Lacey Knowles, et al.

Published: 2022-12-14
Subjects: Biodiversity, Genomics, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Plant Biology, Population Biology

Genetic data shows that cryptic hybrids are more common than previously thought and that hybridization and introgression are widespread processes in nature. Regardless of this, studies on hybridization are scarce for the highly speciose Bulbophyllum. The genus presents more than 2,200 species and many examples of recent radiations, in which hybridization is expected to be frequent. Currently, [...]

Amphibians' expansion to record elevations influences Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Batrachochytriaceae) infection dynamics

Emma Cathleen Steigerwald, Cassandra Gendron, Juan Carlos Chaparro, et al.

Published: 2022-11-23
Subjects: Genomics, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Other Immunology and Infectious Disease

Climate change impacts emerging infectious disease events through multiple mechanisms, but the influence it exerts through driving host range shifts has been little explored. Not only might we expect range shifts to affect pathogen transmission by altering the connectivity of host populations, but range expanding hosts and pathogens will have different physiological responses to the suites of [...]

Toward the comprehensive understanding of food chain length

Shota Shibasaki, Akira Terui

Published: 2022-11-17
Subjects: Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

1. Food chain length (FCL), roughly defined by the number of trophic links, is one important aspect of biodiversity. However, studies on FCL are limited to simple food webs (e.g., only three or four species in a community) or simple hypotheses (i.e., what is a determinant of FCL?) 2. In this review, we propose research directions to comprehensively understand how multiple environmental factors [...]

Small is big: A new conservation paradigm for amphibians

Emma Cathleen Steigerwald, Julianne Oshiro, Julia Chen, et al.

Published: 2022-11-02
Subjects: Biodiversity, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Many countries have responded to the current global biodiversity crisis by committing to protect 30% of the Earth by 2030, a goal known as “30 x 30”. However, an excessive emphasis on megafauna to the exclusion of other species weakens our current protected area (PA) network. This limited perspective overvalues large, connected PAs, while disregarding the potential impacts of small PAs in [...]

The March of the Human Footprint

Eric Wayne Sanderson, Kim Fisher, Nathaniel Robinson, et al.

Published: 2022-09-29
Subjects: Arts and Humanities, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Human Geography, Life Sciences, Nature and Society Relations, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Remote Sensing, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Spatial Science, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Human influence is driving planetary change, often in undesirable and unsustainable ways. Recent advances enabled us to measure changes in humanity’s footprint on Earth annually from 2000 – 2019 with a nine-fold improvement in spatial resolution over previous efforts. We found that earlier studies seriously under-estimated the magnitude, extent, and rate of change in the human footprint. [...]

Invasion dynamics of quagga mussels (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) within a reservoir and its spatially intermittent watershed: Lake Piru and the Santa Clara River, California, USA

Michael Booth, Carolynn S. Culver

Published: 2022-09-29
Subjects: Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Since its discovery in Lake Mead in 2007, the invasive quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) has rapidly spread throughout the lower Colorado River drainage. However, the invasion in California remained confined to the Colorado and water systems throughout southern California that receive water from the Colorado River until December 2013, when quagga mussels were first observed in Lake [...]

Stable laws in a changing world The structure of evolutionary theories over the centuries

Liz Pásztor, Géza Meszéna

Published: 2022-09-27
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Successful fundamental theories are built on verifiable principles that include measurable variables. This paper shows that Darwin’s inclusive theory is built on such principles and follows their rocky road into modern operational theories. Besides reproduction, variation, and heredity, Darwin’s conditions of diversification also include the potential for exponential (geometric) population growth [...]

Evaluation of DNA Extracted from Timber Rattlesnake (Cotalus horridus) Cloacal and Blood Swabs for Microsatellite Genotyping

Aaron D. D'Amore, Kate C. Donlon, Andrew S. Hoffman, et al.

Published: 2022-09-26
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Genetic research is a key component to modern wildlife conservation, but it is contingent on the collection of reliable and high-quality genetic samples. Invasive genetic sampling techniques have potential to negatively impact individuals, which may be prohibitive when working with threatened and endangered species. Prior to sample collection, project managers must try to balance the negative [...]

search

You can search by:

  • Title
  • Keywords
  • Author Name
  • Author Affiliation