Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Biology
Neuroethology of Corpse-Directed Behaviors in Bees
Published: 2026-01-02
Subjects: Biology, Life Sciences
Across taxa, social animals inevitably encounter dying or dead conspecifics and respond in patterned ways, yet the mechanisms underlying these behaviors remain understudied. Bees offer a powerful comparative system for exploring the neuroethology of corpse-directed behaviors. Across the bee phylogeny, sociality has been gained and lost multiple times, resulting in species that range from solitary [...]
Evaluating the vulnerability of critical early life stages in plants during heat extremes
Published: 2025-12-31
Subjects: Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Plant Sciences
Plants, their seeds, and their gametes show remarkable resilience and responsiveness to environmental conditions. However, worsening climate change with more severe and frequent extreme climatic events, like heatwaves and hot droughts, will likely push beyond physiological limits of many species. If such events occur during important points of development and reproduction – rather than mature [...]
An analysis of passerine egg traits across the city mosaic: Urbanisation does not affect egg size and pigmentation patterns
Published: 2025-12-24
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Biology, Life Sciences, Zoology
1. Rapid urbanisation provides remarkable opportunities to study how sudden, extreme changes impact wildlife. Compared to natural areas, cities are characterised by factors affecting both abiotic (e.g. climate, pollution, habitat fragmentation) and biotic (e.g. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), species composition, phenology) components of the ecosystem, ultimately changing the [...]
Interactive effects between drought and warming in field manipulative experiments across grasslands globally: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Published: 2025-12-23
Subjects: Biology
Aim Interactions between temperature and moisture are possible whereby increases in temperature can result in decreases in soil moisture, exacerbating drought conditions. Both uptake by and emission of carbon from grassland ecosystems are, in large part, governed by temperature and moisture. It is unclear how grasslands will respond to concurrent warming and drought conditions in the future [...]
Social structure in northern bottlenose whales: Stable relationships without stable groups
Published: 2025-12-23
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Marine Biology
Uncovering the drivers and function(s) of social relationships across a wide range of species is key to understanding the ecology and evolution of social behaviour. Northern bottlenose whales have been identified as a particularly important case study for social evolution. Unlike other large, toothed whale species which live in kin-based social units, northern bottlenose whales appear to form [...]
Coevolution of social network structure and life history in toothed whales
Published: 2025-12-18
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Marine Biology
Toothed whales offer a 34 million year-long natural experiment for the evolution of complex mammalian societies. However, quantitative comparative analyses of social structure in these species are lacking. Here, we draw on existing social network analyses to compare social structure across toothed whales. We consider published measures of two social network traits across all toothed whales: [...]
Moving Target(s): One Health at changing human-livestock-wildlife interfaces in tropical ecosystems
Published: 2025-12-18
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Food Science, Life Sciences, Systems Biology
One Health approaches currently conceptualized for Western landscapes require fundamental rethinking for tropics, where human-livestock-wildlife interfaces exist as variegated mosaics rather than discrete zones. This overview examines why tropical ecosystems involve (i) Human mobility patterns shifting continuously through rural-urban migration and globalization (ii) Livestock health [...]
Behavioural repertoire and the onset of precocious sexual behaviours in juvenile ruffs (Calidris pugnax)
Published: 2025-12-10
Subjects: Animal Studies, Behavior and Ethology, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Adult phenotypes are shaped by developmental processes during early life. This also applies to reproduction and dominance-related behaviours before maturation, called precocious sexual behaviours. However, beyond largely anecdotal reports, the onset of such behaviours is rarely studied. Here we document the development of precocious sexual behaviours in the ruff Calidris pugnax, a lekking [...]
Tagged for life? Retention rates and effects on growth and condition of tagging - a long-term field study on PIT- and Carlin tagging in European eel
Published: 2025-11-28
Subjects: Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Different types of tags and markers are commonly used for various fish monitoring and tracking purposes. Effects of tags and markers on fish and the retention rates can affect the interpretation of mark-recapture data on both the individual (e.g. growth and body condition) and population level (e.g. survival and pro-duction estimates), making studies of this issue important. In this study, we [...]
Taxonomic revisions, strategic decisions research and management priorities for the threatened greater glider complex
Published: 2025-11-11
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Zoology
Collating and synthesising ecological information is critical for guiding effective conservation policy and management plans. This is especially pertinent for species of conservation concern. This task may be further complicated when taxonomic revisions of species and species complexes occur. Species previously managed as a single taxon may be reclassified into multiple species, and hence [...]
Beneath the Pavement: Understanding mycorrhizal fungi in urban ecosystems and the path forward
Published: 2025-11-03
Subjects: Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Life Sciences, Environmental Studies, Human Ecology, Life Sciences, Microbiology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Urban Studies and Planning
Urban expansion is reshaping ecosystems worldwide, yet the responses of mycorrhizal fungi—key mediators of plant–soil interactions—remain poorly understood. In this review, we synthesize current knowledge on the environmental and ecological factors shaping mycorrhizal fungal diversity, distribution, and function in cities. We highlight how greenspace and landscape features—including plant [...]
Sexual stings in scorpions - knock-out drug or love potion?
Published: 2025-10-22
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Biology, Life Sciences
Conspecific male to female envenomation, though rare, has been documented across venomous taxa. While traditionally interpreted as a coercive mating strategy to enhance male reproductive success and to avoid cannibalism, this explanation may not fully account for the behaviour in scorpions, which exhibit minor sexual size dimorphism and complex courtship rituals. This review explores the possibly [...]
Ecosystem structure can affect human health: a longitudinal study on Green Prescriptions
Published: 2025-10-08
Subjects: Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Health Psychology, Life Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences
The role of Nature in supporting human life, health, and well-being has been recognized and appreciated since ancient times and has recently undergone scientific investigation, which highlighted the human dependence on Nature to nurture mental and physical health. Among Nature-based interventions that aim at exposing people to the natural environment, Green Prescriptions (GRx) represent a [...]
Development and implementation of a passive surveillance system for Aedes albopictus in Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Published: 2025-10-06
Subjects: Biology, Entomology, Life Sciences, Population Biology, Public Health, Statistical Methodology, Virus Diseases
The invasive Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) has become an important public health concern in Italy, particularly in the Po Valley area, where its biting behaviour and nuisance have contributed to multiple outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases over the last two decades. To address this growing threat, the Emilia-Romagna region has conducted intensive mosquito monitoring efforts since 2010, [...]
Ciclos irregulares de financiamento no Brasil são uma barreira à conservação da biodiversidade e à liderança global do país
Published: 2025-10-05
Subjects: Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
O financiamento estável para a pesquisa científica é fundamental para a conservação da biodiversidade e a formulação de políticas baseadas em evidências. No Brasil, ciclos inconsistentes de financiamento para bolsas contribuem para a fuga de cérebros de Pesquisadores em Início de Carreira (ECRs, do inglês “Early Career Researchers”), que poderiam impulsionar avanços significativos na pesquisa em [...]