Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Evolution
Sexually antagonistic selection: a review of the theory and its implications
Published: 2026-05-09
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Population Biology
Sexually antagonistic selection arises when females and males have different fitness optima for traits with a shared genetic basis, so that the same alleles are favoured in one sex but disfavoured in the other. It has been implicated in a wide range of ecological and evolutionary processes, from the maintenance of a sex load to the evolution of sex chromosomes. Mathematical models have long been [...]
The evolutionary link between food, condiments and medicine
Published: 2026-05-06
Subjects: Agricultural Science, Anthropology, Biodiversity, Biology, Botany, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Food Science, Life Sciences, Plant Biology, Plant Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences
The deep relationship between humans and plants is of great interest to ethnobotanists, human ecologists, and evolutionary biologists. Humans have incorporated thousands of plant species into both traditional medicine and our diets, as foods and condiments. Many of these provide not only calories but also micronutrients and other bioactive compounds that contribute to health [1]. The boundaries [...]
Sex differential effects of developmental heat stress on life-history and reproductive traits
Published: 2026-05-01
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
Global warming has led to increased mean global temperatures with projections suggesting continued warming throughout this century, posing an escalating threat to biological systems worldwide. Ectotherms are most vulnerable to this change as heat stress conditions can have severe implications on their development, mating interactions, and fitness. However, the sex-specific effects of [...]
Lead and slant on the geometry of coiling in gastropods
Published: 2026-05-01
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Molluscan shells have been studied with various geometric models. Here I show that lead angle, the defining slope of a conical helix, emerges as a more useful parameter in morphometric analyses and (adaptationist) interpretation of covariation in coiling parameters. The widely used apical semiangle becomes redundant and uninformative, a passive consequence of taxon-specific lead angles and [...]
What is the human germline mutation rate? methodological innovations, challenges, and evolutionary implications
Published: 2026-04-08
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Genetics, Genetics and Genomics, Life Sciences
Germline mutations are the ultimate source of heritable genetic variation, driving evolution, enabling adaptation, and underlying disease. Despite their fundamental importance, key questions remain unanswered: How frequently do germline mutations arise? Do mutation rates vary systematically across individuals, populations, and local genomic context? And what determines whether a mutation arising [...]
Endosymbiotic mutualism can constrain host diversity and evolved complexity
Published: 2026-04-03
Subjects: Evolution, Life Sciences
Coevolutionary arms races between hosts and parasites are known to promote the evolution of complex traits in hosts. However, the evolutionary effects of mutualistic endosymbionts (symbionts that live inside a host) are less well understood. Here, we use populations of self-replicating computer programs (digital organisms) to investigate the effects of trait matching mutualisms on evolution. We [...]
Incorporating population genomic perspectives into kelp conservation and aquaculture in the Pacific Northwest
Published: 2026-04-01
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Genetics and Genomics, Genomics, Life Sciences, Marine Biology
Recent kelp forest declines and growth in the kelp aquaculture industry have fueled increasing interest in ecological and evolutionary research on kelp forests, including kelp population genomics. While many kelp management activities have inherent genetic and evolutionary implications, kelp management in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) of North America has to date made only limited use of [...]
On Information in Evolutionary Processes
Published: 2026-03-26
Subjects: Evolution, Population Biology
Since the first attempts to introduce an information-theoretical formalism into the description of evolutionary processes, several authors have argued that such approaches are inappropriate because biological evolution does not unfold in a predefined space of possibilities. To properly address that objection, we need to separate the semantics of the emergence of biological functions from the [...]
Coexistence of phenotypic plasticity and habitat use in natural populations
Published: 2026-03-23
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
When studying how individuals adapt to environmental changes, the environment is traditionally viewed as a passive backdrop, with individuals modifying their phenotype in response to environmental conditions (i.e., phenotypic plasticity). However, this perspective overlooks the active role of habitat choice in mediating individual responses to environmental changes. In this paper, we argue for [...]
Genetic variance and phenotypic selection on pathogen-linked oviposition choice in Drosophila
Published: 2026-03-23
Subjects: Animal Experimentation and Research, Behavior and Ethology, Entomology, Evolution, Genetics, Integrative Biology, Research Methods in Life Sciences, Zoology
Pathogen-avoidance behaviour is assumed to be adaptive, yet its phenotypic variability and genetic heritability are rarely quantified. In species lacking post-oviposition care, avoiding potentially infectious egg-laying substrates would improve offspring survival and should therefore be under strong selection. We used two-choice oviposition assays to quantify the phenotypic and genetic variance [...]
Heritabilities and genetic correlations of Drosophila melanogaster locomotory behaviour traits: a high-throughput phenotyping approach
Published: 2026-03-23
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Evolution
Genetic variance forms the basis for evolutionary inferences as it describes the evolutionary potential of traits. The major limitation of quantitative genetic studies is achieving sufficient power and sample sizes to estimate heritabilities with sufficient precision. This issue is especially important in the case of traits that are inherently susceptible to stochastic, nonbiological variation. [...]
Insect oviposition as a simple system to investigate the ecology and evolution of pathogen avoidance behaviour
Published: 2026-03-20
Subjects: Animal Experimentation and Research, Behavior and Ethology, Biology, Entomology, Evolution, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Integrative Biology, Laboratory and Basic Science Research Life Sciences, Research Methods in Life Sciences, Zoology
Behavioural avoidance of pathogens and parasites is a ubiquitous first line of defence, yet we lack tractable systems that connect cue detection to fitness consequences, population transmission, and coevolution. We propose insect oviposition as a model that yields general principles for avoidance across taxa. Oviposition decisions fix offspring exposure, they are governed by well‑mapped sensory [...]
Towards a better understanding of adaptation: Problem description, partial solutions, and recommendations
Published: 2026-03-20
Subjects: Animal Experimentation and Research, Animal Studies, Behavior and Ethology, Biodiversity, Developmental Biology, Evolution, Human Ecology, Integrative Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Other Genetics and Genomics, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration, Population Biology, Science and Technology Studies
This paper is the product of an international workshop aiming to make progress in our general understanding of adaptation. We met from 5-7 February 2025 in Hannover (Germany), funded by the foundation “Volkswagen Stiftung”. For our group of theoretical and empirical biologists, social scientists, and philosophers of science we set up a program to facilitate communication and collaboration between [...]
The scent of survival in a warming world: how monoterpenes drive thermal adaptation in thyme
Published: 2026-03-18
Subjects: Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Other Plant Sciences, Physiology, Plant Biology, Plant Sciences, Population Biology
1 Monoterpenes are key plant secondary metabolites with well known defensive and ecological functions, yet their role in abiotic stress tolerance remains poorly understood. In many Mediterranean plants, monoterpene composition varies markedly within and among species and is associated with climatic gradients, suggesting that these compounds may mediate plant responses to extreme heat. 2 We [...]
From Trading Genes to Crafting New Tricks: How Horizontal Gene Transfer Potentiates the Emergence of Novel Functions
Published: 2026-03-17
Subjects: Evolution, Genetics, Genomics, Microbiology
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT), the set of processes by which genetic information is transferred between individuals, has shaped life’s evolution. It is particularly frequent in microbial organisms, where it has driven numerous remarkable adaptations to extreme conditions, anti-microbial agents, or biotic interactions. Its role in spreading novel functions is now documented by countless examples [...]