Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Zoology
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 [...]
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 [...]
Drivers of roe deer use in fragmented forest landscapes; implications for management in the context of policy driven forest expansion
Published: 2026-03-13
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Forest Management, Forest Sciences, Life Sciences, Zoology
Forest expansion is a major current land use change across Europe. How this will affect the forest use of the most common European wild ungulate species, roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and associated forest ecosystem services and disservices is poorly understood. Using a forest-agricultural mosaic landscape in northeast Scotland, we selected forests across a size and connectivity gradient as a [...]
The Individualised Niche in Motion; quantifying individualised niches with movement data
Published: 2026-02-26
Subjects: Aquaculture and Fisheries Life Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Evolution, Ornithology, Other Animal Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Population Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology, Zoology
Individuals of the same species often differ consistently in their use of resources, their responses to environmental gradients, and their movement decisions. Between-individual variation across niche axes has been shown to have important ecological consequences. Yet practical frameworks that translate modern tracking data into operational, comparable measures of niche individual specialisation [...]
Composite virulence: useful metric or conceptual trap?
Published: 2026-02-20
Subjects: Animal Diseases, Animal Experimentation and Research, Animal Sciences, Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Immunity, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Immunology of Infectious Disease, Immunopathology, Life Sciences, Medical Microbiology, Microbiology, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Other Immunology and Infectious Disease, Parasitic Diseases, Parasitology, Pathogenic Microbiology, Plant Pathology, Research Methods in Life Sciences, Zoology
Virulence, the harm an infection causes to its host, is a cornerstone concept in ecology and evolution, yet it remains difficult to quantify because infection impact is multidimensional, dynamic, and context-dependent. Infections can reduce host performance through multiple, partially redundant routes (including mortality, fecundity loss, behavioural impairment, and physiological disruption), [...]
Roe Deer show an affinity for woodland and reluctance to cross roads
Published: 2026-02-19
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology, Zoology
Animals use landscapes unequally and have differential responses to anthropogenic changes such as land cover modification. Predicting such responses can be challenging, requiring knowledge of animal movements. This knowledge is particularly valuable where human-animal interactions have implications for either's well-being. Large herbivores, with relatively high mobility, often come in contact [...]
Chemical Ecology of Arachnids - Morphology, Behaviour, and Semiochemicals
Published: 2026-02-17
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Zoology
Arachnids represent a diverse and ecologically influential paraphyletic assemblage of chelicerate arthropods that has colonized virtually every terrestrial habitat. Arachnids contribute to ecosystems as predators, parasites and decomposers. Yet, the chemical mechanisms that allow arachnids to interact with the environment remain strikingly understudied relative to their taxonomic breadth. Much of [...]
Maximum performance, repeatability, and intraindividual variability of sprinting in common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis)
Published: 2026-02-17
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology, Integrative Biology, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Zoology
The repeatability of functional traits like physiological maxima (maximum performance) measures the reliability of underlying measurements. However, best practices for analyzing maximal performance while accounting for within-individual variation are lacking. Here, we quantify the coefficient of variation and repeatability of maximum sprinting speed in common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) from [...]
Should hunters fear the wolf? Effects of wolf recolonization on ungulate harvests in a multi-species European landscape
Published: 2026-02-10
Subjects: Biodiversity, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Population Biology, Zoology
1. The recolonization of European landscapes by the gray wolf Canis lupus raises questions about the ecological effects of predators and their impact on human interests such as large-game hunting bags, leaving room for alarmism among hunters. 2. We investigated the impact of wolf on recreational hunting by using long-term (2006-2023) and high-resolution (234 hunting districts) hunting bag data on [...]
Life cycle complexity drives variation in thermal tolerance and plasticity
Published: 2026-02-09
Subjects: Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Entomology, Evolution, Integrative Biology, Life Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology, Zoology
Accumulating evidence suggests that heat tolerance varies substantially across insect development, yet patterns of variation remain difficult to generalise across species. We discuss how the diversity of insect developmental strategies shapes both the intensity and predictability of thermal environments across ontogeny, and how this likely generates variation in heat tolerance, plasticity, and [...]
Supporting wildlife movement amid the rise of border infrastructure
Published: 2026-01-21
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Law, Environmental Studies, Forest Management, Nature and Society Relations, Zoology
Transboundary areas of conservation importance affected by border infrastructure and militarization urgently need connectivity conservation solutions. Where human conflicts are ongoing and peace initiatives may be unviable, smaller-scale approaches can still be implemented. We propose a multi-faceted approach to support animal movement and minimize impacts of multiple border barriers on medium to [...]
Wild fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra) prefer natural housing conditions ex-situ
Published: 2026-01-19
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Life Sciences, Zoology
The European fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) is threatened by infection with the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), which has caused massive population declines in several European countries. One attempt to conserve the genetic diversity of fire salamanders is to keep individuals of affected or vulnerable populations in ex-situ assurance populations. However, [...]
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 [...]
Deciphering the patterns and drivers of tardigrade diversity along altitudinal gradients
Published: 2025-12-15
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Biodiversity, Life Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology, Zoology
Altitudinal gradients offer a unique opportunity to understand the drivers of species richness, as mountain regions cover vast areas and contribute disproportionately to global terrestrial biodiversity. However, most studies have focused on larger organisms, often neglecting microscopic animals such as meiofauna also in mountain biodiversity research. In this study, we investigated patterns of [...]
From patterns to predictions: A framework for the spatial epidemiology of wildlife diseases
Published: 2025-12-08
Subjects: Animal Diseases, Biodiversity, Epidemiology, Natural Resources and Conservation, Population Biology, Statistics and Probability, Veterinary Infectious Diseases, Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Epidemiology, and Public Health, Zoology
Wildlife diseases pose a significant threat to public health, livestock, and biodiversity conservation. In this context, spatial epidemiology offers a robust framework for elucidating disease dynamics and informing policy-making and disease management. The workflow in spatial epidemiology involves three main steps: (1) descriptive analysis of spatial dynamics; (2) exploration of the observed [...]