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Preprints

Filtering by Subject: Zoology

Puma space use and dispersal in tropical biodiversity hotspots: bridging a gap to connect individuals to populations

Bernardo Brandão Niebuhr, Sandra Maria Cintra Cavalcanti, Ermeson A. Vilalba, et al.

Published: 2024-01-25
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Zoology

Assessing residency and dispersal behavior of apex predators and its consequences for landscape connectivity is of paramount importance for understanding population- and ecosystem- effects of anthropogenic land use change. However, basic information on animal space use is still lacking, particularly in the Tropics. Here we synthesize ranging and dispersal ecological information on pumas (Puma [...]

VectAbundance: a spatio-temporal database of vector observations

Daniele Da Re, Giovanni Marini, Carmelo Bonannella, et al.

Published: 2023-12-22
Subjects: Entomology, Environmental Public Health, Epidemiology, Life Sciences, Zoology

Modelling approaches play a crucial role in supporting local public health agencies by estimating and forecasting vector abundance and seasonality. However, the reliability of these models is contingent on the availability of standardized, high-quality data. Addressing this need, our study focuses on collecting and harmonizing egg count observations of Aedes albopictus, obtained through ovitraps [...]

Shrinking body size may not provide meaningful thermoregulatory benefits in a warmer world

Andreas Nord, Elin Persson, Joshua Kenneth Robertson Tabh, et al.

Published: 2023-12-14
Subjects: Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Ornithology, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Physiology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology, Zoology

In a recent and impressive analysis of avian morphological data (covering >250 000 male birds from 105 species), Youngflesh et al.1 report that birds breeding in North America have become significantly lighter over the last three decades, coincident with rising breeding season temperatures. Because these observations recapitulate predictions under Bergmann’s Rule (i.e., that the body size of [...]

MEWC: A user-friendly AI workflow for customised wildlife-image classification

Barry W. Brook, Jessie C. Buettel, Zach Aandahl

Published: 2023-12-12
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Zoology

Monitoring wildlife is crucial for making informed conservation and land-management decisions. Remotely triggered cameras are widely used for this purpose, but the resulting 'big data' are laborious to process. Although artificial intelligence (AI) offers a powerful solution to this bottleneck, it has been challenging for ecologists and practitioners without substantial technical expertise to [...]

Quantifying clearance rates of restored shellfish reefs using modular baskets

Maja Paulina Andersson, Karen L Cheney, Robbie Porter, et al.

Published: 2023-12-08
Subjects: Animal Experimentation and Research, Aquaculture and Fisheries Life Sciences, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences, Marine Biology, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Research Methods in Life Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology, Water Resource Management, Zoology

Shellfish reefs are among the most degraded ecosystems globally, prompting substantial efforts to restore them. While biodiversity gains of restored reefs are well documented, other ecosystem services such as water filtration remain poorly quantified. We present a novel way of measuring water filtration by restored reefs using modular restoration structures called Robust Oyster Baskets (ROB 400). [...]

The Palearctic view on a bat fungal disease

Flora Whiting-Fawcett, Anna Sofia Blomberg, Tanya Troitsky, et al.

Published: 2023-12-08
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Biology, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Life Sciences, Zoology

The fungal infection causing white-nose disease in hibernating bats in North America has resulted in dramatic population declines of affected species since it was first discovered in 2007. Shortly after, it was demonstrated that the causative agent, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, is native to the Palearctic, where it also infects several bat species. However, infection in the Palearctic rarely [...]

Escape tendency and the mobility behavior of four alpine rodents do not change with altitude

Jacopo Cerri, Ilaria Melcore, Noemi Gargano, et al.

Published: 2023-12-04
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Integrative Biology, Zoology

Behavioural responses are particularly important to quantify species-specific habitat influences on natural selection. Mountains, with their wide range of habitats, can be regarded as a valuable context where the environmental conditions influence animal behaviour. We studied the inter-specific variation in the escape tendency and the mobility behaviour in four alpine rodents’ species, a bank [...]

Vocal Dimorphism in Anna’s Hummingbirds

Sierra Ru-Yi Glassman, Adi Domer, Adi Domer

Published: 2023-11-28
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Integrative Biology, Life Sciences, Ornithology, Zoology

Whereas vocal sexual dimorphism is widespread amongst birds, it has been historically overlooked in non-passerines such as hummingbirds. By evaluating correlations among sex, behaviors, and vocalizations, the meaning and utility of intentional sound production may be inferred. Anna's Hummingbirds (Calypte anna) exhibit pronounced sexual dimorphism, with males being larger and having more vibrant [...]

Covariance reaction norms: A flexible method for estimating complex environmental effects on trait (co)variances

Jordan Scott Martin

Published: 2023-11-22
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Genetics, Integrative Biology, Life Sciences, Population Biology, Research Methods in Life Sciences, Zoology

Estimating quantitative genetic and phenotypic (co)variances is crucial for investigating evolutionary ecological phenomena such as developmental integration, life history tradeoffs, and niche specialization, as well as for describing selection and predicting multivariate evolution in the wild. While most studies assume (co)variances are fixed over short timescales, environmental heterogeneity [...]

The Pangolin Universal Notching System (PUNS): A Foundational Scale Marking Methodology for Pangolins

Jeannie Jo-Miller Martin, Jacqueline Y Buckley, Ellen Connelly, et al.

Published: 2023-11-21
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Zoology

Abstract Due to significant anthropogenic pressures, all eight established species of pangolin are listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the highest level of international protection possible. Pangolin population status assessments are incomplete, particularly in areas with high exploitation and limited field assets. [...]

Distribución de anfibios en un bosque urbano tropical en Venezuela: Implicaciones para el manejo de parques urbanos

José Rafael Ferrer-Paris, Arlene Cardozo-Urdaneta, Cecilia Lozano de la Rosa, et al.

Published: 2023-10-11
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Zoology

Mundialmente cada vez es más relevante el rol de parques y jardines urbanos en la educación ambiental y valoración de los esfuerzos de conservación. Comprender cuáles factores afectan la calidad del hábitat de los anfibios permite tomar decisiones acertadas para manejar estos espacios, conciliando objetivos recreacionales con los de conservación. Evaluamos la comunidad de anfibios en un sector [...]

Growth and opportunities for drone surveillance in pinniped research

Gregory D Larsen, David W. Johnston

Published: 2023-09-03
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Integrative Biology, Marine Biology, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Population Biology, Research Methods in Life Sciences, Zoology

Pinniped species undergo uniquely amphibious life histories that make them valuable subjects for many domains of research. Pinniped research has often progressed hand-in-hand with technological frontiers of wildlife biology, and drones represent a leap forward for methods of aerial remote sensing, heralding data collection and integration at new scales of biological importance. Drone methods and [...]

The unfulfilled potential of dogs in studying behavioural ecology and evolution during the Anthropocene

Christina Hansen Wheat, Clive DL Wynne

Published: 2023-08-08
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Zoology

Dogs are an exceptional resource for studying ecological, behavioural and evolutionary processes. However, several widespread misconceptions limit our understanding of dog behaviour and inhibit the use of dogs as model study systems in diverse areas of biological science. These include extensive anthropomorphisation of dog behaviour, a profound bias towards almost exclusively studying pet dogs, a [...]

Recent human-bear conflicts in Northern Italy: a review, with considerations of future perspectives

Mattia De Vivo

Published: 2023-07-18
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Biodiversity, Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Population Biology, Zoology

The killing of a runner in Northern Italy by a brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) and the subsequent investigation of such matter highlighted a Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) that has been present in Trentino since the introduction of bears for conservation during the Life Ursus Project. Such conflict may be exacerbated as both human and bear populations get bigger. In this paper, I summarize the [...]

Predation and biophysical context control long-term carcass nutrient inputs in an Andean ecosystem

Julia D. Monk, Emiliano Donadio, Justine A. Smith, et al.

Published: 2023-05-30
Subjects: Desert Ecology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology, Zoology

Animal carcass decomposition is an often-overlooked component of nutrient cycles. The importance of carcass decomposition for increasing nutrient availability has been demonstrated in several ecosystems, but impacts in arid lands are poorly understood. In a protected high desert landscape in Argentina, puma predation of vicuñas is a main driver of carcass distribution. Here, we sampled puma kill [...]

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