Preprints
There are 3123 Preprints listed.
Integrating ecoacoustic monitoring with machine learning to survey black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) in Madagascar's Corridor Forestier d'Ambositra Vondrozo (COFAV)
Published: 2026-04-06
Subjects: Biodiversity, Zoology
Black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) are a Critically Endangered species limited to the fragmented eastern Malagasy rainforests. The importance of their conservation is underscored by their vital seed dispersal and pollinator niches; they are a keystone species and indicator of forest health. Little is known of their distribution in the Corridor Forestier d'Ambositra Vondrozo [...]
A review of 28 Years of beach-nesting Australian Pied Oystercatcher Haematopus Longirostris conservation in the Richmond River Area, New South Wales
Published: 2026-04-06
Subjects: Ornithology, Population Biology
The Australian pied oystercatcher Haematopus longirostris is a shorebird that is Endangered in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. This study reviewed data from the Richmond River Area Pied Oystercatcher Protection Program 1997–2013 and Richmond River Area Shorebird Protection Program 2014–2024, on the north coast of NSW. The increase in breeding population size from an estimated 25 [...]
Monsoon meteorology and agricultural phenology structure atmospheric transport of aerial biomass across the Indian subcontinent
Published: 2026-04-06
Subjects: Life Sciences
The movement of organisms through the atmosphere is a fundamental but under-observed ecological process that redistributes biomass, genes, and ecological interactions across continents. Aeroecology has revealed that such movements are strongly determined by synoptic and mesoscale atmospheric dynamics, which jointly determine when, where, and at what altitudes animals initiate, sustain, and [...]
Secondary Forests Matter: Botanical Diversity and Structure Supporting Plecturocebus Oenanthe Persistence in Fragmented San Martín Forests, Peru
Published: 2026-04-06
Subjects: Biodiversity, Life Sciences
Plecturocebus oenanthe (Callicebinae) is Critically Endangered and restricted to fragmented premontane forests of San Martín, Peru. Severe habitat loss and altered forest structure threaten population persistence, and baseline ecological knowledge of habitat requirements is lacking. We characterized floristic composition and forest structural attributes across occupied habitats to identify [...]
Social networks and information silos influence conservation knowledge in tourist populations
Published: 2026-04-04
Subjects: Life Sciences
Marine tourism is a rapidly expanding industry with significant impacts on marine ecosystems and species. The behavior of individuals engaging with these ecosystems for economic or recreational purposes plays a strong role in the success of conservation efforts. To mitigate some of the negative effects human actions can have on ecosystems, effective dissemination of conservation knowledge and [...]
A selection-based framework for evaluating transgenerational phenotypic plasticity under environmental change
Published: 2026-04-04
Subjects: Life Sciences
Rapid environmental change has intensified interest in inter- and transgenerational phenotypic plasticity (TGP) as a potential mechanism by which populations may buffer the fitness consequences of climate change. Parental environments frequently induce shifts in offspring phenotypes, and such responses are often implicitly assumed to enhance offspring fitness and thus population persistence. [...]
Quantifying information content using population genetics concepts and equations to develop new insights into information distribution in human communities
Published: 2026-04-03
Subjects: Life Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Information evolves within human societies in ways that parallel the evolution of genes in biological populations. Applying classical population genetics equations, we developed a framework in which the rates of learning and forgetting define the net balance of informational change, and directional exchange among groups can be represented as information flow. We apply this framework to a 43-year [...]
Crop species and climate shape amphibian communities and conservation significance of coffee agroforests in the Western Ghats
Published: 2026-04-03
Subjects: Biodiversity, Other Forestry and Forest Sciences, Population Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Shade coffee agroforests are recognized as refuges for biodiversity and potential allies in conservation across the human-modified tropics. However, biodiversity is strongly influenced by coffee cultivation methods and climates, both of which vary widely and are increasingly dynamic. In this context, one significant but understudied change is the shift in cultivated species from arabica (Coffea [...]
Male scent-marks predict fitness via socio-spatial dominance, but not female choice, in a lacertid lizard
Published: 2026-04-03
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Biodiversity, Life Sciences, Zoology
Chemical communication via scent-marks is widely recognised as a key mediator of sexual selection in lizards, yet their role remains contentious because we mostly ignore how scent-mark composition ultimately impacts male fitness in nature. Male scent-marks are often proposed to function as condition-dependent honest sexual signals mediating female choice, but an arising alternative hypothesis is [...]
Horsehair worm infection reshapes host trait architecture via allometric and sex-specific allocation shifts
Published: 2026-04-03
Subjects: Life Sciences
1. Parasites can profoundly modify host phenotype, yet most studies emphasize behavioral manipulation rather than changes in morphology. From a functional perspective, organismal performance depends on proportional investment among traits, suggesting that parasitism may alter trait architecture through changes in allometry rather than simply reducing body size. 2. Here we test whether infection [...]
Fish in sand and gravel habitats in the North Sea and adjacent shelf seas: A systematic literature review
Published: 2026-04-03
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Marine Biology
Sedimentary habitats such as sand and gravel are among the most widespread seafloor environments in shelf ecosystems, yet fish–habitat relationships in these substrates remain poorly understood. Although these habitats support diverse and productive benthic communities, ecological information on how fish use them is fragmented, limiting the effectiveness of conservation frameworks such as EUNIS, [...]
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 [...]
Transmission mode impacts parasite spread in spatially structured environments
Published: 2026-04-02
Subjects: Life Sciences
The spread of parasites and pathogens is shaped by their transmission to new hosts and often inherently linked to the spatial structure of host populations. Transmission modes are typically classified as either horizontal — between individuals — or vertical, from parent to offspring. While some parasites rely exclusively on one mode, many use both. We investigate how transmission mode impacts the [...]
Vegetation responses to managed river flow events and regimes
Published: 2026-04-02
Subjects: Life Sciences, Plant Sciences
Vegetation communities are an important part of riverine ecosystems and can be severely impacted by changed flow conditions in regulated waterways, making them a priority for waterway management. Environmental flows are a commonly used tool to mitigate some of the impacts from regulated flow regimes and provide benefits to vegetation communities. Ongoing and effective use of environmental flows [...]
Policy Pathways for Enabling Mussel Shell Reuse in Marine Restoration in Chile
Published: 2026-04-02
Subjects: Environmental Law, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences
Chile is the world’s second-largest producer of mussels and the leading exporter, harvesting approximately 400,000 t/year, of which about 30% becomes shell waste. While this biomaterial poses a growing disposal challenge, it also represents an opportunity for marine ecological restoration. In southern Chile, where mussel farming is concentrated, efforts to reuse shells as nature-based solutions [...]