Preprints
There are 3106 Preprints listed.
Celtic rainforest and ancient woodland indicator plants on an anthropogenic site at the Holy Loch, Argylll, Scotland
Published: 2026-04-02
Subjects: Life Sciences
This study documents the floristic, bryological and rainforest lichen composition of a young, anthropogenic woodland at Holy Loch Nature Reserve (HLNR), Argyll. Although the woodland is no more than 75 years old and established on upper, roadside saltmarsh and on an adjacent, capped industrial landfill, it supports a species assemblage characteristic of hyper-oceanic temperate rainforest. Surveys [...]
An evolving view of phylogenetic biogeography
Published: 2026-04-02
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Biogeography is intrinsically linked to evolution as a process and to systematics as a practice. Phylogenetic biogeography, in particular, studies the distribution of life in space over time through the lens of common ancestry. Over the past century, new biological and geological discoveries, theoretical frameworks, and methodological techniques revolutionized how we understand why species have [...]
Incorporating population genomic perspectives into kelp conservation and aquaculture in the Pacific Northwest
Published: 2026-04-02
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 the role of biogeography in the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis
Published: 2026-04-02
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
In the first half of the 20th century, the Modern Synthesis (MS) integrated Mendelian genetics, paleontology, systematics, natural history, common descent, and natural selection. Although the MS has been the guiding paradigm of evolutionary studies since 1950, by the beginning of the 21st century, a new synthesis incorporated themes such as evo-devo, phenotypic plasticity, and epigenetic [...]
IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, Mangroves of the Australian Coral Sea
Published: 2026-04-01
Subjects: Life Sciences
Mangroves of the Australian Coral Sea is a regional ecosystem subgroup (level 4 unit of the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology). It includes the marine ecoregions of the Central and Southern Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, Torres Strait Northern Great Barrier Reef, and Tweed-Moreton. The Australian Coral Sea mangrove province mapped extent in 2020 was 2398.3 km2 across, representing 1.6% of the global [...]
Mitigating the Pollinator-Prey Conflict in Drosera capillaris: A Study on Physiological Plasticity and Phylogenetic Conservatism within Drosera
Published: 2026-04-01
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Premise: Carnivorous plants face a dilemma: acquiring nutrients from insect prey while simultaneously relying on insect pollinators for reproduction. Thus, carnivorous plants have evolved mechanisms to avoid/reduce pollinator-prey conflict. This study aims to understand how carnivorous plants deal with this conflict through: macroevolutionary adaptations (floral stalk length) or short-term [...]
Sex differences in avian plumage evolution: stronger effects of natural selection and social competition on females
Published: 2026-04-01
Subjects: Life Sciences
Sexual dichromatism in birds may evolve via sexual selection for increased elaboration in male plumage (Darwin hypothesis) or, alternatively, by natural selection for increased crypsis in female plumage (Wallace hypothesis). Both these effects may be counteracted by social competition promoting ornamentation in females. However, the relative roles of sexual, natural, and social selection in [...]
Long-term community management of agrobiodiversity zones reduces agricultural expansion and natural cover loss.
Published: 2026-04-01
Subjects: Life Sciences
Global food system resilience is weakened by over reliance on a narrow range of crops and the erosion of traditional farming knowledge. Agrobiodiversity Zones (ABDZs) in Peru represent a novel and globally unique, community-led legal instrument for in situ agrobiodiversity conservation. However, the long-term impact of community-led stewardship and associated traditional farming practices on [...]
Range-wide pangenomics reveals vulnerability and adaptation in a sedentary bird
Published: 2026-04-01
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Genetics and Genomics
Structural genetic variants are known to underlie evolutionary adaptations, but have never been evaluated across the entire geographic range of a species. We constructed the first range-wide pangenome to evaluate how such variants may influence conservation efforts of the Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae). Profiles of local adaptation, population structure, and genomic diversity all support a [...]
Climate warming reduces seed mass in European beech through altered resource dynamics and drought
Published: 2026-04-01
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Seed mass is a key life-history trait that influences dispersal, seedling establishment, and plant fitness, yet its long-term response to climate change remains poorly understood. We used two long-term datasets of European beech (\textit{Fagus sylvatica}) from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands (1976-2024) to test whether seed mass has changed over time and whether any decline can be [...]
Replicards: Teaching and simulating evolution with a card-based experiment
Published: 2026-03-31
Subjects: Education, Life Sciences
The teaching of biological evolution in high schools is often reduced to an account of the history of evolutionary thought. As a result, students assimilate evolutionism more as a philosophical current of thought led by distinguished thinkers than as a fruitful area of scientific research. Often, mere verbal exposition is not enough for students to truly understand evolutionary phenomena, such as [...]
Will Climate Change Affect the Sustainability of Krill Fishing? A Simulation Study.
Published: 2026-03-31
Subjects: Marine Biology, Population Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
In the Southern Ocean, Antarctic krill form the base of the food web, and are the primary food source for a wide range of species, including whales, penguins and fish. Krill also comprises the largest fishery resource in Antarctica, but are increasingly thought to be impacted by changing environmental conditions associated with climate change. In order to explore potential synergistic impacts of [...]
A framework for predicting the effects of climate warming on arthropod disease vectors
Published: 2026-03-31
Subjects: Life Sciences
Predicting the effects of climate warming on vector-borne disease transmission is a crucial research priority. Predictions that can reliably inform policy need to be based on vector biology, but models that incorporate biological realism are often difficult to test with the limited amount of information available for most disease vectors. Here we present a framework for predicting warming effects [...]
Trophic niche structure of invertebrate-eating bats and birds in West African rice agroecosystems revealed by DNA metabarcoding
Published: 2026-03-30
Subjects: Biodiversity, Biology, Life Sciences
Knowledge of animal community diets is essential for understanding ecosystem functioning. Bats and birds are important groups of invertebrate predators, managing their populations. However, the diets of West African species and the mechanisms shaping them remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated these mechanisms in agricultural landscapes of Guinea-Bissau using metabarcoding and [...]
Archilestes californicus McLachlan: a new damselfly for coastal British Columbia (Odonata: Lestidae) with notes on the species’ expansion in the Pacific Northwest
Published: 2026-03-30
Subjects: Entomology
We observed Archilestes californicus McLachlan (California Spreadwing), a damselfly in the family Lestidae, for the first time in south coastal British Columbia. Other records of the species in the Pacific Northwest document a gradual northward range expansion over the last twenty years. In light of this history, Archilestes californicus is expected to spread more widely in southern British [...]