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Preprints

There are 3130 Preprints listed.

Diversity and co-occurrence patterns of wood inhabiting insects along a tropical forest regeneration gradient

Nina Grella, Ana Falconí-López, David A. Donoso, et al.

Published: 2026-04-07
Subjects: Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Entomology, Life Sciences

More than 90% of global carbon released during dead wood decomposition comes from the tropics, where insects contribute significantly to this process, especially in lowland rainforests. Understanding community assembly of dead wood-inhabiting insects is therefore important. We investigated diversity patterns between habitats and host trees, and co-occurrence of wood-inhabiting ants, termites, and [...]

Taxonomic bias: a persistent issue in ecology and evolution

Pietro Pollo, Michael M. Kasumovic

Published: 2026-04-07
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Scientific hyperfocus on certain organisms slows innovation and hinders the generality of ecological and evolutionary inference. Yet, the extent of taxonomic bias in this field and its potential changes over time remain poorly quantified. By assessing 1,383,803 papers and 612 journals, we show that ecology and evolution research is strongly taxonomically biased. We found that studies on [...]

Microplastic ingestion induces changes in coelomocyte composition of Eisenia fetida

Johanna Fritsche, Max V. R. Döring, Anika Mauel, et al.

Published: 2026-04-07
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Life Sciences, Toxicology

The earthworm Eisenia fetida is a widely used model organism for environmental toxicity assessment, including microplastic particles (MPP). Impacts of MPP at the organismic level have been extensively documented. Effects on the cellular level and in particular the immune system of E. fetida are less well understood. Here we exposed earthworms outside soil for six days to food pellets containing [...]

Archaeal genes code for GGDEF domain proteins with diguanylate cyclase activity

Roman Sidorov, Li Li, Ali Dadvar, et al.

Published: 2026-04-07
Subjects: Life Sciences

A biofilm-like tightly surface-associated mode of growth of pre-cellular life protected by an extracellular matrix has been hypothesized to be a prerequisite for the emergence of cellular life and its persistence under challenging environmental conditions. Ubiquitous in Bacteria including members of the deepest branching phyla, cyclic di-GMP, a positive regulator of biofilm formation, has not yet [...]

Population genomic processes in Brassicaceae in the light of mating system variation

Tiina Maria Mattila, Tanja Slotte

Published: 2026-04-07
Subjects: Life Sciences

Mating system in plants is a highly variable trait ranging from obligatory outcrossing to full self-fertilization, i.e. selfing. In nature, there are various mechanisms to prevent self-fertilization, indicating evolutionary advantages of outcrossing. Still, self-fertilization is very common in plants. In addition, selfing is a useful property in plant breeding and research since it allows [...]

Celebrating 50 years of virus genomics by revisiting the first decade (1976-1985)

Siobain Duffy, J Steen Hoyer

Published: 2026-04-07
Subjects: Life Sciences

Whole genome sequencing was pioneered in viruses, beginning with the publication of the third and final portion of the levivirus MS2 genome on April 8th, 1976. Fifty years and incalculable viral genomes later, we chose to examine the first decade of viral genomics for posterity. We found that 97 whole genome sequences were published between 1976 and 1985, with some species having as many as [...]

Network architecture and vulnerability of macroalgal epiphyte-host interactions in Caribbean coastal ecosystems: implications for marine conservation

Abdiel Jover Capote, Asiel Cabrera, Ana María Suárez Alfonso, et al.

Published: 2026-04-06
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Marine Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Background and Aims Tropical coastal marine ecosystems depend critically on macroalgal epiphyte–host interaction networks to sustain biodiversity, primary production, and ecosystem services, yet the architecture and vulnerability of these networks remain poorly characterised in the Caribbean. This study aimed to characterise the topological structure of the epiphyte–host interaction network in [...]

Integrating ecoacoustic monitoring with machine learning to survey black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) in Madagascar's Corridor Forestier d'Ambositra Vondrozo (COFAV)

Carly Batist, Marconi Campos-Cerqueira, Nelson Buainain, et al.

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

Stephen Totterman

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

Mansi Mungee

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

Jaemy Romero-Herrada, César Arana

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

Hannah Henry, TiAnna Olivas, Kelsey McCune, et al.

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

Amanda Kate Pettersen, Frank Seebacher

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

Andrea Miranda Paez, Kelsey McCune, Kelly H. Dunning, et al.

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

Vijay Karthick, Siva Dass, Vishal Gopal Sadekar, et al.

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 [...]

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