Preprints
There are 2629 Preprints listed.
Collating existing evidence on cumulative impacts of invasive plant species in riparian ecosystems of British Columbia, Canada: a systematic map protocol
Published: 2023-07-22
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Plant Sciences
Background Globally, the structure and functioning of foreshore and riparian ecosystems are being dramatically impacted by non-native invasive plant species. Invasive species can outcompete and replace native species, modify geochemical and hydraulic cycles, alter trophic processes, and change the composition and structure of communities above and below ground. However, these impacts are often [...]
Artificial light at night (ALAN) influences understory plant traits through ecological processes: a two-year experiment in a rubber plantation in China
Published: 2023-07-21
Subjects: Life Sciences
Artificial light at night (ALAN) demonstrated a new ecological factor that influences organisms through multi-approach. Yet, the impacts of ALAN on understory plants remain largely unknown. We evaluated whether ALAN would affect leaf mass per area (LMA) of understory plants through a two-year field light experiment in a tropical rubber plantation in south China. We hypothesized that ALAN could [...]
Intergenerational plasticity aligns with temperature-dependent selection on offspring metabolic rates
Published: 2023-07-20
Subjects: Life Sciences
Metabolic rates are linked to key life history traits that are thought to set the pace of life and affect fitness, yet the role that parents may have in shaping the metabolism of their offspring to enhance survival remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of temperature (24 C or 30 C) and feeding frequency experienced by parent zebrafish (Danio rerio) on offspring phenotypes and early [...]
Microbial invasions and inoculants: a call to action
Published: 2023-07-18
Subjects: Biosecurity, Biotechnology, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Life Sciences
The use of non-genetically modified microbial inoculants for beneficial purposes in agriculture, bioremediation, medicine, and infrastructure is increasing. The intentional introduction of plants and animals for similar purposes has a long history, but despite successes, has resulted in thousands of plant and animal species becoming invasive, with catastrophic consequences for the environment, [...]
The evolutionary dynamics of plastic foraging and its ecological consequences: a resource-consumer model
Published: 2023-07-17
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Phenotypic plasticity has important ecological and evolutionary consequences. In particular, behavioural phenotypic plasticity such as plastic foraging (PF) by consumers, may enhance community stability. Yet little is known about the ecological conditions that favor the evolution of PF, and how the evolutionary dynamics of PF may modulate its effects on community stability. In order to address [...]
Recent human-bear conflicts in Northern Italy: a review, with considerations of future perspectives
Published: 2023-07-17
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 [...]
Shall we all adopt, with no worries, the ‘within a configuration’ approach in geometric morphometrics? A comment on claims that the effect of the superimposition and sliding on shape data is “not an obstacle to analyses of integration and modularity”
Published: 2023-07-17
Subjects: Life Sciences
The study of modularity and integration using Procrustes geometric morphometrics has become a prominent approach in evolutionary developmental biology. A most popular method is the ‘within a configuration’ approach, often used in combination with ‘high density’ morphometric data (i.e., large numbers of landmarks and semilandmarks). In 2019, I realized that this approach violates a basic [...]
Fixation probability and fixation time under strong recurrent mutation
Published: 2023-07-16
Subjects: Evolution, Life Sciences
When the mutation rate is high and/or the population size is large, recurrent mutation can lead to multiple, independently generated copies of the same beneficial allele spreading through the population. However, classical analyses of fixation probability and time assume that the mutation rate is low and therefore, that fixation and extinction of a beneficial allele occur faster than the [...]
When indices disagree: facing conceptual and practical challenges
Published: 2023-07-16
Subjects: Life Sciences
Hypothesis testing requires meaningful ways to quantify relevant biological phenomena and account for alternative mechanisms that could explain the same pattern. Researchers combine experiments, statistics, and indices to account for these confounding mechanisms. Key concepts in ecology and evolution, like niche breadth or fitness, can be represented by several indices, which often provide [...]
Amplitude Increases of Vocalizations are Associated with Body Accelerations in Siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus)
Published: 2023-07-15
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Siamangs (Symphalangus syndactylus), one of the few singing apes, vocalize loudly, often while they move. We hypothesize that movement and vocalization coordinate, possibly due to vigorous thorax-loading movements such as brachiation affecting vocal-respiratory dynamics. To assess this vocal-motor coordination we recorded more than a hundred stereotypical vocalizations combined with movement from [...]
Application of crime theory in urban ecology, evolution and planning: factors influencing the disappearance of field equipment
Published: 2023-07-15
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences, Research Methods in Life Sciences, Urban Studies and Planning
1. Research in urban ecology and evolution relies on the use of deployable scientific equipment. If left unattended in the field, it may be prone to vandalism and theft, especially in the urban space. We empirically applied crime theory, specifically the Routine Activity Theory (RAT), to predict disappearance rates of scientific equipment in an on-going urban ecology research project. 2. [...]
The History and Development of Small Mammal Control on China’s Grasslands and Potential Implications for Conservation
Published: 2023-07-15
Subjects: Biodiversity
Grasslands make up 40% of China’s territory and are important ecological and economic areas. The native small mammals that inhabit these grasslands are often seen as pests competing with livestock and are subjected to population control. At the same time, several species are functionally important ecosystem engineers, and their removal can have far-reaching consequences for grassland health. We [...]
Implications of adult sex ratios on natal dispersal in a cooperative breeder
Published: 2023-07-15
Subjects: Life Sciences
In cooperatively breeding species, sexually mature individuals may delay natal dispersal and become subordinates, helping a dominant pair raise offspring. To understand how cooperative breeding evolved, it is important to determine the mechanisms leading to delayed dispersal. Adult sex ratio (ASR) variation may affect dispersal through limiting breeding vacancies available to the more abundant [...]
The sugar kelp Saccharina latissima I: Recent advances in a changing climate
Published: 2023-07-13
Subjects: Life Sciences
Building a Portuguese Coalition for Biodiversity Genomics
Published: 2023-07-10
Subjects: Genomics
The diverse physiography of the Portuguese land and marine territory, spanning from continental Europe to the Atlantic archipelagos, has made it an important repository of biodiversity throughout the Pleistocene glacial cycles, leading to a remarkable diversity of species and ecosystems. This rich biodiversity is under threat from anthropogenic drivers, such as climate change, invasive species, [...]