Preprints
There are 2563 Preprints listed.
Strategic conservation of tropical insects
Published: 2025-07-16
Subjects: Biodiversity, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Insect species are declining globally, yet they are often overlooked in biodiversity conservation measures. The tropics harbour > 80% of all insect species; however, information on their ecology and conservation status is largely lacking. It is imperative to identify solutions to the issues of data availability and integration of scientific findings with conservation policy for tropical [...]
Behavioural tactics across thermal gradients align with partial morphological divergence in brook charr
Published: 2025-07-16
Subjects: Animal Studies, Aquaculture and Fisheries Life Sciences
Understanding how animals balance environmental constraints is essential for predicting species persistence under climate change. In thermally stratified lakes, cold-water fishes such as brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) must navigate vertical gradients in temperature and oxygen to optimize foraging while avoiding physiological stress. We hypothesized that individuals would exhibit behavioral [...]
An overview of open science in eco-evo research and the publisher effect.
Published: 2025-07-16
Subjects: Life Sciences
Sharing data and code is increasingly recognized as essential for transparency and reproducibility in scientific research. This is especially critical in ecology and evolutionary biology (eco-evo), where sampling and experiments often occur in the field and can hardly be reproduced. To monitor the adoption of open science practices in eco-evo and identify key influencing factors, we analyzed [...]
A systems-modelling approach to predict biological responses to extreme heat
Published: 2025-07-16
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology, Evolution, Integrative Biology, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Systems and Integrative Physiology Life Sciences, Systems Biology
Anthropogenic climate change is leading to more frequent and extreme heat waves. These short-term but large-scale events are radically re-shaping interactions among organisms – impacting biodiversity, community composition and ecosystem services crucial to natural systems and food security. Predicting heat wave impacts on interacting species requires an understanding of the processes driving [...]
Implementation of Advances in Information Technology in the Treatment of Phylogenetic Problems: Historical Considerations, Central Debates, and Obstacles Still Unresolved
Published: 2025-07-15
Subjects: Life Sciences
The field of phylogenetic inference has undergone a profound transformation through the integration of advanced information technology, evolving from traditional morphological classification systems to sophisticated computational frameworks capable of processing genomic-scale datasets. This comprehensive review examines the historical trajectory of computational phylogenetics, tracing its [...]
Ontogenetic Carnivory Drives Secondary Production Across a Productivity Gradient
Published: 2025-07-15
Subjects: Life Sciences
1. Ontogenetic size shifts and omnivory are central to understanding consumer-resource interactions and energy flow in aquatic ecosystems. However, how these shifts and feeding behavior influence secondary production and organic matter flow remains poorly understood. 2. Here, we quantified the relationship between body size, carnivory (i.e., animal tissue consumption), secondary production, and [...]
DrawerDissect: Whole-drawer insect imaging, segmentation, and transcription using AI
Published: 2025-07-15
Subjects: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Entomology, Life Sciences
1. Natural history museums often curate large collections of pinned insects. These collections represent invaluable records of biodiversity information, ecological patterns and phenotypic variation. A common goal of museums is to create digital versions of these records for curation and research purposes. However, traditional methods of specimen imaging and metadata transcription are [...]
Multidimensional microclimate velocities alter the picture of shifting climates in tropical forests
Published: 2025-07-15
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Climate velocity—the speed and direction species must move to track climate change—is often estimated without accounting for vegetation-driven microclimatic variation. Using airborne lidar data from a tropical montane rainforest, we generated high-resolution 3D maps of topography and canopy structure to mechanistically model near-ground and within-canopy microclimates. Microclimate-derived [...]
Catalysing community-led local nature recovery with opportunity mapping: lessons from the Oxfordshire Treescape Project
Published: 2025-07-11
Subjects: Nature and Society Relations, Spatial Science, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
1. Background. The UK has ambitious nature recovery targets. Local communities and land managers have knowledge, expertise, and capacity to support place-based nature recovery, making them well-placed to help deliver these goals. We explore how these groups can be supported in nature recovery plans that combine their local knowledge with complex ecological data, using Oxfordshire Treescape [...]
Glycoprotein Structure and Function in Mammalian Immune Systems: Molecular Architecture and Regulatory Networks
Published: 2025-07-10
Subjects: Life Sciences
Glycoproteins represent fundamental architectural and regulatory components of mammalian immune systems, orchestrating complex molecular interactions through their carbohydrate modifications. This comprehensive review examines the structural diversity, biosynthetic pathways, and functional roles of glycoproteins in both innate and adaptive immunity. The glycan code, mediated by cell surface [...]
A handbook for standardised measurements of regenerative plant functional traits
Published: 2025-07-10
Subjects: Life Sciences
A lack of standardised sampling protocols prevents functional traits from expressing their full potential to revolutionise plant ecology, biogeography, and evolutionary biology. Handbooks providing protocols for standardised measurements of plant functional traits allow researchers to tackle large-scale ecological questions but have traditionally focused on vegetative traits such as leaves, stems [...]
okaapi: an R package for generating social networks based on trait preferences
Published: 2025-07-09
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Modelling of simulated networks with generative network models plays a central role for our understanding of the emergence and consequences of network structures. Accessible software that generates simulated networks based on relevant processes can facilitate the use of this important approach in behavioural ecology, and can help drive forward our understanding of animal social structures. Here [...]
The Role of the Nervous and Endocrine Systems in Animal Homeostasis: An Integrative Review of Contemporary Mechanisms and Emerging Paradigms
Published: 2025-07-08
Subjects: Life Sciences
The maintenance of homeostasis in animals requires intricate coordination between the nervous and endocrine systems, forming a unified neuroendocrine network that regulates physiological stability across multiple timescales. This comprehensive review synthesises contemporary understanding of neural-hormonal integration, examining molecular mechanisms, evolutionary adaptations, and technological [...]
Evaluating the role of Zoo Campuses in Wild Snake Body Condition and Ophidiomycosis Risk
Published: 2025-07-08
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Life Sciences
Abstract.—Snake Fungal Disease (SFD), caused by Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, poses a growing threat to snake populations. This study compared infection prevalence, body condition, and species composition between snakes found at Caldwell Zoo located in Tyler, Texas and those found in surrounding wild areas. While infection rates were similar (14.3% zoo, 12.1% wild), zoo-caught snakes had [...]
Mathematical Perspectives on Rewilding
Published: 2025-07-08
Subjects: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Achieving sustainable human-wildlife coexistence in well-functioning ecosystems is a vitally important and major challenge under global change. In response, rewilding is an emerging paradigm in ecosystem service provision through the re-establishment of natural ecological processes in self-sustaining ecosystems. Effective prediction of ecological changes in rewilding projects requires tools [...]