Preprints
There are 1649 Preprints listed.
Lumpfish, Cyclopterus lumpus, distribution in the Gulf of Maine, USA: observations from fisheries independent and dependent catch data
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Aquaculture and Fisheries Life Sciences, Marine Biology, Population Biology
The Gulf of Maine (GoM) is one of the fastest-warming parts of the world’s oceans. Some species’ distributional shifts have already been documented, especially for commercially-important species. Less is known about species that are not currently exploited but may become so in the future. As a case study into these issues, we focus on lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) because of the recognized and [...]
Patterns in tern trophic diversity in a region experiencing rapid climate change
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Life Sciences
Foraging plasticity provides a mechanism for long-lived species to adapt to rapidly changing environments and, when individuals vary in their plasticity, can drive changes in trophic diversity. We use chick provisioning data and stable isotope values of blood cells and plasma to test for drivers of trophic diversity in the diet of common terns (Sterna hirundo) and Arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea) [...]
A framework for conducting research on consumer demand for high-value wildlife products in Asia
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Managing demand for wildlife products is essential to address the illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade. In certain Asian countries, traditions underpin demand, and the usage of exotic wildlife products, particularly among wealthy consumers, carries minimal societal stigma. To develop effective demand management strategies, research is required to generate insights into consumers and [...]
Predicting macroinvertebrate average score per taxon (ASPT) at water quality monitoring sites in Japanese rivers
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Studies, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Freshwater ecosystems provide essential services for human well-being but are impacted by multiple anthropogenic stressors. Biomonitoring with bioindicators such as river macroinvertebrates is fundamental for assessing the status of freshwater systems. In Japan, water quality and biomonitoring surveys are conducted separately, leading to a lack of nationwide information on the biological status [...]
Restrictions on UK aquaculture of Pacific oyster (Magallana gigas) will not prevent naturalised spread but suppress ecological and economic benefits to coastal communities
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Life Sciences
The Pacific oyster (Magallana (Crassostrea) gigas) was introduced to UK waters in the mid 20th century and currently accounts for over 95% of UK oyster fishery landings. Recently however, its non native origin has led policy makers to consider a limit on UK oyster aquaculture operations. M. gigas is effectively naturalised in the UK, with multiple records of populations originating from non local [...]
New directions for Indigenous and Local Knowledge research and application in fisheries science: Lessons from a Systematic Review
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social-ecological systems like fisheries provide food, livelihoods, and recreation. However, lack of data and its integration into governance hinders their conservation and management. Stakeholders possess site-specific knowledge crucial for confronting these challenges. There is increasing recognition that Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) is valuable, but structural differences between ILK [...]
Blood lead increases and haemoglobin decreases in urban birds along a soil contamination gradient in a mining city
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Health and Protection, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Lead contaminated soil is a persistent global threat to the health of animal populations. Nevertheless, links between soil lead and its adverse effects on exposed wildlife remain poorly understood. Here, we explore local geographic patterns of exposure in urban birds along a gradient of lead contamination in Broken Hill, an Australian mining city. Soil lead concentrations are linked to [...]
Knowing why Tasmanian Eucalyptus obliqua tall forests are so sensitive to heatwaves informs management and policy for climate change adaptation
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Life Sciences
Tasmania’s distinctive climate environment supports highly productive and carbon-dense tall eucalypt forests, but also a vulnerability to climate change. Measurements in Eucalyptus obliqua tall forest at the Warra SuperSite in southern Tasmania showed them to be very sensitive to warmer temperatures. Gross primary productivity (GPP) declines sharply when temperatures rise above the forest’s [...]
Zebra finch song parameters are affected by the breeding status of the male, but not temperature variability
Published: 2024-03-16
Subjects: Life Sciences
Bird song is a crucial feature for mate choice and reproduction. Song can potentially communicate information related to the quality of the mate, through song complexity, structure or finer changes in syllable characteristics. It has been shown in zebra finches that those characteristics can be affected by various factors including motivation, hormone levels or extreme temperature. However, [...]
Potter Cove’s Heavyweights: Estimation of species’ interaction strength of an Antarctic food web
Published: 2024-03-16
Subjects: Life Sciences
Understanding the complex interplay between structure and stability of marine food webs is crucial for assessing ecosystem resilience, particularly in the context of ongoing environmental changes. In the West Antarctic Peninsula, global warming has led to severe alterations in community composition, species distribution, and abundance over the last decades. In this study, we estimate the [...]
Lianas, to cut or not to cut to conserve forest biodiversity?
Published: 2024-03-16
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Forest Sciences, Life Sciences, Plant Sciences
Although lianas play an important role in forest composition, structure, and functions, they are considered as structural parasites of the tree-host. Both contrasting ideas on the role of lianas in forest ecosystems challenge the practitioners and decision might be taken without specific information. Here we present a preliminary result, applied in a unique, small, old-growth forest in the [...]
Behavioral variation changes across an urbanization gradient in a population of great tits
Published: 2024-03-15
Subjects: Life Sciences
Urbanization is occurring globally at an unprecedented rate and, despite the eco-evolutionary importance of individual variation in adaptive traits, we still have very limited insight on how phenotypic variation is modified by anthropogenic environmental change. Urbanization can increase individual differences in some contexts, but whether this is generalizable to behavioral traits, which [...]
Variant calling in polyploids for population and quantitative genetics
Published: 2024-03-15
Subjects: Life Sciences
Advancements in genome assembly and sequencing technology have made whole genome sequence (WGS) data and reference genomes accessible to study polyploid species. The genome-wide coverage and greater marker density provided by WGS data, compared to popular reduced-representation sequencing approaches, can greatly improve our understanding of polyploid species and polyploid biology. However, [...]
Social interactions do not affect mycoplasma infection in griffon vultures
Published: 2024-03-14
Subjects: Life Sciences
Uncovering the ways in which pathogens spread has important implications for population health and management. Pathogen transmission is influenced by various factors, including patterns of social interactions and shared use of space. We aim to understand how the social behavior of griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus), a species of conservation interest, influences the presence or absence of mycoplasma, [...]
Not All Mass Mortality Events are Equal
Published: 2024-03-13
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Entomology, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Life Sciences, Life Sciences, Microbiology, Population Biology
Mass Mortality Events (MMEs) are defined as novel events involving many individuals dying in a relatively short period of time. In recent years, there has been an increased interest in MMEs due to their perceived increase in frequency. Current definitions are subjective and categorize mortalities varying in magnitude and frequency together. Within this manuscript, Multiple Mortality Events is a [...]