Preprints
There are 2709 Preprints listed.
Inferring the dynamics of selective constraints across complex ontogenies
Published: 2025-09-15
Subjects: Life Sciences
Most organisms undergo a series of complex phenotypic changes throughout their life cycles that allow them to meet the demands of different niches throughout ontogeny. Theory suggests the significant coordination required to undergo such ontogenetic transitions can impose evolutionary constraints on variation to developmental programs. This produces patterns known as developmental hourglasses, [...]
Mitochondrial genome evolution: the influence of partitioning, calibration, and gene heterogeneity on pleurodontan substitution rates
Published: 2025-09-15
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Genetics and Genomics, Molecular Genetics
Substitution rate estimates are a key source of information in modern evolutionary biology, underpinning divergence time inference and other evolutionary analyses. Mitochondrial DNA nucleotide substitution rates, in particular, are commonly used for these purposes. However, these rates are typically derived from a small set of genes, closely related species, or from a limited number of model [...]
The Brightening Sky and the Bug's Advance: Unraveling the Drivers of Oxycarenus lavaterae Range Expansion
Published: 2025-09-11
Subjects: Life Sciences
Analyzing the Lime Seed Bug's (Oxycarenus lavaterae) European range expansion, optimized Maxent models and comprehensive occurrence data (2007-2025) reveal a swift northward and eastward spread, with a distinct "rapid expansion" phase starting in 2017. Key drivers include minimum and maximum temperatures, and importantly, downward shortwave radiation (DSR). Increased DSR, linked to [...]
Landscape drivers of population density of a vulnerable apex predator (Wilkerr/dingo)
Published: 2025-09-11
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Apex predators shape ecosystems globally, yet robust monitoring that assesses the effects of management actions and environmental variation on their populations is challenging. The dingo, Australia’s largest terrestrial predator, is ecologically and culturally significant. In many parts of Australia, dingoes now exist in fragmented and isolated populations, and our understanding of how their [...]
Epi-eDNA: From Methylation Signal Detection to Functional Ecological Monitoring
Published: 2025-09-11
Subjects: Life Sciences
Environmental DNA (eDNA) technology has revolutionized biomonitoring, primarily capturing the presence/absence of target taxa. Recent advances have revealed that eDNA also retains epigenetic signatures (epi-eDNA), particularly DNA methylation, which enable functional ecological insights. This review synthesizes three pivotal milestones: (1) Initial detection of methylation signals in eDNA, [...]
Ecosystem dynamics in dry heathlands: spatial and temporal effects of environmental drivers on the vegetation
Published: 2025-09-11
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
To understand and estimate the effects of environmental drivers on temperate dry heathland vegetation, pin-point cover data from 102 Danish sites sampled during a 16-year period was regressed onto selected environmental variables. The effects of nitrogen deposition, soil pH, soil C-N ratio, soil type, precipitation and grazing on the heathland vegetation was modelled in a spatio-temporal [...]
squidSim: a flexible R package for structured and reproducible simulations in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Published: 2025-09-10
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Statistical Methodology
1. Complex statistical methodology now allows a growing array of questions to be addressed in ecology and evolutionary biology. However, the particular question being addressed or the complex nature of the data collected often raise issues with how statistical models perform and potentially limit inference. Simulations provide a powerful approach to help empiricists understand the assumptions, [...]
Fish biodiversity survey of small water bodies in the Nkhotakota District, Malawi.
Published: 2025-09-10
Subjects: Life Sciences
We surveyed 6 small lakes and the lower reaches of the Kaombe River in Nkhotakota District of Malawi (in 2 seasons; rainy and dry hot seasons), primarily to determine if two species previously reported only from Lake Chilingali were still present in the area following the collapse of the Chilingali Dam in 2012 and failure to rediscover the species in 2016 and subsequently. We report that [...]
When and How to Use Restricted Spatial Regression to Separate Environmental Effects from Spatial Confounding
Published: 2025-09-10
Subjects: Life Sciences
Aim: To provide practical guidance for ecologists on when to use standard spatial generalized linear mixed models (SGLMMs) versus Restricted Spatial Regression (RSR). We reframe the debate by arguing the choice depends on whether the total effect or direct effect of covariates will be more transferable across space. Innovation: Our study's primary innovation is to introduce a causal framework to [...]
Unequal Thermal Risks in a Socioeconomically Important Tropical Reef Fishery
Published: 2025-09-10
Subjects: Aquaculture and Fisheries Life Sciences, Marine Biology, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology
Climate change poses an understudied threat to the coastal reef systems of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO), a biodiversity hotspot critical for the maintenance of subsistence fisheries. The southwestern coast of Madagascar is especially sensitive to disturbances due to the high level of socioecological dependence on functioning reefs. Fishing in this region is spatially structured. For example, [...]
Spatial variation and individual specialization of stickleback diet in relation to trophic morphology
Published: 2025-09-10
Subjects: Life Sciences
A population's dietary niche, including individual variation and specialization, shapes the scope and strength of its trophic linkages. Individual diet variation may emerge in response to spatial variation in the selective pressures that shape trophic morphologies, such as food availability or competition. Therefore, characterizing dietary niche variation and its link to morphological differences [...]
Rediscovering lost Cenozoic tree diversity in Western and Central Europe
Published: 2025-09-10
Subjects: Biodiversity, Forest Management, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Paleoclimatic changes during the late Cenozoic led to substantial losses of tree diversity in Western and Central Europe. A complete overview of what taxa were lost, the timing of these losses, and their implications for the adaptation of the region’s forest ecosystems to ongoing climate change is needed. Here, we compiled a dataset of fossil occurrences of tree genera from Western and Central [...]
Project Psyche: Generating and utilising reference genomes for all Lepidoptera in Europe
Published: 2025-09-10
Subjects: Biodiversity, Genetics and Genomics, Genomics, Life Sciences
Project Psyche is a trans-national initiative to generate and study chromosome-level reference genomes of all ca. 11,000 described species of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) found in Europe. The Project Psyche community encompasses diverse researchers, amateur lepidopterists, practitioners, and industry experts united by a common vision of the importance of genomics for Lepidoptera. [...]
Natural developmental temperatures of ectotherms: A systematic map and comparative analysis
Published: 2025-09-10
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
In ectothermic animals, physiological processes are highly sensitive to environmental temperatures. Developmental temperatures, in particular, have large and long-lasting impacts on ectotherm phenotypes. However, most phenotypic responses are studied in the laboratory, and may not accurately reflect ecological impacts in natural environments. In this study, we provide the first synthesis of [...]
Mapping the landscape of live baitfish regulations for aquatic invasive species prevention in the United States
Published: 2025-09-10
Subjects: Aquaculture and Fisheries Life Sciences, Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Policy, Marine Biology, Public Policy
Aquatic invasive species (AIS) pose a significant risk to global ecosystems, economies, and societies. In the United States, the live baitfish trade is a major pathway for their spread. While the presence of invasive species and pathogens in this trade has been documented, a comprehensive, nationwide analysis of the regulations governing live baitfish has been lacking. This study fills that gap [...]