Preprints
There are 2709 Preprints listed.
The Risk of Avian Influenza in the Southern Ocean: A practical guide
Published: 2022-08-22
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Biology, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Life Sciences
Advice from Avian Influenza experts suggests that there is a high risk that Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza will arrive in the Southern Ocean 2022/23-2024/25 austral summers. Since the beginning of 2022, the increasing intensity of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreaks has resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of seabirds in the Northern Hemisphere, around the [...]
Dog days are over: climate change is predicted to cause population collapse in a cooperative breeder
Published: 2022-08-17
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Population Biology
It has been suggested that animals may have evolved co-operative breeding strategies in response to extreme climatic conditions. Climate change, however, may push species beyond their ability to cope with extreme climates, and reduce the group sizes in co-operatively breeding species to a point where populations are no longer viable. Predicting the impact of future climates on these species is [...]
The Darwinian Core of Evolutionary Theory and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis: Similarities and Differences
Published: 2022-08-14
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
In this paper, we evaluate debates surrounding calls for an Extended Evolutionary Synthesis in light of the Darwinian core of evolutionary theory, which was somewhat broader than the Modern Synthesis. We suggest that Darwin’s nuanced operationalization of natural selection rested upon two innovations: the atomization of individuals into trait-variants, and a reconceptualization of heredity in [...]
Bayesian reinforcement learning models reveal how great-tailed grackles improve their behavioral flexibility in serial reversal learning experiments
Published: 2022-08-11
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Environments can change suddenly and unpredictably and animals might benefit from being able to flexibly adapt their behavior through learning new associations. Serial (repeated) reversal learning experiments have long been used to investigate differences in behavioral flexibility among individuals and species. In these experiments, individuals initially learn that a reward is associated with a [...]
Beyond "bluespace" and "greenspace": A narrative review of possible health benefits from exposure to other natural landscapes
Published: 2022-08-10
Subjects: Environmental Public Health, Medicine and Health Sciences, Public Health
Numerous studies have highlighted the physical and mental health benefits of contact with nature, typically in landscapes characterized by plants (i.e., “greenspace”) and water (i.e., “bluespace”). However, natural landscapes are not always green or blue, and the effects of other landscapes are worth attention. This narrative review attempts to overcome this limitation of past research. Rather [...]
Genomic architecture of resistance and tolerance to Swiss needle cast and Rhabdocline needle cast diseases in Douglas-fir
Published: 2022-08-10
Subjects: Genetics and Genomics, Life Sciences, Molecular Genetics
Understanding the genetic architecture of tolerance and resistance to pathogens is important to monitor and maintain resilient tree populations. Here we investigate the genetic basis of tolerance and resistance and to needle cast disease in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) caused by two fungal pathogens: Swiss needle cast (SNC) caused by Nothophaeocryptopus gaeumannii, and Rhabdocline needle [...]
Repeatability of performance within and across contexts measuring behavioral flexibility
Published: 2022-08-10
Subjects: Animal Experimentation and Research, Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Research Methods in Life Sciences
Research into animal cognitive abilities is increasing quickly and often uses methods where behavioral performance on a task is assumed to represent variation in the underlying cognitive trait. However, because these methods rely on behavioral responses as a proxy for cognitive ability, it is important to validate that the task structure does, in fact, target the cognitive trait of interest [...]
Characterizing the Vector Data Ecosystem
Published: 2022-08-05
Subjects: Entomology, Life Sciences, Research Methods in Life Sciences
A growing body of information on vector-borne diseases has arisen as increasing research focus has been directed towards the need for anticipating risk, optimizing surveillance, and understanding the fundamental biology of vector-borne diseases to direct efforts to control and mitigation. The scope and scale of this information, in the form of data, comprising database efforts, data storage, and [...]
First recorded outbreak of Veronaea botryosa in North American amphibians: clinicopathologic features of a rare cause of phaeohyphomycosis in captive White’s tree frogs (Litoria caerulea)
Published: 2022-08-04
Subjects: Life Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Veterinary Infectious Diseases, Veterinary Medicine
We describe fatal phaeohyphomycosis due to Veronaea botryosa in captive White’s tree frogs (Litoria caerulea), the first confirmed report in amphibians in North America. Over 15 months, six frogs developed ulcerative dermatitis on distal extremities/ventrum, which in one animal progressed to vasculitis and necrotizing osteomyelitis. All six frogs died. Clinicopathologic findings, diagnostic [...]
The IUCN Red List is not sufficient to protect genetic diversity
Published: 2022-08-01
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List is an important and widely used conservation prioritization tool. It uses information about species range size, habitat quality and fragmentation levels, and trends in abundance to assess species extinction risk. Genetic erosion is an additional key factor determining extinction risk, but the Red List was not designed to assess [...]
Experimental validation of transposable element insertions using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
Published: 2022-07-30
Subjects: Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
Transposable elements (TEs), also known as transposons, are repetitive DNA sequences, present in virtually all organisms, that can move from one genomic position to another. TEs can be a source of mutations with important consequences for organisms. Despite their interest, its repetitive nature has made their study very challenging. However, the emergence of new sequencing technologies that allow [...]
The courage of hopelessness: a transformative change for conservation sciences
Published: 2022-07-30
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Studies, Life Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences
As the twenty-first century unfolds, the human-driven decline of life on Earth is of greater concern and, despite tremendous growth in the volume of conservation science and many local successes, shows no clear signs of improvement. As a matter of fact, the reversal of nature’s ongoing decline is only possible with urgent “transformative change” However, no transformative changes are viable [...]
Female preferences for higher vocal effort in Neotropical singing mice
Published: 2022-07-30
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Despite the importance of vocalizations in mammalian sociosexual communication, little is known about female preferences for male vocal displays in wild mammals. Here, we characterized female preferences for the advertisement songs of male Alston’s singing mice (Scotinomys teguina). We developed procedures for inducing estrus, using vaginal morphology as a bioindicator. We then broadcasted [...]
European light skin may have evolved as an adaptation to the Neolithic sedentary lifestyle
Published: 2022-07-28
Subjects: Bioinformatics, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Population Biology
Light skin facilitates the penetration of ultraviolet light (UV) radiation through the skin, increasing the synthesis of vitamin D that in turn stimulates bone formation. It has been suggested that light skin appeared in the ancestors of modern Europeans as an adaptation to the conditions of low UV radiation in high latitudes; however, paleogenetic studies have recently shown it did not evolve [...]
Generation and applications of simulated datasets to integrate social network and demographic analyses
Published: 2022-07-27
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Population Biology
Social networks are tied to population dynamics; interactions are driven by population density and demographic structure, while social relationships can be key determinants of survival and reproductive success. However, difficulties integrating models used in demography and network analysis have limited research at this interface. We introduce the R package genNetDem for simulating integrated [...]