Preprints
There are 1954 Preprints listed.
Evidence of the Impacts of Pharmaceuticals on Aquatic Animal Behaviour (EIPAAB): a systematic map and open access database
Published: 2024-09-03
Subjects: Life Sciences
Background The global proliferation of pharmaceutical pollutants in aquatic ecosystems has emerged as a pressing environmental concern. These contaminants—designed to modulate biological functions at minute dosages—pose a unique threat to aquatic organisms, particularly through behavioural alterations. Recent years have seen a surge in scientific interest in the use of behavioural endpoints in [...]
Genetic adaptation to climate change: a systematic literature review identifies opportunities to strengthen existing studies of wild populations
Published: 2024-09-02
Subjects: Life Sciences
To understand to what extent evolution can contribute to bending the curve of ongoing biodiversity losses, we urgently need to characterize what determines the adaptive potential of populations. We argue that capitalising on existing examples of genetic adaptation to climate change provides the opportunities to fill this major knowledge gap. We performed a systematic literature review and [...]
The role of forests in global climate adaptation
Published: 2024-09-02
Subjects: Life Sciences
Forests play a crucial role in regulating the global climate. Yet, forests also influence the local climate conditions through biophysical processes that directly impact human wellbeing. With growing policy emphasis on these climate adaptation effects, we review the scale dependent impacts of forests on climate conditions and their implications for human wellbeing. Generally, existing forests [...]
Fear of supernatural punishment harmonises human societies with nature
Published: 2024-09-02
Subjects: Life Sciences
Human activities largely impact the natural environment negatively and radical changes in human societies would be required to achieve their sustainable relationship with nature. Although frequently overlooked, previous studies have suggested that supernatural beliefs can protect nature from human overexploitation via beliefs that supernatural entities punish people who harm nature. Studies of [...]
Cultural inception of invasive species
Published: 2024-09-02
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Health and Protection, Environmental Studies, Natural Resources and Conservation, Sustainability
1. Many invasive alien species gradually become embedded within local cultures. Such species can increasingly be perceived by society as familiar and native elements of the social-ecological system and as integral parts of local cultures. 2. Here, we explore this phenomenon and define it as cultural inception. Cultural inception can greatly hinder our ability to successfully manage invasive [...]
Untangling the impact of live baitfish restrictions on recreational fishing participation in the United States
Published: 2024-08-29
Subjects: Environmental Studies, Social and Behavioral Sciences
In recent decades, many jurisdictions have established regulations governing the use of live baitfish in recreational fishing. These regulations are usually motivated by environmental concerns, such as the role that live baitfish play in the spread of invasive species and aquatic diseases. One question that might be posed by policymakers is whether limiting the use of live baitfish could impact [...]
Community-ecosystem interactions control plant biodiversity change before and after mangrove restoration.
Published: 2024-08-28
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Restoring biological diversity and ecosystem function requires understanding how introduced species interact with one another and their environments. The most prevalent and challenging scenarios involve multiple invasive species whose traits feedback through ecosystem processes. However, research into these systems often focuses on either community dynamics or ecosystem properties, rather than [...]
Quantifying Carbon Sequestration and Ecosystem Enhancement Through Novel Phytoplankton Farming Techniques
Published: 2024-08-28
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Farming phytoplankton has significant potential in addressing global warming and enriching marine ecosystems. Moreover, phytoplankton is more or less the ocean's small powerhouse, with the ability to sequester carbon, produce oxygen, and support food webs for marine ecosystems. To explore this potential, we developed new cultivation techniques to increase phytoplankton populations [...]
Rethinking Environmental Impact Assessment for nature positive development
Published: 2024-08-28
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Achieving nature positive development within existing regulatory frameworks will be challenging. Halting and reversing biodiversity loss requires restoration and enhancement of ecosystems alongside a fundamental shift in how we value biodiversity and assess quantifiable improvements. Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) focussed on mitigating negative impacts do not promote positive outcomes – [...]
Why did the human brain size evolve? A way forward
Published: 2024-08-28
Subjects: Biological and Physical Anthropology, Evolution
Why the human brain size evolved has been a major evolutionary puzzle since Darwin but addressing it has been challenging. A key reason is the lack of research tools to infer the causes of a unique event for which experiments are not possible. We describe how the analogous problem of why there is day and night has been successfully addressed in physics and learning from that experience, we [...]
Maximum movement performance, not activity levels or thermoregulatory indices, affects survival in a free-ranging ectotherm
Published: 2024-08-27
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Physiology
1. Temperature profoundly influences the distribution and diversity of ectotherms, yet in natural settings, the trade-offs between environmental temperatures, behaviour, physiological function, and how they drive individual survival, remain poorly understood. 2. To address these gaps, we generated field-based thermal performance curves, using temperature-sensitive radio transmitters and [...]
On the use of directed acyclic graphs in behavioural ecology and evolution
Published: 2024-08-27
Subjects: Life Sciences
Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) are graphical models to visualise hypotheses. DAGs are generally used in the field of causal inference and their use is spreading across different fields. However, in biology and especially in behavioural ecology and evolution, DAGs are still underutilised. Here, we point out why DAGs are such useful tools for these fields. Using concrete examples, we demonstrate [...]
Quantifying disturbance effects on ecosystem services in a changing climate
Published: 2024-08-27
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Disturbances, such as hurricanes, fires, droughts, and pest outbreaks, can cause major changes in ecosystem conditions that threaten nature’s contributions to people (ecosystem services). However, approaches to assess these impacts on diverse services under climate change are rare. To advance such efforts, we build on the accelerating research on disturbance ecology and ecosystem services to [...]
Navigating the complexities of “One Health”
Published: 2024-08-27
Subjects: Life Sciences
For two decades, a One Health approach to managing the emergence of novel zoonotic pathogens has been increasingly called for by the animal and public health sectors. One health systems require the integration of data from wildlife indicator species, domesticated animals, and humans into a framework of monitoring and analysis that provides for early warning of impending pathogen spillover and [...]
A novel method to study the ecological role of sleep in small mammals.
Published: 2024-08-26
Subjects: Life Sciences
Sleep, is a complex, vital, and universal behavior that strongly differs from mere inactivity. Its ecological role remains, however, largely unknown mostly owing to the lack of methodological tools to record animal sleep states in the wild. By using a small, low power consumption biologger, capable of recording brain activity, body movements, and core physiology, we were able to record and [...]