Preprints
There are 1649 Preprints listed.
The relative contribution of acoustic signals versus movement cues in group coordination and collective decision-making
Published: 2024-01-30
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
To benefit from group living, individuals need to maintain cohesion and coordinate their activities. Effective communication thus becomes critical, facilitating rapid coordination of behaviours and reducing consensus costs when group members have differing needs and information. In many bird and mammal species, collective decisions rely on acoustic signals in some contexts but on movement cues in [...]
Satellite observations reveal a positive relationship between trait-based diversity and drought response in temperate forests
Published: 2024-01-30
Subjects: Life Sciences
Mapping and predicting ecosystem responses to climate extremes is crucial in the face of global change. To what extent the behavior of non-experimental systems at large scales corresponds to the relationships discovered in biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) experiments remains unclear. We investigated the relationship between remotely-sensed trait-based diversity and drought responses in [...]
The Distraction Function of Extrafloral Nectaries: Keeping Ants Away From Flowers and Preventing Disruption of Pollination
Published: 2024-01-30
Subjects: Desert Ecology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
In exchange for extrafloral nectar, ants deter herbivores from the plants, reducing the amount of herbivory they suffered. However, this defensive mutualism can sometimes have negative effects on plants, as ants may also visit flowers, deterring pollinators and reducing plant fitness. The Distraction Hypothesis posits that extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) have the function of attracting ants and [...]
Multiple habitat graphs: how connectivity brings forth landscape ecological processes
Published: 2024-01-30
Subjects: Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Population Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Purpose: Habitat connectivity is integral to current biodiversity science and conservation strategies. Originally, the connectivity concept stressed the role of individual movements for landscape-scale processes. Connectivity determines whether populations can survive in sub-optimal patches (i.e., source-sink effects), complete life cycles relying on different habitat types (i.e., landscape [...]
The genetic basis of a regionally isolated sexual dimorphism involves cortex
Published: 2024-01-29
Subjects: Biology, Evolution, Genetics and Genomics, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Population Biology
Sexual dimorphisms represent a source of phenotypic variation and result from differences in how natural and sexual selection act on males and females within a species. Identifying the genetic basis of dimorphism can be challenging, especially once it is fixed within a species. However, studying polymorphisms, even when fixed within a population, can provide insights into the genetic basis of [...]
Evolutionary outcomes arising from bistability in ecosystem dynamics
Published: 2024-01-29
Subjects: Life Sciences
While it is known that shallow lakes ecosystems may experience abrupt shifts (ie tipping points) from one state to a contrasting degraded alternative state as a result of gradual envi- ronmental changes, the role of evolutionary processes and the impact of trait variation in this context remain largely unexplored. It is crucial to elucidate how eco-evolutionary feedbacks affect abrupt ecological [...]
Thresholds and prediction models to support the sustainable management of herbivorous insects in wheat. A review
Published: 2024-01-29
Subjects: Agriculture, Entomology
daily calorific intake for countries across the globe. Wheat crops are attacked by a diverse range of herbivorous invertebrates (pests) that cause significant yield loss. It is anticipated that yield loss caused by pests will increase in response to a changing climate. Currently, these pests are primarily controlled using pesticides, however there is an increased need for more sustainable pest [...]
Impacts of Changing Winters on Lake Ecosystems will Increase with Latitude
Published: 2024-01-29
Subjects: Life Sciences
Climate warming is especially pronounced in winter and at high latitudes. Warming winters are leading to loss of lake ice and changing snow cover on seasonally freezing lakes. Past neglect of the ice cover period by lake scientists has resulted in critical data and theory gaps about the role of winter conditions in lake ecosystem function and the effects of changing winters on aquatic systems. [...]
Comparing conservation land acquisition strategies using agent-based models
Published: 2024-01-29
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Most unprotected biodiversity is found outside state-owned protected areas, so developing effective conservation initiatives on privately and communally-owned land is critical. Conservationists have a long history of working with these landowners and their actions can be divided into two broad categories. The first is where they agree to take over responsibility for management, either by buying [...]
A non-invasive approach to measuring body dimensions of wildlife with camera-traps: a felid field trial
Published: 2024-01-29
Subjects: Life Sciences
Dimensions of body size are an important measurement in animal ecology, though they can be difficult to obtain due to the effort and cost associated with the invasive nature of these measurements. We avoid these limitations by using camera-trap images to derive dimensions of animal size. To obtain measurements of object dimensions using this method, the size of the object in pixels, the focal [...]
Experimental protocol for validation of Computational Fluid Dynamics palaeoecological simulations
Published: 2024-01-29
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are increasingly used to test palaeoecological hypotheses. These analyses output simulated velocity and pressure flow profiles, and drag and lift force values acting on a model. These outputs are presumed to be internally consistent, assuming consistently applied parameters, but it is unclear whether these reflect real-world force measurements. [...]
The fossil record of the Neogene Carnivore Mammals from Spain
Published: 2024-01-25
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
Carnivore mammals (Carnivora, Mammalia) constitute a significant component of the Spanish Neogene faunas, not so much due to their fossil abundance, which is generally low, but rather because of their high degree of taxonomic diversity. We assessed their evolutionary dynamics from the fossil record of Iberian carnivores using per-taxon rates of origination, extinctions and turnover combined with [...]
Conceptual Models regarding Internal and External Dynamics and Their Interaction in Biological Phenomena
Published: 2024-01-25
Subjects: Life Sciences
Much research has been done on the evolutionary processes and general properties of life from the fields of systems biology, mathematical biology, and evolutionary biology. Life is a system in which micro and macro are coordinated and subsystems are organized to maintain metabolism and function. Life also has systems that maintain homeostasis within the body. Life adapts to time and space, [...]
Hybridization potential of brown trout, with particular reference to invaded environments
Published: 2024-01-25
Subjects: Aquaculture and Fisheries Life Sciences, Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Marine Biology, Population Biology
Hybridization is a complex process beginning with the mating of two species. However, hybrid offspring frequency does not predict hetero-specific mating frequency, as post-mating, both pre-zygotic and post-zygotic barriers influence their occurrence. Post-zygotic outbreeding depression usually results in poor embryo-juvenile survival or the production of sterile hybrid offspring. Females have [...]
Quantifying soil microbial effects on plant species coexistence: a conceptual synthesis
Published: 2024-01-25
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Soil microorganisms play a critical role in shaping the biodiversity dynamics of plant communities. These microbial effects can arise through direct mediation of plant fitness by pathogens and mutualists, and over the past two decades, numerous studies have shined a spotlight on the role of dynamic feedbacks between plants and soil microorganisms as key determinants of plant species coexistence. [...]