Preprints
There are 2896 Preprints listed.
Diversity in viral resistance emerges from host genotype and infection order effects
Published: 2026-01-27
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Plant Pathology, Virology
• While viruses are predicted to be the most diverse group of parasites wild plant hosts encounter, the extent and mechanisms maintaining viral resistance diversity remains poorly understood. Here, we test the hypothesis that allocation trade-offs maintain genetic variation in viral resistance and assess whether phenotypic resistance variation may may arise from altered expression under multiple [...]
Is within-host viral community assembly shaped by local adaptation?
Published: 2026-01-27
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Virology
Host-parasite coevolution describes the continuous reciprocal selection driving host defense and parasite infectivity, with direct consequences for disease dynamics. While abundant evidence exists for coevolution shaping host-parasite dynamics within the ‘one host-one parasite’ framework, hosts are typically infected by multiple parasites and the extent to which coevolutionary processes shape [...]
An open occurrence dataset for European subterranean spiders
Published: 2026-01-27
Subjects: Life Sciences
Spiders are remarkably diverse in caves and other subterranean habitats, where they play key ecological roles as generalist predators and strongly influence local food webs. They have been instrumental as model organisms for testing various eco-evolutionary hypotheses. Furthermore, strictly subterranean species exhibiting narrow ranges and high endemism are particularly significant for [...]
The Use of Chinampa-like Islets to Restore Mangroves on Collapsed Soil
Published: 2026-01-25
Subjects: Environmental Sciences
The restoration of mangroves growing on collapsed soils remains a critical challenge in Mexico, where traditional reforestation efforts often fail due to inadequate feasibility analysis, the absence of reference ecosystems, and insufficient long-term monitoring. In this synthesis, we document over 17 years of development and application of chinampa-like islets in restoring mangroves, a technique [...]
Shared acoustic manifolds for exploratory comparison of passerine vocalizations
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Research Methods in Life Sciences
This study presents a fixed-parameter pipeline designed to support reproducible embedding of frame-level representations of multiple passerine vocalizations within shared low-dimensional spaces. Three passerine species are considered: Eurasian Wren, Tree Pipit and Common Chaffinch, with a selection of four individuals for each species group. Vocalization frames from each species group are mapped [...]
Emergent functions in the chemodiversity landscape
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Nature produces countless metabolites that regulate organismal performance and the functioning of ecosystems. Specialised metabolites are particularly diverse and mediate ecological interactions across all geographic scales and levels of biological organisation. While chemodiversity, i.e., the richness, relative abundance and disparity of specialised metabolites within a blend of metabolites, has [...]
Functional redundancy buffers plant communities against climate-driven shifts in composition
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Life Sciences
Climate change threatens plant communities worldwide with significant species losses, yet the consequences of reduced diversity for ecosystem function remain uncertain. Functional redundancy—where multiple species fulfill similar ecological roles—may act as ‘functional insurance’ by buffering ecosystem processes against species loss. Here, we combined plant composition data from 646 TERN AusPlots [...]
Genetic estimates of relatedness: Established practices and new opportunities through low coverage whole genome sequencing
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Life Sciences
Identifying close relatives in wild animal populations is fundamental across many research fields. Genetic estimates of relatedness have expanded rapidly in recent decades, based on various types of genetic data. Here, we review their use and outline opportunities for future studies by combining two complementary approaches. First, we systematically reviewed 2,861 articles to assess how genetic [...]
Inspiring systematic inclusion of individual animal states to enhance the quality of research
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Animal Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Population Biology
Studies on animals continue to attract criticism over data quality, reproducibility and generality of findings, yet one source of variation remains rarely addressed: differences in individuals’ affective states. In this paper, we suggest that evaluating affect should be considered standard good practice in ecological and behavioural research with wild animals, alongside familiar variables such as [...]
Body size shapes average behaviour, social impact, and social responsiveness in agonistic interactions
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Life Sciences
Social interactions shape behavioural phenotypes and fitness, and therefore represent major drivers of evolution. Increasingly, it is recognised that plasticity in response to social partners (“social plasticity”) operates through two causal pathways: an individual’s impact on and responsiveness to partner phenotypes. Functional links among an individual’s average behaviour, social impact, and [...]
A framework for predicting the dynamics of plant-mycorrhizal interactions
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Life Sciences
Interactions between plants and mycorrhizal fungi shape nutrient cycling and ecosystem function on a global scale, but the dynamics of these interactions remain poorly understood. Due to their below-ground nature, directly observing key dynamical features such as Allee effects and oscillations is often not possible, hampering further progress in this area. Here we present a mechanistic model of [...]
Seasonal camouflage as a model to understand the scope for rapid adaptation in a changing world
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Molecular Biology
Human-driven environmental change is reshaping ecosystems and challenging species’ ability to adapt. Understanding how genetic variation enables adaptation is crucial for conservation and requires exemplary systems to test hypotheses and make predictions. One particularly suitable model for studying climate-driven adaptation is seasonal color change (SCC), a phenological trait in which [...]
Understanding the dimensions and gaps in wildlife health surveillance for zoonotic risk management
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Agriculture, Biodiversity, Immunology and Infectious Disease
Following the Covid 19 pandemic, One Health has been a topic of increasing global awareness, with the development of various global strategies and action plans to manage and counteract risks as well as identify potential risks. However, despite these calls for action, little work has been conducted to establish a global baseline on policies related to One Health, particularly dealing with the [...]
Volcanic deposits select for woodiness on islands
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Oceanic islands’ unique biodiversity often arises from woody plant radiations derived from non-woody continental ancestors. Since Darwin, various theories have tried to explain the evolution of woodiness on islands (insular woodiness). Recently, frequent volcanic activity and burial of vegetation by volcanic ash (tephra) depositions were linked to the abundance of woody species on islands. In a [...]
Supporting wildlife movement amid the rise of border infrastructure
Published: 2026-01-21
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Law, Environmental Studies, Forest Management, Nature and Society Relations, Zoology
Transboundary areas of conservation importance affected by border infrastructure and militarization urgently need connectivity conservation solutions. Where human conflicts are ongoing and peace initiatives may be unviable, smaller-scale approaches can still be implemented. We propose a multi-faceted approach to support animal movement and minimize impacts of multiple border barriers on medium to [...]