Preprints
There are 1763 Preprints listed.
Climate change amplifies extinction risk of a subshrub in anthropogenic landscapes
Published: 2024-09-06
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Population Biology
In most ecosystems, the increasingly strong effects of climate change on biodiversity co-occur with other anthropogenic pressures, most importantly land-use change. However, many long-term studies of population dynamics focus on populations monitored in protected areas, and our understanding of how climate change will affect population persistence under anthropogenic land use is still limited. To [...]
Gene-culture coevolution: A broader evolutionary perspective
Published: 2024-09-06
Subjects: Anthropology, Biological and Physical Anthropology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Genetics and Genomics, Genomics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Gene-culture coevolution (GCC) stands out among approaches to human evolution for its ambitious synthesis of biological and social sciences. Combining insights from cultural evolution and human genetics, it has been invoked to explain the evolution of many "species-defining" human traits, from language to large-scale cooperation. However, despite its broad conceptual appeal, empirical evidence [...]
Collapse and recovery of livestock systems shape fire regimes on the Eurasian steppe: a review of ecosystem and biodiversity implications
Published: 2024-09-05
Subjects: Biodiversity, Botany, Natural Resources and Conservation, Plant Sciences, Sustainability
Shifts in fire regimes can trigger rapid changes in ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. We synthesize evidence for patterns, causes and consequences of recent change in fire regimes across the Eurasian steppes, a neglected global fire hotspot. Political and economic turmoil following the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 triggered abrupt land abandonment over millions of hectares and a [...]
Molecular plasticity contributes to thermal resilience in two coastal fish species
Published: 2024-09-04
Subjects: Life Sciences, Zoology
Understanding species capacities to adjust to shifting thermal environments is crucial amidst current climate-mediated ocean warming. Fish populations displaying high thermal plasticity can undergo molecular, metabolic, and mitochondrial modifications in response to heat stress. Under the context of heat stress, such acclimation provides a means to maintain normal biological functions through [...]
Evidence of the Impacts of Pharmaceuticals on Aquatic Animal Behaviour (EIPAAB): a systematic map and open access database
Published: 2024-09-04
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 empirical studies of wild populations
Published: 2024-09-03
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: 2024-09-03
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: 2024-09-03
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: 2024-09-03
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: 2024-08-28
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 [...]