Preprints
There are 3838 Preprints listed.
Gaussian processes on phylogenies: a kernel framework for building, checking and comparing models of trait evolution
Published: 2026-10-23
Subjects: Life Sciences
Phylogenetic comparative methods for continuous traits, such as phylogenetic generalised least squares, Brownian motion and Ornstein–Uhlenbeck models, Pagel's tree transformations, early-burst and multi-rate models, phylogenetic mixed models and ancestral-state reconstruction, can all be regarded as Gaussian processes on a phylogeny that differ only in their covariance function, or kernel. This [...]
Conspecific density enhances sound seed production during high-seed years in European beech
Published: 2026-10-23
Subjects: Life Sciences
Climate change is reducing the supply of sound seeds available for forest regeneration, creating a need to identify management strategies that can counteract these losses. Managing local tree density offers one potential approach, as neighbouring trees can enhance pollination but also increase losses to seed predators. In masting species, which produce highly variable but synchronised seed crops, [...]
Vert-NSM: neural shape models for shape completion, classification, and landmark-free morphometrics of vertebrate specimens
Published: 2026-10-23
Subjects: Biodiversity
Natural history museums are building digital 3D archives at a scale that enables geometric morphometric analysis across thousands of specimens. Landmark-based analyses depend on anatomical priors and often exclude unidentified and incomplete specimens, which are abundant in collections and the fossil record. Continuous shape representations offer a landmark-free alternative that can be combined [...]
Genetic diversity must underpin area-based conservation and restoration targets
Published: 2026-10-23
Subjects: Biodiversity, Environmental Policy, Genetics and Genomics, Life Sciences
The mid-term review of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework reveals highly uneven progress in halting biodiversity loss, especially for genetic diversity (Target 4) which underpins ecosystem function and species’ adaptive potential in a changing environment (Des Roches et al., 2018). Over 70% of the Parties have set national targets to conserve and restore genetic diversity, yet, so [...]
IUCN Red List of Ecosystems: Coral Reefs of Brazil
Published: 2026-10-22
Subjects: Life Sciences
Brazil’s coral reefs are the only true known coral reefs in the South Atlantic and extend across approximately 3,000 km along the coast, from Parcel de Manuel Luís at 0°50’S to Esquecidos reef at 18°50’S. They present unique characteristics, including their distinct growth form, and harbor endemic species of coral, fish and invertebrates, supporting high levels of marine biodiversity. [...]
IUCN Red List of Ecosystems: Coral Reefs of East Asia
Published: 2026-10-22
Subjects: Life Sciences
East Asian coral reefs extend from 13.9°S to 31.0°N across 16 countries and territories, covering an estimated 75,765 km² of shallow coral reef habitat, representing 30.3% of the global coral reef extent and encompassing 25 coral reef ecoregions. Of this, 35,620 km² of mapped coral reef was assessed in this study. The region hosts the worldwide highest diversity of corals, invertebrates and fish, [...]
IUCN Red List of Ecosystems: Coral Reefs of ROPME Sea Area
Published: 2026-10-22
Subjects: Life Sciences
Coral reefs of the ROPME Sea Area (RSA) extend from the Arabian (Persian) Gulf through the Gulf of Oman to the western Arabian Sea, spanning the coastal and offshore waters of Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. With an area of 632 km2, these coral reefs represent 0.35% of the photic coral reef area assessed globally in the Red List of Ecosystems. [...]
IUCN Red List of Ecosystems: Coral Reefs of South Asia
Published: 2026-10-22
Subjects: Life Sciences
South Asian coral reefs extend from approximately 10.80°S to 25.06°N across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago. They cover an estimated 8,282.6 km², representing approximately 4% of global coral-reef extent, and encompass 13 ecoregions delineated using the Marine Ecoregions of the World framework and regional expert input. The region supports diverse [...]
IUCN Red List of Ecosystems: Coral Reefs of the Caribbean
Published: 2026-10-22
Subjects: Life Sciences
IUCN Red List of Ecosystems: Coral Reefs of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden
Published: 2026-10-22
Subjects: Life Sciences
The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden constitute a complex and globally significant tropical marine ecosystem characterized and long recognized by exceptional biological diversity and a high degree of endemism. Overall, the region contains an estimated 13,118 km² of coral reefs, representing around 7% of the photic coral reef area assessed globally in the Red List of Ecosystems (5.0% of global coral reef [...]
IUCN Red List of Ecosystems: Coral Reefs of the Eastern Tropical Pacific
Published: 2026-10-22
Subjects: Life Sciences
Coral reefs in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), covering 140 km² (0.04% of the total global coral reef extent), are under increasing climate and anthropogenic threats. Coral reef development and species distribution in the ETP are conditioned by the characteristic isolation of the region and its strong environmental variability, including El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events and [...]
IUCN Red List of Ecosystems: Coral Reefs of the Pacific
Published: 2026-10-22
Subjects: Life Sciences
Coral reefs of the Pacific region extend across approximately 30°N to 30°S, covering roughly 35 500 km2. They range from tropical waters of Papua New Guinea in the West to subtropical latitudes, such as Southeastern Pitcairn or Northern Hawaii borders. This encompasses 21 coral reef ecoregions as defined by the Marine Ecoregions Of the World (MEOW) and Marine and Coastal Biodiversity Management [...]
IUCN Red List of Ecosystems: Coral Reefs of the Western Indian Ocean
Published: 2026-10-22
Subjects: Life Sciences
Western Indian Ocean (WIO) coral reefs extend across the East African coastline from Somalia to South Africa, and eastward to include the Îles Éparses and island states of Madagascar, the Comoros, Seychelles and Mauritius, and the French territories of Mayotte and Réunion. The total mapped area of photic coral reef ecosystems is approximately 8090 km², representing approximately 4.5 % of the [...]
From Risk to Application: What Critically Endangered means for the world's coral reefs
Published: 2026-10-22
Subjects: Biology, Life Sciences
The first global risk assessment of coral reef ecosystems has found all fully assessed, shallow-water (photic) coral reef ecosystems are at an extremely high risk of ecological collapse in the next 50 years. This Critically Endangered risk assignment under the Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) applies to 122 of the 127 coral reef ecosystems (ecoregions) and was assessed by regional expert teams, [...]
Gene duplications potentiate adaptive evolution of complex traits
Published: 2026-10-22
Subjects: Evolution
Much of extant genetic material is known to have resulted from earlier genetic duplications. On this basis, gene duplications are widely recognized as a key factor in the evolution of organismal complexity --- both in producing novel adaptations (i.e., neofunctionalization) and in accumulating functional specialization (i.e., subfunctionalization). However, across the tree of life, no ready [...]