Preprints
There are 2755 Preprints listed.
A systems-modelling approach to predict biological responses to extreme heat
Published: 2025-07-15
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology, Evolution, Integrative Biology, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Systems and Integrative Physiology Life Sciences, Systems Biology
Anthropogenic climate change is leading to more frequent and extreme heat waves. These short-term but large-scale events are radically re-shaping interactions among organisms – impacting biodiversity, community composition and ecosystem services crucial to natural systems and food security. Predicting heat wave impacts on interacting species requires an understanding of the processes driving [...]
Implementation of Advances in Information Technology in the Treatment of Phylogenetic Problems: Historical Considerations, Central Debates, and Obstacles Still Unresolved
Published: 2025-07-15
Subjects: Life Sciences
The field of phylogenetic inference has undergone a profound transformation through the integration of advanced information technology, evolving from traditional morphological classification systems to sophisticated computational frameworks capable of processing genomic-scale datasets. This comprehensive review examines the historical trajectory of computational phylogenetics, tracing its [...]
Ontogenetic Carnivory Drives Secondary Production Across a Productivity Gradient
Published: 2025-07-14
Subjects: Life Sciences
1. Ontogenetic size shifts and omnivory are central to understanding consumer-resource interactions and energy flow in aquatic ecosystems. However, how these shifts and feeding behavior influence secondary production and organic matter flow remains poorly understood. 2. Here, we quantified the relationship between body size, carnivory (i.e., animal tissue consumption), secondary production, and [...]
DrawerDissect: Whole-drawer insect imaging, segmentation, and transcription using AI
Published: 2025-07-14
Subjects: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Entomology, Life Sciences
1. Natural history museums often curate large collections of pinned insects. These collections represent invaluable records of biodiversity information, ecological patterns and phenotypic variation. A common goal of museums is to create digital versions of these records for curation and research purposes. However, traditional methods of specimen imaging and metadata transcription are [...]
Multidimensional microclimate velocities alter the picture of shifting climates in tropical forests
Published: 2025-07-14
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Climate velocity—the speed and direction species must move to track climate change—is often estimated without accounting for vegetation-driven microclimatic variation. Using airborne lidar data from a tropical montane rainforest, we generated high-resolution 3D maps of topography and canopy structure to mechanistically model near-ground and within-canopy microclimates. Microclimate-derived [...]
Catalysing community-led local nature recovery with opportunity mapping: lessons from the Oxfordshire Treescape Project
Published: 2025-07-11
Subjects: Nature and Society Relations, Spatial Science, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
1. Background. The UK has ambitious nature recovery targets. Local communities and land managers have knowledge, expertise, and capacity to support place-based nature recovery, making them well-placed to help deliver these goals. We explore how these groups can be supported in nature recovery plans that combine their local knowledge with complex ecological data, using Oxfordshire Treescape [...]
Glycoprotein Structure and Function in Mammalian Immune Systems: Molecular Architecture and Regulatory Networks
Published: 2025-07-09
Subjects: Life Sciences
Glycoproteins represent fundamental architectural and regulatory components of mammalian immune systems, orchestrating complex molecular interactions through their carbohydrate modifications. This comprehensive review examines the structural diversity, biosynthetic pathways, and functional roles of glycoproteins in both innate and adaptive immunity. The glycan code, mediated by cell surface [...]
A handbook for standardised measurements of regenerative plant functional traits
Published: 2025-07-09
Subjects: Life Sciences
A lack of standardised sampling protocols prevents functional traits from expressing their full potential to revolutionise plant ecology, biogeography, and evolutionary biology. Handbooks providing protocols for standardised measurements of plant functional traits allow researchers to tackle large-scale ecological questions but have traditionally focused on vegetative traits such as leaves, stems [...]
okaapi: an R package for generating social networks based on trait preferences
Published: 2025-07-09
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Modelling of simulated networks with generative network models plays a central role for our understanding of the emergence and consequences of network structures. Accessible software that generates simulated networks based on relevant processes can facilitate the use of this important approach in behavioural ecology, and can help drive forward our understanding of animal social structures. Here [...]
The Role of the Nervous and Endocrine Systems in Animal Homeostasis: An Integrative Review of Contemporary Mechanisms and Emerging Paradigms
Published: 2025-07-08
Subjects: Life Sciences
The maintenance of homeostasis in animals requires intricate coordination between the nervous and endocrine systems, forming a unified neuroendocrine network that regulates physiological stability across multiple timescales. This comprehensive review synthesises contemporary understanding of neural-hormonal integration, examining molecular mechanisms, evolutionary adaptations, and technological [...]
Evaluating the role of Zoo Campuses in Wild Snake Body Condition and Ophidiomycosis Risk
Published: 2025-07-08
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Life Sciences
Abstract.—Snake Fungal Disease (SFD), caused by Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, poses a growing threat to snake populations. This study compared infection prevalence, body condition, and species composition between snakes found at Caldwell Zoo located in Tyler, Texas and those found in surrounding wild areas. While infection rates were similar (14.3% zoo, 12.1% wild), zoo-caught snakes had [...]
Mathematical Perspectives on Rewilding
Published: 2025-07-07
Subjects: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Achieving sustainable human-wildlife coexistence in well-functioning ecosystems is a vitally important and major challenge under global change. In response, rewilding is an emerging paradigm in ecosystem service provision through the re-establishment of natural ecological processes in self-sustaining ecosystems. Effective prediction of ecological changes in rewilding projects requires tools [...]
Using accelerometer-based behavioral classification to enhance scavenger conservation
Published: 2025-07-07
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Life Sciences
1. Human activities are endangering animal species globally and implementing effective conservation strategies requires understanding animal behavior and ecology. Advancements in GPS tracking technology, accelerometry, and machine learning algorithms are allowing the in-situ study of animal movement and behavior remotely. However, the challenge of building supervised machine learning [...]
Topological equivalence of stomata distribution patterns across vascular plants
Published: 2025-07-07
Subjects: Biology, Botany, Integrative Biology, Life Sciences, Plant Biology, Plant Sciences
Stomata are ancient anatomical structures on leaves that regulate the exchange of water vapor, oxygen, and carbon dioxide between plants and the atmosphere. Acting as valve-like gateways between internal tissues and the external environment, stomata may function as locally interacting networks. Theoretical and experimental evidence suggests that local interactions among neighboring stomata [...]
Nature restoration legislation means redefining targets and forecasting progress
Published: 2025-07-07
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Nature restoration is at a pivotal moment, driven by global initiatives like the EU Nature Restoration Law and the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework. These frameworks pose key challenges to how restoration targets are defined to ensure they are not only achievable and measurable but also resilient to future environmental changes. This requires addressing two key challenges: setting [...]