Preprints
There are 2948 Preprints listed.
Beyond timescale separation: An eco-evolutionary consumer-resource theory of host-microbe symbioses
Published: 2026-01-28
Subjects: Life Sciences
Symbiotic associations between microorganisms and hosts are universal and dynamic. However, current ecological and evolutionary theory often simplistically analyzes hosts and symbionts as either separate or fully integrated entities. This entrenchment obscures a central research challenge: to understand symbioses across varying degrees of interaction, integration, and functional dependence. We [...]
Mapping the limits of trap construction: LiDAR quantification of substrate moisture effects on pit construction and quality morphometrics in Myrmeleon larvae
Published: 2026-01-28
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
We examined the effect of substrate moisture on pit construction in Myrmeleon larvae across four treatments (0.0–1.5%). Construction success, pit diameter, and slope angle were quantified using LiDAR-derived morphometrics and analysed via χ² and ANCOVA. Increasing moisture significantly inhibited construction and reduced pit dimensions, with failures restricted to ≥1.0% moisture. These results [...]
The overlooked small terrestrial mammal taxa (Rodentia, Eulipotyphla, and Lagomorpha) in the evolution of coronaviruses
Published: 2026-01-28
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Genetics and Genomics, Life Sciences, Molecular Genetics, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Coronaviruses have been extensively detected in bats over the past few decades. However, increasing evidence suggests that other taxa, such as Rodentia, Eulipotyphla, and Lagomorpha, may have played a significant role in the ecology and evolution of some coronaviruses. Here, we compile recent contributions illuminating these mammals' enigmatic role in coronavirus evolution. We highlight how [...]
Psilocybin and the Evolutionary Significance of Altered Neural States: Interaction-Based Perspectives Beyond Deterrence Models
Published: 2026-01-28
Subjects: Behavioral Neurobiology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Neuroscience and Neurobiology, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Psilocybin is a psychoactive tryptamine produced by a phylogenetically discontinuous yet ecologically diverse subset of fungi. Despite decades of chemical, pharmacological, and ethnobiological research, the evolutionary forces driving the emergence and persistence of this compound remain insufficiently explained. Recent hypotheses proposing that psilocybin evolved primarily as a deterrent against [...]
An Interpretation, Survey, and Outlook of Microbial Macroecology
Published: 2026-01-28
Subjects: Life Sciences
The construction of a predictive theory of the dynamics and structure of microbial communities requires the consideration of repeatable, robust empirical patterns. The investigation of such patterns in ecology has historically been the domain of the subdiscipline of macroecology. However, the application of macroecology to microorganisms is not straightforward, as there is not a unified view of [...]
SPECIES OF PASSIONATE INTEREST: Practicing Biocultural Conservation and Eco-social Transformation Together
Published: 2026-01-27
Subjects: Life Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Species of Passionate Interest expands on the concept of the "cultural keystone species," reviewing its intellectual history and proposing future applications in the field of biodiversity conservation. The paper critiques the classic view of the "keystone" species in Western conservation science, emphasizing the need to consider the dynamic cultural context and the diversity of emotional [...]
Reversing the gaze on nature in an era of technological innovation
Published: 2026-01-27
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Geography, Social and Behavioral Sciences
How nature is understood and ‘seen’ by governing institutions influences how it is managed. The rise of new digital and remote sensing technologies has reinforced a global gaze ‘from above’ that separates the seer from the people and places seen. This gaze has generated critical data on global climate and biodiversity trends and informed ambitious environmental targets. Yet it also obscures a [...]
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 shapes spatial patterns of vulnerability to climate-driven shifts in plant community composition across Australia
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Life Sciences
Climate change threatens plant communities worldwide with substantial species losses, yet the consequences of reduced diversity for ecosystem functioning remain uncertain. Functional redundancy, where multiple species fulfil similar ecological roles, may provide functional insurance by buffering ecosystem processes against species loss. Here, we combined plant composition data from 646 TERN [...]
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 [...]