Preprints
There are 1957 Preprints listed.
Robust point and variance estimation for ecological and evolutionary meta-analyses with selective reporting and dependent effect sizes
Published: 2023-10-03
Subjects: Life Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Statistics and Probability
Meta-analysis produces a quantitative synthesis of evidence-based knowledge, shaping not only research trends but also policy and practices in ecology and evolution. However, two statistical issues, selective reporting and statistical dependence, can severally distort meta-analytic evidence. Here, we propose a two-step procedure to tackle these challenges concurrently and re-analyse 448 [...]
Decoding Populations in the Ocean Microbiome
Published: 2023-09-30
Subjects: Life Sciences
Understanding the characteristics and structure of populations is fundamental to comprehending ecosystem processes and evolutionary adaptations. While the study of animal and plant populations has spanned a few centuries, microbial populations have been under scientific scrutiny for a considerably shorter period. In the ocean, analyzing the genetic composition of microbial populations and their [...]
Citizen science as a valuable tool for environmental review
Published: 2023-09-30
Subjects: Biodiversity
Human development and population growth are placing immense pressure on natural ecosystems, necessitating a balance between development and biodiversity preservation. Citizen science may serve as a valuable resource for monitoring biodiversity and informing decision-making processes, but its use has not been investigated within the realm of environmental review. We sought to quantify the extent [...]
Evolution of competitive ability and the response to nutrient availability: a resurrection study with the calcareous grassland herb, Leontodon hispidus
Published: 2023-09-30
Subjects: Life Sciences
1. Rapid environmental changes across Europe include warmer and increasingly variable temperatures, changes in soil nutrient availability and pollinator decline. These abiotic and biotic changes can affect natural plant populations by imposing significant selection pressures and forcing plants to optimize resource use against competitors. Although recent studies have demonstrated the rapid and [...]
The ecomorphological diversity of Amazonian stream fishes is constrained by phylogenetic relationships
Published: 2023-09-30
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Phylogenetic history and environmental conditions determine trait diversity of species pools. Stream fishes have diversified into a wide range of body and oral shapes that allow a similarly wide range of functional traits that are related to resource use and phylogenetic closeness. Herein, we analyzed 16 ecomorphological traits of nearly 400 fishes inhabiting streams distributed across the [...]
Additional notes on the taxonomy of Parakeelya Hershk. (Montiaceae)
Published: 2023-09-30
Subjects: Biodiversity
Parakeelya Hershk. (Montiaceae) has become the name conserved over the older name Rumicastrum Ulb. for a lineage of Australian plants historically classified in Calandrinia Kunth. In Candollean taxonomy persistent to the late 20th Century, Australian plants were classified in a large, heterogeneous, and polyphyletic circumscription of Calandrinia, later referred to by the designation [...]
Fundamental questions in meiofauna—how small but ubiquitous animals can help to better understand Nature
Published: 2023-09-28
Subjects: Life Sciences
Meiofauna—a collective term to define microscopic animals—represent a numerically important component of biodiversity in most of Earth’s ecosystems and play a crucial role in biogeochemical cycles. Meiofauna have also been used as models to understand fundamental adaptive processes, have contributed to a better understanding of the animal’s Tree of Life, and are believed to be a treasure trove [...]
Using the R package popharvest to assess the sustainability of offtake in birds
Published: 2023-09-28
Subjects: Life Sciences
The R package popharvest was designed to help assess the sustainability of offtake in birds when only limited demographic information is available. In this article, we describe some basics of harvest theory and then discuss several considerations when using the different approaches in popharvest to assess whether observed harvests are unsustainable. Throughout, we emphasize the importance of [...]
New horizons for comparative studies and meta-analyses
Published: 2023-09-25
Subjects: Life Sciences
Comparative analyses and meta-analyses are key tools to elucidate broad biological principles, yet the two approaches often appear different in purpose. We propose an integrated approach that can generate deeper insights into eco-evolutionary processes. Marrying comparative and meta-analytic approaches will allow for 1) a more accurate investigation of drivers of biological variation; 2) a [...]
Best practices for genetic and genomic data archiving
Published: 2023-09-25
Subjects: Bioinformatics, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Genetics and Genomics, Life Sciences
Genetic and genomic data are collected for a vast array of scientific and applied purposes. Despite mandates for public archiving, data are typically used only by the generating authors. The reuse of genetic and genomic datasets remains uncommon because it is difficult, if not impossible, due to non-standard archiving practices and lack of contextual metadata. But as the new field of [...]
Uncovering global drivers threatening vegetation resilience
Published: 2023-09-25
Subjects: Environmental Monitoring, Forest Biology
1) Context: The resilience of the Earth's vegetation is changing heterogeneously, making it a challenge to unveil what causes these resilience changes. Understanding the driving forces of these changes can help us make informed management decisions to protect and restore ecosystems. Here, we address this gap by identifying the drivers that have caused the resilience of ecosystems to change during [...]
Cooler and drier conditions increase parasitism in subtropical damselfly populations
Published: 2023-09-22
Subjects: Life Sciences
Host-parasite interactions are impacted by climate, which may result variation of parasitism across landscapes and time. Understanding how parasitism varies across these spatio-temporal scales is crucial to predicting how organism will respond to and cope under a rapidly changing climate. Empirical work on how parasitism varies across climates is limited. Here, we examine the variation of [...]
Functional trait dataset of benthic macroinvertebrates in South Korean streams
Published: 2023-09-22
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Functional traits are the result of evolution and adaptation, providing important ecological insights into how organisms interact with their environment. Benthic macroinvertebrates, in particular, have garnered attention as biomonitoring indicators for freshwater ecosystems. This study presents a functional trait dataset for benthic macroinvertebrates, comprising 447 taxa (393 at genus level, 53 [...]
Metaweb and its applications in understanding ecological interactions
Published: 2023-09-22
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Understanding the dynamics of ecological interactions is an essential initial step in acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the ecosystem structure and functions. Such knowledge is pivotal in effective conservation planning, sustainable development, and ecosystem management. However, the limited availability of information on ecological interactions, commonly referred to as Eltonian [...]
KF-metaweb: A trophic metaweb of freshwater ecosystems of South Korea
Published: 2023-09-20
Subjects: Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Motivation: The metaweb is a dictionary of nodes and their potential interactions developed for a particular region, focusing on a particular type of ecosystem. Based on the local biodiversity information at different spatial and temporal scales, the regional metaweb can be easily decomposed into local webs. The generated local webs are useful for understanding spatiotemporal variations in [...]