There are 1217 Preprints listed.
Published: 2023-07-18
Subjects: Biosecurity, Biotechnology, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Life Sciences
The use of non-genetically modified microbial inoculants for beneficial purposes in agriculture, bioremediation, medicine, and infrastructure is increasing. The intentional introduction of plants and animals for similar purposes has a long history, but despite successes, has resulted in thousands of plant and animal species becoming invasive, with catastrophic consequences for the environment, [...]
Published: 2023-07-17
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Phenotypic plasticity has important ecological and evolutionary consequences. In particular, behavioural phenotypic plasticity such as plastic foraging (PF) by consumers, may enhance community stability. Yet little is known about the ecological conditions that favor the evolution of PF, and how the evolutionary dynamics of PF may modulate its effects on community stability. In order to address [...]
Published: 2023-07-17
Subjects: Animal Sciences, Behavior and Ethology, Biodiversity, Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Population Biology, Zoology
The killing of a runner in Northern Italy by a brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) and the subsequent investigation of such matter highlighted a Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) that has been present in Trentino since the introduction of bears for conservation during the Life Ursus Project. Such conflict may be exacerbated as both human and bear populations get bigger. In this paper, I summarize the [...]
Published: 2023-07-17
Subjects: Life Sciences
The study of modularity and integration using Procrustes geometric morphometrics has become a prominent approach in evolutionary developmental biology. A most popular method is the ‘within a configuration’ approach, often used in combination with ‘high density’ morphometric data (i.e., large numbers of landmarks and semilandmarks). In 2019, I realized that this approach violates a basic [...]
Published: 2023-07-16
Subjects: Evolution, Life Sciences
When the mutation rate is high and/or the population size is large, recurrent mutation can lead to multiple, independently generated copies of the same beneficial allele spreading through the population. However, classical analyses of fixation probability and time assume that the mutation rate is low and therefore, that fixation and extinction of a beneficial allele occur faster than the [...]
Published: 2023-07-16
Subjects: Life Sciences
Hypothesis testing requires meaningful ways to quantify relevant biological phenomena and account for alternative mechanisms that could explain the same pattern. Researchers combine experiments, statistics, and indices to account for these confounding mechanisms. Key concepts in ecology and evolution, like niche breadth or fitness, can be represented by several indices, which often provide [...]
Published: 2023-07-15
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Gibbons (Hylobatidae) sing loudly, reaching over a hundred Decibels - about the sound level of a rock concert. Qualitative observations report that, during song climaxes, individuals move in a coordinated way with their singing. We hypothesize that vigorous thorax-loading movements such as brachiation induce physical constraints on the respiratory-vocal system. This coordination and possibly [...]
Published: 2023-07-15
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences, Research Methods in Life Sciences, Urban Studies and Planning
1. Research in urban ecology and evolution relies on the use of deployable scientific equipment. If left unattended in the field, it may be prone to vandalism and theft, especially in the urban space. We empirically applied crime theory, specifically the Routine Activity Theory (RAT), to predict disappearance rates of scientific equipment in an on-going urban ecology research project. 2. [...]
Published: 2023-07-15
Subjects: Biodiversity
Grasslands make up 40% of China’s territory and are important ecological and economic areas. The native small mammals that inhabit these grasslands are often seen as pests competing with livestock and are subjected to population control. At the same time, several species are functionally important ecosystem engineers, and their removal can have far-reaching consequences for grassland health. We [...]
Published: 2023-07-15
Subjects: Life Sciences
In cooperatively breeding species, sexually mature individuals may delay natal dispersal and become subordinates, helping a dominant pair raise offspring. To understand how cooperative breeding evolved, it is important to determine the mechanisms leading to delayed dispersal. Adult sex ratio (ASR) variation may affect dispersal through limiting breeding vacancies available to the more abundant [...]
Published: 2023-07-13
Subjects: Life Sciences
Published: 2023-07-10
Subjects: Genomics
The diverse physiography of the Portuguese land and marine territory, spanning from continental Europe to the Atlantic archipelagos, has made it an important repository of biodiversity throughout the Pleistocene glacial cycles, leading to a remarkable diversity of species and ecosystems. This rich biodiversity is under threat from anthropogenic drivers, such as climate change, invasive species, [...]
Published: 2023-07-10
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
• Woody biomass is a large carbon store in terrestrial ecosystems. In calculating biomass, tree stems are assumed to be solid structures; however, decomposer agents such as microbes and insects target heartwood in stems, causing internal wood decay which is poorly quantified. • We investigated internal stem damage across five sites in tropical Australia along a precipitation gradient. We [...]
Published: 2023-07-10
Subjects: Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
For invasive species management, the trade-off between monitoring and control has high stakes, and existing decision-making methods are limited in this area. In particular, most current approaches are limited to a specific case study, or ignore the uncertainty and interaction between monitoring and control in the system. Hence, the field is missing an effective and general framework. We propose [...]
Published: 2023-07-09
Subjects: Life Sciences
While urbanisation is often associated to a loss of biodiversity, non-native invasive animal species are strikingly successful in urban landscapes. As biological invasions are recognised to have detrimental environmental, social and economic impacts, extensive understanding of the interactions between invasive species and the abiotic and biotic environment is necessary for effective prevention [...]