Preprints
There are 2709 Preprints listed.
Datathons: fostering equitability in data reuse in ecology
Published: 2024-04-05
Subjects: Biodiversity, Biology, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Life Sciences, Genetics, Genetics and Genomics, Genomics, Life Sciences, Microbiology
Approaches to rapidly collect global biodiversity data are increasingly important, but biodiversity blindspots persist. We organized a three-day Datathon event to improve the openness of local biodiversity data, and facilitate data reuse by local researchers. The first Datathon, organized among microbial ecologists in Uruguay and Argentina assembled the largest microbiome dataset in the region to [...]
Hotspots of acceleration and demographic processes behind decline of North American birds
Published: 2024-04-05
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Human activities might have accelerated declines of population abundances, but this acceleration remains underexplored. Using the North American Breeding Bird Survey, we analyze abundance changes, acceleration, and demographic processes of recruitment and loss across 234 bird species from 1987 to 2021. We show a continent-wide decline of bird abundance, with hotspots of acceleration in the [...]
Ecology and Conservation of Diospyros crumenata (Ebenaceae), a Critically Endangered Tree of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot
Published: 2024-04-04
Subjects: Life Sciences
Diospyros crumenata is an IUCN- critically endangered tree species that belongs to the Ebenaceae family and is found in the Western Ghats region. There is limited information about this tree in floristic literature and herbaria, so we conducted extensive forest trips to the Western Ghats to locate its population and study its ecology. Unfortunately, this threatened tree is facing severe threats [...]
No place for phylogeny in structuring a sandy coastal plain community
Published: 2024-04-04
Subjects: Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
Although inference of assembly processes from phylogenetic patterns has become ubiquitous in community ecology, surprisingly few studies simultaneously test assumptions of such an approach and integrate over spatial scales and plant life stages. Here we investigate the roles of phylogeny, functional traits, and abiotic conditions in the spatial structuring of a sandy coastal plain community using [...]
Cladistic species definitions can lead to under-representation of biodiversity from adaptive radiations.
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Life Sciences
Many species are paraphyletic, but current taxonomic practices often do not recognise this, and attempts are made to apply a monophyletic species concept. While allowing the recognition of ecomorphologically equivalent, or even phenotypically indistinguishable allopatric taxa as species, this often leads to combining distinctive local forms (such as cave-adapted populations) or even whole [...]
When to use species richness estimators to infer about diversity losses or gains
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Biodiversity
Children adjust behavior in novel social environments to reflect local cooperative norms inferred from brief exposure
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Anthropology, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Stark intergroup variation in prosocial behavior, as elicited with economic experiments, is evident even though humans are highly mobile. Conformity to local norms has been posited to play an integral role in the maintenance of this variation. Experiments suggest that adults indeed rapidly infer pro- and antisocial norms in a new or changed social environment and adjust their behavior to reflect [...]
Pollination across the diel cycle: a global meta-analysis
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
The daily transition between day and night, known as the diel cycle, is characterised by significant shifts in environmental conditions and biological activity, both of which can affect crucial ecosystem functions like pollination. Yet, despite over six decades of research into whether plant reproductive success varies between day and night, consensus remains elusive. We compiled and analysed the [...]
Equivalence between short- and long-distance dispersal in individual animal movement
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Random walks (RW) provide a useful modelling framework for the movement of animals at an individual level. If the RW is uncorrelated and unbiased such that the direction of movement is completely random, the dispersal is characterised by the statistical properties of the probability distribution of step lengths, or the dispersal kernel. Whether an individual exhibits short-or long-distance [...]
Incomplete lineage sorting and hybridization underlie of tree discordance in Petunia and related genera (Petunieae, Solanaceae)
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Botany, Genomics
Despite the overarching history of species divergence, phylogenetic studies often reveal distinct topologies across regions of the genome. The sources of these gene tree discordances are variable, but incomplete lineage sorting (ILS) and hybridization are among those with the most biological importance. Petunia serves as a classic system for studying hybridization in the wild. While field studies [...]
Lumpfish, Cyclopterus lumpus, distribution in the Gulf of Maine, USA: observations from fisheries independent and dependent catch data
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Aquaculture and Fisheries Life Sciences, Marine Biology, Population Biology
The Gulf of Maine (GoM) is one of the fastest-warming parts of the world’s oceans. Some species’ distributional shifts have already been documented, especially for commercially-important species. Less is known about species that are not currently exploited but may become so in the future. As a case study into these issues, we focus on lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) because of the recognized and [...]
Patterns in tern trophic diversity in a region experiencing rapid climate change
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Life Sciences
Foraging plasticity provides a mechanism for long-lived species to adapt to rapidly changing environments and, when individuals vary in their plasticity, can drive changes in trophic diversity. We use chick provisioning data and stable isotope values of blood cells and plasma to test for drivers of trophic diversity in the diet of common terns (Sterna hirundo) and Arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea) [...]
A framework for conducting research on consumer demand for high-value wildlife products in Asia
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Managing demand for wildlife products is essential to address the illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade. In certain Asian countries, traditions underpin demand, and the usage of exotic wildlife products, particularly among wealthy consumers, carries minimal societal stigma. To develop effective demand management strategies, research is required to generate insights into consumers and [...]
Predicting macroinvertebrate average score per taxon (ASPT) at water quality monitoring sites in Japanese rivers
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Studies, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Freshwater ecosystems provide essential services for human well-being but are impacted by multiple anthropogenic stressors. Biomonitoring with bioindicators such as river macroinvertebrates is fundamental for assessing the status of freshwater systems. In Japan, water quality and biomonitoring surveys are conducted separately, leading to a lack of nationwide information on the biological status [...]
Evaluating the net impacts of a naturalised non-native species and attempts to control its spread in the UK: Addressing the oyster in the room
Published: 2024-03-29
Subjects: Life Sciences
The Pacific oyster (Magallana (Crassostrea) gigas) was introduced to UK waters in the mid-20th century and accounts for >95% of UK oyster production. Recently, its nonnative origin has led landowners and policymakers to consider limits on UK oyster aquaculture operations. M. gigas is ecologically naturalised in the UK, with multiple records of populations originating from wild sources, [...]