Preprints
There are 1657 Preprints listed.
The Diverse Applications of Tree Set Visualization and Exploration
Published: 2020-07-17
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
All phylogenetic studies are built around sets of trees. Tree sets carry different kinds of information depending on the data and approaches used to generate them, but ultimately the variation they contain and their structure is what drives new phylogenetic insights. In order to better understand the variation in and structure of phylogenetic tree sets, we need tools that are generic, flexible, [...]
Misunderstanding mismatch
Published: 2020-07-17
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
This is a reponse to Kharouba and Wolkovichs (2020) review of consumer-resource phenological synchrony. They provide a valuable review and cogent advocacy for future work. However, they misunderstand and misinterpret examples from plant-insect interactions. Their detailed case study involves phenological synchrony/ asynchrony between spring hatching of Winter Moth eggs and budburst of their oak [...]
Optimism, pessimism and judgement bias in animals: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Published: 2020-07-15
Subjects: Life Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Just as happy people see the proverbial glass as half-full, ‘optimistic’ or ‘pessimistic’ responses to ambiguity might also reflect affective states in animals. Judgement bias tests, designed to measure these responses, are an increasingly popular way of assessing animal affect and there is now a substantial, but heterogeneous, literature on their use across different species, affect [...]
Function of a multimodal signal: a multiple-hypotheses test using an electromechanical robot
Published: 2020-07-14
Subjects: Behavior and Ethology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
1. Many animal species communicate using multimodal signals, which are composed of two or more components emitted and interpreted through different sensory modalities. The main types of selective pressures leading to the evolution of multimodal signals are: (1) content-based, when combined components convey information about the signaller, (2) efficacy-based, when combined components increase the [...]
Regional variation in green-up timing along a caribou migratory corridor: spatial associations with snowmelt and temperature
Published: 2020-07-10
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Spring green-up in Arctic and alpine systems is predominantly controlled by temperature and snowmelt timing preceding and during the growing season. Variation in the timing of green-up across space is an important aspect of resource variability with which mobile herbivores must contend. Here, we measure the explanatory power of abiotic drivers of green-up in a Low Arctic region of west Greenland, [...]
Telomere heritability and parental age at conception effects in a wild avian population
Published: 2020-07-08
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Individual variation in telomere length is predictive of health and mortality risk across a range of species. However, the relative influence of environmental and genetic variation on individual telomere length in wild populations remains poorly understood. In previous studies, heritability of telomere length has primarily been calculated using parent-offspring regression, but shared environments [...]
New approaches for inferring phylogenies in the presence of paralogs
Published: 2020-07-08
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
The availability of whole genome sequences was expected to supply essentially unlimited data for phylogenetics. However, strict reliance on single-copy genes for this purpose has drastically limited the amount of data that can be used. Here, we review several approaches for increasing the amount of data used for phylogenetic inference, focusing on methods that allow for the inclusion of [...]
Simulation-based study design accuracy weights are not generalisable and can still lead to biased meta-analytic inference: Comments on Christie et al. 2019
Published: 2020-07-08
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Variable study quality is a challenge for all the empirical sciences, but perhaps particularly for disciplines such as ecology where experimentation is frequently hampered by system complexity, scale, and resourcing. The resulting heterogeneity, and the necessity of subsequently combining the results of different study designs, is a fundamental issue for evidence synthesis. We welcome the [...]
Conservation translocations of fauna in Aotearoa New Zealand: a review
Published: 2020-07-06
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences
There have been numerous declines and extinctions of native fauna in Aotearoa New Zealand since human settlement. Against this background of loss there have been remarkable advances in conservation management, including the use of conservation translocations to reduce extinction risk and restore depauperate ecosystems. Here, we review conservation translocations in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our [...]
Life in fluctuating environments
Published: 2020-07-04
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Variability in the environment defines the structure and dynamics of all living systems. Organisms have evolved traits and strategies that allow them to detect, exploit and predict the changing environment. Organisms maintain steady internal conditions required for physiological functioning through feedback mechanisms that allow internal conditions to remain at or near a set point despite a [...]
A review of contemporary Indigenous cultural fire management literature in southeast Australia
Published: 2020-07-04
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Indigenous cultural fire management is being recognised and revived across Australia, primarily in the centre and across the north. To explore the benefits of contemporary cultural fire management in southeast Australia and barriers to its revival, we undertook a systematic analysis of the literature. Seventy documented applications of cultural fire management projects were found with the [...]
Fossil Constraints on the Timescale of Parasitic Helminth Evolution
Published: 2020-06-30
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Evolution, Life Sciences
The fossil record of parasitic helminths is often stated to be severely limited. Many studies have therefore used host constraints to constrain molecular divergence time estimates of helminths. Here we review direct fossil evidence for several of these parasitic lineages belong to various phyla (Acanthocephala, Annelida, Arthropoda, Nematoda, Nematomorpha, Pentastomida, Platyhelminthes). Our [...]
Timing and intensity of weather events shape nestling development strategies in three alpine breeding songbirds
Published: 2020-06-30
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Across taxa, offspring size traits are linked to survival, and life-time fitness. Inclement weather can be a major constraint on offspring growth and parental care. Despite the adaptive benefits of larger offspring, we have a limited understanding of the effects of severe environmental conditions across developmental stages and how coping strategies differ among species. We assessed the influence [...]
Calandrinia jompomae (MONTIACEAE), another overlooked species in the Chilean flora
Published: 2020-06-30
Subjects: Biodiversity, Life Sciences
Calandrinia jompomae Hershk. is described as a distinct species of C. sect. Calandrinia from south-central Chile. The species was described by Barnéoud, but he erroneously identified it as C. glauca Schrad. ex DC. Calandrinia jompomae is similar to C. bonariensis Hauman endemic to Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, here recognized as distinct from C. ciliata (Ruiz & Pavon) DC. But the [...]
FIRED (Fire Events Delineation): An open, flexible algorithm & database of US fire events derived from the MODIS burned area product (2001-19)
Published: 2020-06-26
Subjects: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Harnessing the fire data revolution, i.e., the abundance of information from satellites, government records, social media, and human health sources, now requires complex and challenging data integration approaches. Defining fire events is key to that effort. In order to understand the spatial and temporal characteristics of fire, or the classic fire regime concept, we need to critically define [...]