Preprint Feed – Ecology

by Pepinelli, M., Biganzoli-Rangel, A. J., Lunn, K., Arteaga, P., Borges, D., Zayed, A., Clare, E. on April 18, 2025 at 12:00 am

Environmental DNA refers to genetic material collected from the environment and not directly from an organism of interest. It is best known as a tool in aquatic ecology but eDNA has been found associated with almost every substrate examined including soils, surfaces, and riding around on other animals. The collection of airborne eDNA is one of the most recent advances used to monitor a variety of organisms, including plants, animals, and microorganisms. Evidence suggests a high turnover rate […]

by Strydom, H., Ouifki, R., Chapwanya, M., Slippers, B. on April 17, 2025 at 12:00 am

Sirex noctilio is an invasive pest of pine that has caused significant economic damage in South Africa and many other Southern Hemisphere countries. Current management tools are not efficient in all cases and consequently there is a need for more efficient and targeted control measures. An emerging tool for pest management is the use of gene editing and associated gene drive systems. In this study, we aim to investigate the use of CRISPR-Cas gene drive systems in the management of S. noctilio […]

by Przepiora, F., Ciach, M. on April 17, 2025 at 12:00 am

Although species with ecosystem engineering capabilities like woodpeckers, ungulates or saproxylic insects may initiate the formation of Tree-related Microhabitats (TreMs), their overall impact on TreM assemblages remains unexplored. Bark beetle activity can increase tree mortality, accelerating the emergence of canopy gaps with altered tree species composition, stand structure and deadwood resources, all of which can influence TreM profiles and cascade on biodiversity. We investigated the TreM […]

by Stopard, I. J., Sherrard-Smith, E., Ranson, H., Toe, K. H., Cook, J., Biggs, J. R., Lambert, B., Churcher, T. S. on April 16, 2025 at 12:00 am

Entomological surveillance is an important component of mosquito-borne disease control. Mosquito abundance, infection prevalence and the entomological inoculation rate are the most widely reported entomological metrics, although these data are notoriously noisy and difficult to interpret. For many infections, only older mosquitoes are infectious, which is why, in part, vector control tools that reduce mosquito life expectancy have been so successful. The age structure of wild mosquitoes has […]

by Chadwick, F. J., Haydon, D. T., Husmeier, D., Matthiopoulos, J. J., Ovaskainen, O. on April 16, 2025 at 12:00 am

1. Citizen science data often contain high levels of species misclassification that can bias inference and conservation decisions. Current approaches to address mislabelling rely on expert taxonomists validating every record. This approach makes intensive use of a scarce resource and reduces the role of the citizen scientist. 2. Species, however, are not confused at random. If two species appear more similar, it is probable they will be more easily confused than two highly distinctive species. […]

by Marathe, A., Vijaykumar, S., Torsekar, V., Dinesh, K., Pal, S., Achyuthan, S., Shanker, K. on April 16, 2025 at 12:00 am

Anthropogenic climate change is altering the environment at unprecedented rates with severe consequences for most living organisms. As a result, species may extend, truncate, or shift their ranges in order to adapt to changing conditions. Species Distribution Models (SDMs) provide a data driven approach to predict future distributions under climate change and prioritize areas for conservation. Here, using a 10-year dataset with 4049 occurrence records of frogs from eight families and 27 genera […]

by Palmeirim, A. F., Araujo-Fernandes, A. C., Castro-Fernandes, A. S., Guedes, P., Santos, Y. d., Alves, J. C., Mata, V. A., Yoh, N., Rocha, R. on April 16, 2025 at 12:00 am

Tropical island biodiversity is declining at alarming rates. Yet, understanding how species are coping with such disturbance is largely limited for afro-tropical islands. Here we examined habitat use and diel activity of insectivorous bats across different land-use types covering the endemic-rich Principe Island, Central West Africa. We acoustically surveyed insectivorous bats across 48 sites throughout old-growth forests, secondary re-growth forests, cocoa shaded plantations, and […]

by Sauer, E. L., Hite, J. L., DuRant, S. E. on April 16, 2025 at 12:00 am

Wildlife have become increasingly reliant on human-supplemented food, affecting interactions between individuals and subsequently disease transmission. Much of the research investigating the impact of human-supplemented food has focused on host behavioral changes and food availability. However, the nutritional quality of food can significantly impact disease transmission depending on whether it boosts or hinders immunity. Few studies have investigated links between nutrition, immunity, and […]

by Arjona, Y., Jay-Garcia, L. S., Reyes-Betancort, J. A., Morente-Lopez, J., Salas-Pascual, M., Naranjo-Cigala, A., Sicilia-Pasos, G., Padron-Mederos, M. A., Orihuela-Rivero, R., Gonzalez-Montelongo, R., Patino, J. on April 15, 2025 at 12:00 am

O_LIBiological invasions are a major threat to global biodiversity, particularly on oceanic islands and their unique and fragile biotas. However, the complexity of the processes underlying invasions has prevented the identification of general patterns explaining why some plant species successfully establish and spread beyond their native ranges. C_LIO_LIWe investigated Darwins naturalization conundrum in the most species-rich angiosperm family of the Canary Islands, considering two invasion […]

by Farrell, M. R., Buchwalter, D. B., Weed, R. A., Enders, J. R., Planchart, A. on April 15, 2025 at 12:00 am

Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous contaminants in freshwater ecosystems. Many PFAS are incorporated into food webs, with potential effects on ecological and human health. However, PFAS incorporation into the base of aquatic food webs remains poorly understood. The goal of this study was to quantify the uptake and trophic transfer of both legacy and current use PFAS compounds using a simulated freshwater food chain in a lab setting. Natural periphytic biofilms were placed […]

by Vought, O., Kivlin, S., Shulman, H., Sorensen, P., Inouye, D., Ibanez, I., Falb, P., Rand, K., Classen, A. on April 15, 2025 at 12:00 am

Warming temperatures are changing winters, leading to earlier snowmelt. This shift can accelerate or extend the growing season, which in turn may affect various plant-mediated ecosystem functions. Despite its relevance in the carbon cycle, we still know little about how earlier snowmelt impacts the carbon balance in ecosystems over the growing season. Most studies rely on interannual variability in snowmelt timing, making it difficult to isolate snowmelt effects from other confounding […]

by Walker, E. J., Phillips, A. J., Gilbert, B. on April 15, 2025 at 12:00 am

Habitat is often impermanent causing the amount and spatial distribution of habitat patches available to species to vary through time. Theory calls for metrics that fully account for the impact of habitat impermanence on metapopulations, yet all use averages that homogenize spatiotemporal impacts of habitat impermanence in some manner. We develop a novel modelling approach using a deterministic variation of the widely used spatially realistic Levins model paired with a continuous time Markov […]

by Myers-Pigg, A., Hopple, A., Pennington, S. C., Regier, P., Bond-Lamberty, B., DiCianna, M. J., Doro, K. O., McDowell, N., McElhinny, J., Stearns, A., Ward, N. D., Bailey, V. L., Megonigal, J. P. on April 15, 2025 at 12:00 am

Coastal upland forests are exposed to intensifying precipitation regimes and sea level rise, increasing tree mortality and transforming these coastal forests into wetland ecosystems. Despite these well-known risks, the differing degrees to which hydrological, biogeochemical, and biological components of upland forests respond to novel salinity exposure is relatively unknown. The Terrestrial Ecosystem Manipulation to Probe the Effects of Storm Treatments (TEMPEST) experiment decouples two […]

by Ebeling, A., Broecher, M., Hertzog, L., Schielzeth, H., Weisser, W. W., Meyer, S. T. on April 14, 2025 at 12:00 am

Arthropods make up the vast majority of terrestrial biodiversity and play essential roles in ecosystem functioning. Biodiverse grasslands support large numbers of arthropods, yet such ecosystems have faced significant declines due to land conversion and changes in management. While restoration efforts aim to conserve species-rich grasslands, the long-term effects of plant species richness on arthropod communities and associated functions (e.g. herbivory and pest-control) remain underexplored. […]

by Svenning, A., Mougeot, G., Alison, J., Chevalier, D., Molina, N. L. C., Ong, S.-Q., Bjerge, K., Carrillo, J., Hoeye, T. T., Geissmann, Q. on April 14, 2025 at 12:00 am

To better understand the status and trends of insects and other arthropods, emerging technologies like image recognition are developing rapidly. This is creating a strong demand for efficient and accurate algorithms for detection and localization of arthropods in images. Existing models have modest performance and do not generalise well to variation in scale, appearance and density of specimens, or imaging conditions. Consequently, each new application often requires manual labeling of training […]

by Huang, P.-Y., Poon, E. S. K., Chan, L. Y., Lam, D. K., So, I. W. Y., Sung, Y.-H., Sin, S. Y. W. on April 13, 2025 at 12:00 am

The East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) is experiencing notable population decreases in its migratory waterbird species. Our understanding of the foraging ecology of these waterbird species, including ducks, is crucial for monitoring and safeguarding their food sources and wetland habitats. Here, we used a DNA metabarcoding approach to analyze the fecal DNA from duck species to elucidate their dietary composition during the wintering period in a subtropical East Asian wetland. By employing […]

by Dziuba, M. K., McIntire, K. M., Davenport, E. S., Corcoran, F. E., Nelson, T., McCreadie, P., Manuel, R. T., Baird, E., Dos Santos, N. F., Robbins, M., Dismondy, E., Monell, K. J., Huerta, C., Selter, L. C., Deckelbaum, K., Cortez, M. H., Duffy, M. A. on April 13, 2025 at 12:00 am

Symbionts are classified as parasites, commensals, or mutualists based on their individual-level effects on host traits such as mortality or reproduction rates. However, the classification of symbiosis might change when the focal interaction is investigated at the host population scale, for multiple generations, or under different environmental contexts. We investigated the individual-and population-level effects of a microsporidian, Ordospora pajunii, and a yeast, Metschnikowia bicuspidata, on […]

by Malhotra, A., Moore, J. A. M., Weintraub-Leff, S., Georgiou, K., Berhe, A. A., Billings, S. A., de Graaff, M.-A., Fraterrigo, J. M., Grandy, A. S., Kyker-Snowman, E., Lu, M., Meier, C., Pierson, D., Tumber-Davila, S. J., Lajtha, K., Wieder, W. R., Jackson, R. B. on April 12, 2025 at 12:00 am

Increasing root carbon inputs into soils has been proposed as a solution to increasing soil organic carbon (SOC). However, while fine root carbon (FRC) inputs can increase SOC accrual in soils, FRC can also enhance SOC loss by stimulating microbial respiration and cause a net loss of SOC through priming. It remains unclear how SOC varies as a function of FRC at broad spatial scales and across ecosystems and depths. Here, we tested the relationship of SOC and FRC using data from 43 sites across […]

by Tournayre, O., Littlefair, J. E., Garrett, N. R., Allerton, J. J., Brown, A. S., Cristescu, M. E., Clare, E. L. on April 12, 2025 at 12:00 am

Near real-time data across taxa are necessary for quantifying biodiversity at regional to continental scales and evaluating conservation measures. Yet, standardized methods and globally distributed infrastructure are still lacking. In this study, we conducted the first national survey of terrestrial biodiversity using a metabarcoding approach on airborne environmental DNA collected by a national ambient air quality monitoring network. Our goal was to perform a multi-taxonomic biodiversity […]

by Wik, A. R., Little, C. J. on April 11, 2025 at 12:00 am

Pacific Salmon have the potential to act as umbrella species in western North America. Urban streams have warmer temperatures, higher nutrient loads, and flashier hydrographs from impervious surroundings (urban stream syndrome). These changes are likely to affect ecosystem functions that are key to biodiversity and ecosystem services. Here, we ask whether restoration to improve urban stream habitat for Pacific Salmon can naturalize organic matter decomposition rates. Using structural equation […]

by Noble, S. A. A., Ali, R. L. M. N., Wilson-Clarke, C. F., Khouri, N. K., Norris, D. E., Sandiford, S. L. on April 11, 2025 at 12:00 am

Aedes vittatus, an emerging invasive mosquito of significant public health concern has slowly made its way onto the global radar. With a known geographical range in Africa and Asia, where it is a competent vector for several arboviruses, this mosquito has now been reported in the Americas. As the spread of this mosquito has been partly linked to transcontinental trade and travel, Jamaica, the largest English-speaking country in the Caribbean, which serves as a central hub for trade and […]

by Vinesky, J., Ketchum, J., Hoyos, M. on April 10, 2025 at 12:00 am

Interspecific scraping behaviors among large marine vertebrates may serve as an important mechanism for ectoparasite removal. Here, we present the first documented observations of shark-manta scraping interactions, which occurred in the Revillagigedo Archipelago, a remote marine protected area in the eastern tropical Pacific. Opportunistic video footage was collected at two dive sites between December 2024 and February 2025, capturing three discrete events in which Galapagos sharks […]

by Mizrahi, D. S., Spaans, A. L., Spaans-Scheen, M. J., Cox, A. R., Laliberte, B., Gallo-Cajiao, E., Roy, C. on April 10, 2025 at 12:00 am

IntroductionThe central northern coast of South America has extensive wetlands critical for waterbird conservation. While waterbird harvest occurs in the region, the impact on species population dynamics remains unclear. This study assesses waterbird hunting in the coastal wetlands of Suriname, addressing: (i) the extent of waterbird harvest, (ii) changes in harvest magnitude over time, and (iii) the motivations and methods of hunters. MethodsWe collected data via a national survey of licensed […]

by Tiodar, E. D., Vacar, C. L., Grimm, M. C., Ganea, I. V., Balazs, Z. R., Abrudan, A. M., Timar, C., Tantau, I., Banciu, M., Angel, R., Podar, D. on April 10, 2025 at 12:00 am

The rhizosphere microbial communities of Lotus tenuis in Hg-contaminated soils demonstrate remarkable resilience, maintaining stable bacterial and fungal diversity across a broad contamination gradient (40-1964 mg Hg kg-{superscript 1} soil). Despite significant shifts in community structure compared to control communities from uncontaminated rhizosphere soil, alpha diversity remained largely unaffected, likely due to widespread merA-mediated bacterial detoxification. These findings align with […]

by Ansil, B. R., Lei, G.-S., Santos, A. J., Letko, M. C., Seifert, S. N., Fenton, B., Simmons, N. B., Relich, R. F., Becker, D. J. on April 10, 2025 at 12:00 am

We report novel and previously identified alphacoronavirus (-CoV) diversity in three phyllostomid bat species (Desmodus rotundus, Carollia sowelli, and Sturnira parvidens) in Belize. Phylogenetic analysis suggests strong similarity between two Neotropical bat -CoV lineages and human CoVs (229E and NL63) compared to prior bat -CoVs.

by Walker, R. S., White, A., O’Neill, X., Fefferman, N. H., Silk, M. J. on April 10, 2025 at 12:00 am

Pace of life history is a key axis of variation in life history strategies that captures the evolutionary trade-off between investing in lifespan versus reproduction. It has been suggested that social behaviour, and therefore network structure, may vary with pace of life, but formal theory remains scarce. We develop a novel mathematical model to examine how differences in demographic turnover may constrain emergent social network structures in natural populations. We additionally consider […]

by Borgmeier, A., Bergstrom, D., Cary, S. C., Convey, P., Cummings, V., Deregibus, D., Hong, S. G., Lee, C. K., Lee, H., Libertelli, M., Robinson, S., Schiaparelli, S., Sultan, E., Tsujimoto, M., Verleyen, E., Adams, B. J. on April 9, 2025 at 12:00 am

Environmental change due to greenhouse gas emissions is affecting ecosystems globally; in the polar regions in particular there is already significant evidence of change. The Antarctic Near-Shore and Terrestrial Observation System (ANTOS) aims to establish a cross-continent, cross-national observing network to assess environmental variability and change in the southern polar region. To understand how near-shore and terrestrial Antarctic ecosystems have and will continue to be impacted by […]

by Schreiber, S. on April 9, 2025 at 12:00 am

A population exhibits an Allee effect when there is a critical density below which it goes extinct and above which it persists. Classical models with environmental stochasticity predict inevitable extinction, stemming from the assumption that environmental variation is normally distributed with rare but arbitrary large effect sizes. However, environmental fluctuations are bounded and often not normally distributed. To address this reality, I analyze piecewise deterministic Markov models (PDMPs) […]

by Cant, J., Hernandez, C. M., Thornley, R., Hector, A., Stott, I., Salguero-Gomez, R. on April 9, 2025 at 12:00 am

Natural systems worldwide are exposed to gradual changes imposed by directional environmental shifts, known as ramp disturbances. However, contemporary assessments of population resilience focus on the resistance and recovery of systems following one-off (i.e., pulse) disturbances. Thus, our current perception of demographic resilience overlooks potential trade-offs associated with countering pulse vs. ramp disturbances. Simulating 50-year ramp disturbance scenarios, we evaluate shifts in both […]

by Kacou, K. Y. A., Yokoly, N. F., Le Bissonnais, S., Zahouli, B. Z. J., Jackson IK Kouame, J. K. I., Tia, B. J.-P., Koudou, G. B. on April 9, 2025 at 12:00 am

The knowledge of Anopheles gambiae s.l larval habitats is important in order to choose an appropriate malaria control strategy. The purpose of this study is to identify potential mosquito breeding sites in the district of Abidjan and analysed the relationship between environmental factors and larval abundance. Abiotic characteristics such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, conductivity and biotic characteristics (larval density) of Anopheles gambiae s.l. larval habitats were […]