New Ecology & evolution papers
94 new Ecology & evolution papers appeared in the last 3 days. Pipette read every one, and these are the 60 with the broadest interest, a real step forward and careful claims. Each shows the sentence of its abstract that states the main result, exactly as its authors wrote it.
The best of the last 3 days
Increased Demographic Turnover and Isolation Precede Social Fragmentation in Asian Elephants
Following accumulated demographic turnover, networks fractured into smaller and more isolated social communities.
PreprintClaims a big stepEasy to readA streamlined proof of concept CRISPR-based environmental biosurveillance platform for the detection of closely related invasive rats
Using Rattus exulans, R. norvegicus, and R. rattus as a challenging model of closely related invasive vertebrates, SENTINEL achieved species-specific discrimination without detectable cross-reactivity and sensitivities of 10 aM for plasmid DNA and 10 fg/uL for genomic DNA.
PreprintBold claims, read criticallyClaims a big stepReal-world useSomatic differentiation evolves rapidly and repeatedly through the modification of developmental plasticity
Our results provide the first empirical demonstration that the modification of plastic responses to the environment can drive the evolution of somatic differentiation, a key step in the evolution of a new kind of evolutionary individual.
PreprintClaims a big stepTracking human foragers and their prey reveals adaptive predator-prey dynamics
Our results show how human foragers overcome the challenges of extracting invisible, mobile and reactive prey by tightly tuning patch-selection, patch-leaving and patch-return decisions to the distribution and behaviour of their prey.
PreprintSelf-guided search in immersive VR reveals active hierarchical planning
Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that self-guided search engaged a hierarchical information-seeking policy characterized at each stage by recurring plan-and-execute cycles paired with subgoal-specific attentional priorities.
PreprintRewriting the history of the invasive spiny water flea in North America
Combining microfossil analysis from 210 Pb-dated sediments, radiocarbon dating of chitinous remains, and sediment DNA, we show Bythotrephes was present at low densities in inland lakes in Ontario, Canada, at least 100 years earlier than initially reported.
Peer-reviewed journalReal-world useCompound food failure on a deteriorated mast system drives Japan’s bear conflict crisis
Using an 18-year dataset across five Tohoku prefectures, we find that it reflects bears responding to a rhythm breakdown of the forest's food supply.
Peer-reviewed journalBold claims, read criticallyReal-world useReference genomes and fossils revise bat family phylogeny and biogeography
By integrating comprehensive genomic and morphological datasets, analysed using innovative methods, we resolve long-standing controversies in bat biology and provide new insights into the evolutionary history and trait diversification of bats.
Peer-reviewed journalClaims a big stepSediment dynamics drive global patterns of salt-marsh vulnerability
Tidal range, suspended sediment concentration, and wave-sediment coupling are the strongest first-order predictors of contemporary marsh trajectories, outperforming RSLR in explaining global patterns.
Peer-reviewed journalReal-world useSatellite-gene abundance fusion reveals global hotspots of ocean ecosystem services
We reveal putative hotspots of functional diversity, net primary productivity, and carbon export.
PreprintReal-world useFirst density and abundance estimate for the only East African Population of Western bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus eurycerus) in Semuliki National Park, Uganda
The model estimated a population size of 56.49 individuals (SE = 7.69; 95% CI = 41.43-71.56), with an estimated density of 0.58 individuals km-2 (SE = 0.171; 95% CI = 0.32-1.09) within Semuliki National Park.
PreprintReal-world useBig-team science reveals that patterns of inhibitory control variation in teleost fishes differ from those in mammals and birds
Performance varied markedly among species, but, strikingly, showed only a weak phylogenetic signal, contrasting with patterns previously reported in mammals and birds.
PreprintA Vision-Language Model as a Teacher for Bird Vocalization Detection
We find that the student generally exceeds both the teacher and supervised models trained on human annotations and performs strongly on held-out datasets for both time-frequency and onset-offset localization.
PreprintReal-world useTransposable elements as evolutionary catalysts of ant macrodiversity
Our findings demonstrate the broad-scale impact of TE-dependent genome evolution during ant adaptive radiation and suggest that similar comparative analyses across other major lineages will be worthwhile to reconstruct the wider macroevolutionary impact of TEs.
Peer-reviewed journalRapid genome-wide purging following tsunami-induced hybridization in a stickleback population
Here we report a 9-year genomic monitoring of a tsunami-induced hybrid stickleback population, revealing rapid genome-wide purging within only a few generations.
Peer-reviewed journalVariability of Head Motion Reveals Development of Spatial Attention
Thus, movements unrelated to the attention goal do not reflect noise but signify attentional control across development.
PreprintEasy to readDevelopmental cold exposure increases the ability to maintain body temperature during future cold challenges in a free-living altricial bird
These results are, to our knowledge, the first to show that developmental cold exposure increases the capacity to maintain body temperature during future cold challenges in a songbird.
PreprintConsistent determination of stability regimes in natural ecological communities from abundance time series
Here we develop a statistical framework that infers stability regimes in large ecological communities directly from abundance time series.
PreprintAirborne Sound Detection in Manduca sexta Caterpillars
Together, these findings provide direct experimental evidence that the behavioural responses of M. sexta caterpillars to acoustic stimulation cannot be explained by sound-induced substrate vibration and instead support direct detection of airborne sound.
PreprintThe diversity, evolution, and conservation of African plants
We reveal a pronounced decoupling between DR and accumulated evolutionary history across Africa.
PreprintXenon improves autism-like behaviors in mice through potentiation of PVT-CeA glutamatergic neurotransmission
These findings demonstrate that Xe ameliorates ASD-like phenotypes in mouse models by modulating the PVT Glu-CeA circuit, supporting Xe as a novel potential therapy for ASD.
PreprintReal-world useModeling one-shot interceptions in fruit-catching fish
In a minimal setting, where launch velocity and actuated control are constants, we show that the optimal wait time is attenuated by noise in both the target measurement and control actuation, as well as agent energy conservation.
PreprintBroad interestOro-manual assessment of food preservability in a wild rodent
Together, these findings provide a mechanistic account of preservability assessment in a wild rodent, revealing how information-seeking behaviors support long-term value optimization in natural environments.
PreprintCo-option of a tendon-associated osteogenic program drives the evolutionary plasticity of intermuscular bones in teleosts
Our findings reveal a distinct tendon-associated osteogenic system in teleosts, providing a mechanistic framework for IB evolution during teleost adaptive radiation.
Peer-reviewed journalHow 8 years of social and individual learning interact to shape ecological competence in orangutans
Our findings advance the science of cultural evolution by showing how multiyear social and individual learning interact to shape great apes' broad ecological competence.
Peer-reviewed journalEasy to readSociality in weevils is shaped by sheltering and convergent gene losses
These findings indicate that the molecular mechanisms of social evolution in weevils are primarily characterised by relaxed selection and gene loss, rather than adaptive innovation and gene family expansions.
PreprintIntegrating dedicated and opportunistic surveys to estimate seasonal common dolphin density off mainland Portugal
We develop a spatiotemporal marked log-Gaussian Cox process that integrates four structurally distinct surveys through a shared intensity surface, comprising environmental covariates, a latent spatial field, and survey-specific detection functions.
PreprintReal-world useBiogeographic cline is associated with the global plant telomere length variation
Surprisingly, plants with different life-histories had minimal telomere length differences, but biogeographic clines had significant effect on telomere length variation.
PreprintAMADEUS: Annotation-free multi-animal direction estimation using self-supervised learning
Across benchmark videos of 10 mice, 10 fish, 32 beetles, 32 ants with one cricket, 60 flies, and 368 ants, AMADEUS outperformed state-of-the-art methods in identity tracking and keypoint localization.
PreprintDrivers of tandem repeats variation within and between stick insect genomes
By characterizing TR abundance and TR sequence composition within and between chromosomes and species in the stick insect genus Timema, we uncover that TR loads are enriched in genomic regions of high recombination but tend to be reduced in species with higher effective population sizes.
PreprintStaking out the frontiers: The limits of the metazoan shallow marine fossil record
Modeling historical sampling trajectories, we show that for most time intervals, future data accumulation is expected to be negligible, and geographic coverage is approaching saturation.
Peer-reviewed journalGiant cuttlefish’s stunning mating aggregation decimated by toxic algae off Australia
Algal bloom has almost wiped out a unique population of the meter-long cephalopod.
Peer-reviewed journalBroad interestReal-world useEasy to readLoss of a belowground mutualist disrupts a fundamental biodiversity-disease relationship
Instead, AMF inoculation increased disease risk via species-specific increases in host competence.
PreprintGlobal meta-analysis of metabolic responses to climate change in aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates
This study finds that the metabolic impact of climate change increases toward higher latitudes and is stronger in terrestrial than aquatic invertebrates.
Peer-reviewed journalEnergy quality shapes biodiversity across coastal oceans
Independent of this gradient, however, energy quality (defined via C:N ratios, {delta}C values, and amino acid profiles) was associated with higher biodiversity.
PreprintReal-world useGenome-wide evidence for cryptic multi-generational introgression between invasive Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and native B. mucronatus
Our findings reveal cryptic, multigenerational introgression between an invasive forest pathogen and its native congener, highlighting the importance of genomic surveillance for forest disease management and invasion-risk assessment under climate change.
PreprintReal-world useCanopy functional composition as an indicator of bird traits, taxonomy, and vulnerability in tropical Peruvian forests
Distinct forest functional groups are associated with distinct bird traits, levels of anthropogenic impact, and taxonomic assemblages, providing explanatory power beyond traditional abiotic gradients.
Peer-reviewed journalBold claims, read criticallyReal-world useIndividual variation in glucocorticoid plasticity to temperature is not associated with reproductive success in a wild songbird population
However, neither intercepts nor slopes were associated with reproductive success (fledgling number or brood mass), suggesting that individual variation in endocrine plasticity was not under natural selection, at least within the environmental conditions experienced.
PreprintA feedback between dispersal and hybridization may facilitate the repeated emergence of flight in field crickets
These results are consistent with a dispersal-hybridization feedback shaping both the reticulated phylogenetic history of Gryllus and the repeated emergence of flight.
Preprint4-Dimensional Chess: Acoustic Localisation Reveals Nested Spatio-temporal Strategies in an Arboreal Communication Network
These findings demonstrate that behavioural strategies emerge across nested spatial and temporal scales and that long-term spatial positioning, short-term movement decisions, and moment-to-moment signalling interactions are tightly linked within natural communication networks.
PreprintEco-evolutionary dynamics create extinction avalanches in mutualistic-antagonistic networks
While major extinction events are usually associated with external drivers, in this study, we show mechanistically how evolution can trigger abrupt extinction avalanches in ecological networks without any environmental change.
PreprintA meta-analysis of Neotropical butterflies reveals long-term signature of the Pebas wetland on Neotropical biogeography
While several clades show little evidence of Pebas influence, our study suggests that the Pebas wetland did not uniformly restrict diversification, but rather selectively constrained dispersal between the Andes and Amazonia, preventing simultaneous diversification in both regions and thereby creating a diversity imbalance that characterizes the modern Neotropic.
PreprintPerceptual constraints of motion shape animal movement strategies
Using agent-based simulations based on empirical models of visual perception, we demonstrate that when visual perception degrades non-linearly with speed, the strategy that maximizes prey detection is 'saltatory' locomotion, involving stationary pauses interspersed with movements.
PreprintPhenotypic diversity acts as a higher-order functional trait of populations
Our findings suggest that some traits generate new functions at the population level through variation among individuals, making diversity itself a higher-order functional property.
PreprintBiosurfactants direct the evolutionary dynamics of surface-associated microbial systems
Our results demonstrate that biosurfactants not only promote ecological dispersal but also direct evolutionary dynamics by determining the spatial constraints acting on the system.
Peer-reviewed journalJuveniles exhibit lower heatwave tolerance than adults in a reef-building coral
These results indicate an ontogenetic shift in physiological heat tolerance, with larger reproductively mature colonies showing enhanced tolerance.
PreprintReal-world useAccelerated Evolution of Context-Dependent Gene Expression in Primate Immune Cells
However, the subset of genes that respond to in vitro perturbations have evolved at significantly higher rates than environmentally-insensitive genes, a finding we replicate in an independent four-species dataset of primary white blood cells (n=26).
PreprintNot all roads lead to selfing: mating-system stability in an invasive ectomycorrhizal fungus
Our works in S. luteus demonstrates that although selfing is possible in this species, it is not favored during colonization, potentially due to inbreeding depression and higher population density, highlighting the complex interaction among the invasion biology, genetics, and the colonizing context.
PreprintSalt sweetens the deal: bumble bees prefer sodium-enriched nectar when its sugar concentration is low
Bees preferred sodium-enriched nectar and preference nearly doubled when sucrose concentration was low.
PreprintProbabilistic species distributions from nine large-scale gridded atlases over five decades
Here we present model-based occupancy probabilities for 1,055 bird and 58 butterfly species, derived from nine gridded atlas datasets spanning several editions over the past 50 years.
PreprintReal-world useAncient inversion polymorphisms associate with sexually selected traits across natural guppy populations
Overall, our results show the role of sexual selection in the long-term maintenance of inversion polymorphisms, and an interplay between sexual and natural selection in frequency dynamics.
Peer-reviewed journalScarlet Fever Dynamics in 19th and 20th Century London
We find that almost all spectral evolution in the time series can be explained by changes in the effective reproduction number and the amplitude of seasonal forcing.
PreprintLimitation of External Nutrient Supply Effects by Iron-Driven Internal Phosphorus Cycling in Semi-Enclosed Coastal Waters: A Case Study of Mikawa Bay
Overall, the study indicates that localized nutrient enhancement is insufficient to counter long-term oligotrophication, and effective management must integrate nitrogen limitation, internal Fe and P cycling, oceanic exchange, and seasonal variability in Ise and Mikawa Bays.
PreprintReal-world useDaily locomotor rhythms and ecdysial stage-dependent behaviors in the tardigrade Hypsibius exemplaris
These findings provide evidence consistent with an endogenous, circadian-like timing system in tardigrades that integrates daily activity with molting cycles and establish H. exemplaris as a promising model for studying ecdysozoan chronobiology.
PreprintComparative genomics reveals a genomic and functional continuum among secondary replicons in Halobacteriota
Together, these results support a model in which secondary replicons in Halobacteriota span a genomic and functional continuum from plasmid-like to chromosome-like states , with increasing size associated with greater conservation, gene duplication and progressively more chromosome-like gene content and functional profile.
PreprintPlants and mammals once tracked climate closely, then mammal niches shifted under human pressure
In contrast, plant niches remained largely structured by climate, highlighting stronger anthropogenic constraints on mammalian responses to climate change thus far.
PreprintMoisture structures litter faunal communities through productivity and trait filtering effects
Thus, moisture structures litter faunal communities via both proposed mechanisms: (1) a productivity effect and (2) a trait filtering effect.
PreprintComparing morphological and molecular methods for stream macroinvertebrate biodiversity assessment across seven watersheds in the southern United States
These results demonstrate that no single method captures a complete picture of stream macroinvertebrate biodiversity, and that method choice should be guided by the taxonomic resolution and community components most relevant to the goals of the bioassessment program.
PreprintReal-world usePopulation genetic structure and connectivity of Glossina palpalis gambiensis and G. morsitans submorsitans in Southwestern Senegal
These findings indicate that G. p. gambiensis likely constitutes a large metapopulation comprising 3266 effective individuals on average (and up to 7765), whereas G. m. submorsitans appeared as a single and large population, scattered in small pockets that could be readily replenished by immigrants from distant areas in case of control.
PreprintReal-world useToxin structure shapes palatability in a chemically defended butterfly
These results show that variation in toxin structure can strongly affect palatability, with some compounds conferring greater protection than others.
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