Threat classifications allow conservationists to categorize threatening processes faced by species of conservation concern, but lack of information on threat severity hampers efforts to establish the cost-effectiveness of conservation management actions. Actions and funds are often prioritized according to the prevalence of a threat; however, probability of success of threat management is little considered

Predicting the trajectory of ongoing diversity loss requires knowledge of historical development of community assemblages. Long-term data from palaeoecological investigations combined with key biodiversity measures in ecology such as taxonomic richness, functional diversity (FD), phylogenetic diversity (PD) and environmental factors expressed as Ellenberg indicator values (EIVs) could provide that

Group-size variation has been examined within a framework of costs and benefits to ecological factors such as food limitations and risks from predators. Social interactions between males from male–male competition might also influence group size particularly in polygynous males. To explore the role of social and ecological factors on group size outside the mating season I examined the influence of

Human-wildlife interactions resulting in conflict remains a global conservation challenge, requiring innovative solutions to ensure the persistence of wildlife amidst people. Wild Seve was established in July 2015 as a conservation intervention program to assist people affected by conflict to file and monitor claims and receive ex-gratia payments from the Indian government. In 48 months of operation

A surprising amount of hidden phylogenetic diversity exists in the small to medium size, drab colored squirrels of the genus Sundasciurus. This genus is endemic to Sundaland and the Philippines, where it is widespread. An earlier revision of this genus found that the high elevation ‘populations’ of the widespread, lowland slender squirrel (S. tenuis) were different species. Previous phylogenies based

A wide trophic niche and high trophic plasticity are often invoked to explain the successful establishment of many aquatic invaders, but there is little information regarding the diet of most invasive fish in European waters. We combined stomach content and stable isotope analysis (SIA) of 13C and 15N to examine the trophic niche of the highly invasive topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva) in three

We do not understand what we see but see what we understand. Words shape the comprehension of our environment and set the space of possibilities we can access when decision making. In here we make the case for the use of Technocene instead of Anthropocene using well-grounded arguments in basic scientific principles. We already know that the Earth system has co-evolved with life phenomena (i.e., the

Modeling landscape use (i.e., estimating the probability or relative probability of use, occurrence, or selection in a given area and time) by ungulates is an increasingly common and important practice in research and management. Models of occupancy, distribution, movement, habitat use, and resource selection are formal approaches by which landscape use has been characterized and results published

Butterfly wings often display structural colors, which are the result of light reflection from chitinous nanostructures that adorn the wing scales. Amongst these structural colors are broadband metallic reflections, which have been previously linked to an ultrathin broadband reflector in the nymphalid butterfly Argyrophorus argenteus. To test if similar optical modes of broadband, specular reflectance

Wnt genes are major developmental genes highly conserved across all animals. Yet, our understanding of the Wnt gene repertoire and their functions is still largely incomplete. In Lepidoptera, Wnt genes have been implicated in wing pattern development. For example, WntA has been shown as a driver of wing pattern diversification in nymphalid butterflies. In this study, we characterize the Wnt gene repertoire

Past research on plant-soil feedbacks (PSF), largely undertaken in highly controlled greenhouse conditions, has established that plant species differentially alter abiotic and biotic soil conditions that in turn affect growth of other conspecific and heterospecific individuals in that soil. Yet, whether feedbacks under controlled greenhouse conditions reflect feedbacks in natural environments where

Variation in weather patterns can influence reproductive effort and success not only within but also between breeding seasons. Where environmental conditions can be highly variable between years, the weather, and particularly extreme weather events such as heat waves and droughts, may exert a strong influence on reproductive effort (number of breeding attempts) and success (number of surviving young)

Invasive species are a global conservation problem that have an enormous economic cost. Understanding the attributes of invasive species and what makes them successful at colonizing and flourishing in novel environments is therefore essential for preventing and ameliorating their negative impact. Learning ability and behavioral flexibility—the ability to adjust behavior flexibly when conditions change

Drosophila pigmentation has been a fruitful model system for understanding the genetic and developmental mechanisms underlying phenotypic evolution. For example, prior work has shown that divergence of the tan gene contributes to pigmentation differences between two members of the virilis group: Drosophila novamexicana, which has a light yellow body color, and D. americana, which has a dark brown body

Social conflicts over large carnivores are becoming more frequent following the general recovery of large carnivores in human shaped landscapes in Europe. To manage conflicts over large carnivores a detailed knowledge is necessary on the social, economic, cultural but also interpersonal dimensions of the conflicts. This can be achieved through a participatory engagement of all stakeholders within a

Reproductive phenology is sensitive to climatic changes and is associated with species functional types, distribution ranges, and their corresponding climatic niches. Phylogenetic niche conservatism in reproductive phenology also constrains its diversity and the distribution of species. Therefore, we assessed the effects of photosynthetic pathway, life history, phylogeny, and climatic niche on reproductive

Florida’s west coast is a 170,000 km2 bedrock shelf (west Florida shelf, WFS) comprised of north-south discontinuous carbonate outcroppings extending more than 200 km from the intertidal zone to a depth of 200 m. These outcrops support diverse benthic communities, which contribute to a multi-billion dollar recreational and commercial fishing industry, yet only about 5% of their extent has been studied

Many animals require tree cavities for breeding and these sites may be reused by a diversity of secondary cavity nesters over a timespan of decades. It is unknown whether the reuse of holes changes their desirability as nest sites. We hypothesized that some species, “cavity destroyers,” degrade the quality of holes by filling them with coarse nest material or waste whereas excavating species, “cavity

The cognitive demands associated with brood parasitism are substantial. Not only must female parasites locate nests and assess their suitability for parasitism, they must also time parasitism to correspond with the breeding behavior of the host. Keeping track of the reproductive state of hosts for a variety of nests allows the parasite to select a nest where their egg can be incubated successfully

Time calibrated trees are challenging to estimate for many extinct groups of species due to the incompleteness of the rock and fossil records. Additionally, the precise age of a sample is typically not known as it may have occurred at any time during the time interval spanned by the rock layer. Bayesian phylogenetic approaches provide a coherent framework for incorporating multiple sources of evidence

Wildlife species are harvested for a variety of purposes. This is known to drive phenotypic change, particularly in the context of exploitative harvesting. As the impact of invasive alien species grows, and new conflicts with nuisance species arise, management of these problematic species has emerged as a key topic. Yet there is little to no attention directed to whether and how species are changing

Intraspecific variation in home range size has important implications for the distribution of animals across landscapes and the spatial structuring of population, community, and ecosystem processes. Among species of similar trophic guild and body mass, differences in home range size can reflect extrinsic variables that exert divergent selective forces upon spacing behavior and social organization.

In the Laurentian Great Lakes, introduced Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) deposit resources and contaminants as carcass and gametic tissue during spawning migrations to tributaries. Such ecosystem linkages can increase growth and contaminant bioaccumulation in stream-resident fish but mechanisms driving this process remain unclear. In this mini-review, we synthesize findings from observational,

Social insect colonies can express adaptive, organism-like design. In some cases, colonies so resemble a unique, cohesive and integrated “individual” that they are termed superorganisms. The major evolutionary transitions framework explains, via inclusive fitness theory, how new levels of biological individuality, including genes into genomes within cells, cells into multicellular organisms and organisms

Human disturbances are rapidly increasing in northern and Arctic regions, raising concerns about the recovery and persistence of declining caribou (Rangifer tarandus) populations. Yet, the consequences of behavioral responses toward human disturbances on vital rates rarely have been investigated. Herein, we assessed the cumulative and instantaneous effects of human disturbances (roads, human settlements

Animals adopt a range of avoidance strategies to reduce their exposure to parasites and the associated cost of infection. If strong selective pressures from parasites are sustained over many generations, avoidance strategies may gradually evolve from phenotypically plastic, or individually variable, to fixed, species-wide traits. Over time, host species possessing effective infection avoidance traits

The field of ancient genomics has undergone a true revolution during the last decade. Input material, time requirements and processing costs have first limited the number of specimens amenable to genome sequencing. However, the discovery that archeological material such as petrosal bones can show increased ancient DNA preservation rates, combined with advances in sequencing technologies, molecular

Central Asia is an important center of diversity for common walnut (Juglans regia L.). We characterized the genetic diversity of 21 wild and cultivated populations across Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. A complete threat assessment was performed evaluating the short-term threats from overexploitation, overgrazing, landslides, and fragmentation as well as long-term threats from climate change

DNA barcodes have been proposed for diverse applications as markers for species identification. One application that is not fully explored yet is their use for assessing the species biodiversity and presence of invasive alien species (IAS) in maritime biosecurity. The phylogeographical signals of the mitochondrial COI (mtCOI) gene have been sometimes used to infer the number of introductions and the

Ecosystem surveillance monitoring is critical to managing natural resources and especially so under changing environments. Despite this importance, the design and implementation of monitoring programs across large temporal and spatial scales has been hampered by the lack of appropriately standardized methods and data streams. To address this gap, we outline a surveillance monitoring method based on

Large herbivores exhibit relatively slow-paced life histories, and allocate resources toward maintaining high rates of adult survival, while juvenile survival has greater variability. Maternal females make decisions throughout life stages of reproduction to meet their nutritional demands while simultaneously ensuring survival and recruitment of young to maximize fitness. We investigated tradeoffs associated

Moose (Alces alces) have evolved to store adequate body fat to emerge from winter in adequate nutritional condition that is key to annual productivity and neonatal survival. Blood consumption by winter ticks (Dermacentor albipictus) affects survival and productivity of moose, often resulting in marked local and regional die-offs of calves. Concurrent with an unprecedented frequency of winter tick epizootics

The cuticle of virtually any insect is covered by a thin layer of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) typically consisting of a complex mixture of n-alkanes, methyl-branched alkanes, and unsaturated hydrocarbons. Apart from their putative primary function as a desiccation barrier, CHCs are used by insects for communication. In many species of parasitoid wasps, males use CHCs to recognize females, and thus

Marine heat waves instigated by anthropogenic climate change are causing increasingly frequent and severe coral bleaching events that often lead to widespread coral mortality. While community-wide increases in coral mortality following bleaching events have been documented on reefs around the world, the ecological consequences for conspecific individual colonies exhibiting contrasting phenotypes during

The nymphalid groundplan (NGP) has proven to be extraordinarily useful in the study of butterfly color patterns because it allows for the identification of homologous elements across species. It has long been thought that the NGP is broadly applicable to all Lepidoptera, implying that the characters which make-up butterfly color patterns are homologous to those found in the moths. However, this conjecture

Sociality has independently arisen in several wood-dwelling insect lineages, yet little is understood about how the properties of decaying logs have favored the evolution of cooperative social groups. Here we evaluate the current literature on wood-dwelling social insects to identify the structural, nutritional, and microbial properties of decaying logs that have led to the repeated evolution of social

Caragana microphylla Lam plays an important role in desert-grassland revegetation. Plant reproduction in arid regions may be restricted due to the low abundance or visiting frequency of pollinators. We tested the visited flowers, the pollinated flowers and seed production to estimate how pollinator limitation affects the seed numbers of visited and pollinated flowers. We investigated the floral characters

The use of miniature accelerometer (ACT) data-loggers for remote and continuous recording of animal movement behavior is becoming increasingly common. Until recently, size constraints limited most animal-borne ACT applications to large-bodied species. We capitalized on the ongoing miniaturization and advancement of these technologies and associated computational techniques to develop a framework for

An increasing number of organisms are subjected to abiotic (e.g., air, water, and soil quality, temperature), but also biotic (e.g., new pathogens) stressors. These stressors may disturb the chemical and physiological homeostasis of living systems, and thus impact their ecology and evolution. Because eukaryotes are often associated with symbionts, these changes do not only impact the host but rather

Diversified community types provide different microhabitats for plant growth. However, whether the distribution of species is random distribution or ecological specialization within different plant community types remains to be elucidated. Here, five 1 ha (100 m × 100 m) plots with different communities were established in a temperate forest. We examined community structure differences by non-metric

In an era of rapid climate and land transformation, it is increasingly important to understand how future changes impact natural systems. Scenario studies can offer the structure and perspective needed to understand the impacts of change and help inform management and conservation decisions. We implemented a scenario-based approach to assess how two high impact drivers of landscape change influence

There has been an upsurge of interest and research activity in trait-based approaches in ecology, biogeography, and macroecology. I discuss if this upsurge has impacted Quaternary botany (the study of plant remains preserved in sediments). I show that ecological attributes (including traits) have played and continue to play an integral part in the interpretation of Quaternary botanical data in terms

The mid-late Holocene witnessed the rapid development of Neolithic and Bronze cultures in the Yellow River Valley (YRV) of northern China. Spatio-temporal patterns of plant utilization during this period and its influencing factors have been intensively discussed, whereas the variation in animal exploitation in relation to climate change and human activities has not been adequately studied. In this

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are in decline in the western United States and are encountering a range of anthropogenic stressors. Pesticides are among the factors that likely contribute to this decline, although the concentrations of these chemicals in non-crop plants are not well documented, especially in complex landscapes with a diversity of crop types and land uses. In this study, we

Throughout Africa, conservancies under community and private management are becoming increasingly important as a complement to the protection offered by the established core network of protected areas (PAs), which are largely under national management. However, opportunities for creating new conservation areas are restricted by increasing demand on land use by growing human populations, and it is unclear

The control of the highly invasive zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) has been flagged as a priority but success has been variable. A better understanding of the growth and drivers of settlement of zebra mussel is necessary for a more efficient management of this invasive species, but seasonal data are still relatively scant. We monitored the seasonal changes in settlement rates, density, and growth

How strong was the anthropogenic imprint in the disturbance regime of eastern Canadian mixed forests during the 20th century? And how did it alter the tree species composition? To answer these questions, we reconstructed the 20th century anthropogenic disturbance regime and analyzed its impact on modern forest composition using historical and modern forest inventory and map data. Between 1895 and 2005

Global warming, as global problem, may particularly affect the vegetation of the Polar Regions. Biological soil crusts (BSCs) as pioneer communities perform a variety of important ecological functions under the harsh environmental conditions at high latitudes. The green algal genus Klebsormidium is a common member of BSCs and in the present study, the ecophysiological resilience to temperature stress

The introduction of renewable energy (RE) is essential for building a sustainable society. However, RE can cause conflicts between energy production and biodiversity conservation. This study conducted a scenario analysis to evaluate potential conflicts in the nexuses between energy and biodiversity for the Bekambeushi River watershed located in northeastern Japan. The increasing rate of pastureland

Coral reefs worldwide are rapidly declining due to increasing anthropogenic stressors and environmental changes, with large-scale mortalities of coral reefs observed in many locations across the globe. It has become clear that the microbiome of corals is important in understanding the causes of coral infections, although its exact role is yet to be fully understood. Here, we characterize the bacteria

Northern ungulates undergo pregnancy in winter when food supplies are low. Consequently, females employ a capital breeding strategy that relies upon maternal body stores of energy and protein for fetal growth. We studied captive female reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus; n = 6; 118 kg), caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti; n = 6; 97 kg), and muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus; n = 8; 205 kg) in late winter

The composition of intestinal microbiota commonly varies among animal hosts and may affect host health. However, we have limited knowledge about the different relative roles of assembly processes, such as drift, dispersal and environmental selection, for the composition of gut microbiota. Here, we conducted a field study analyzing intestinal microbial communities of two fish species that either have

An increasing abundance of projects demonstrate that coastal management strategies that align engineering and ecological objectives can deliver a wide range benefits. Better understanding how these strategies fare under stress is crucially important, including in comparison to more conventional coastal engineering approaches, in order to inform where they might be a viable alternative or complement

Plants produce distinct blends of volatile compounds that attract pollinators (floral odors) or natural enemies of insect herbivores (herbivore-induced plant volatiles). The admixture of these blends in the atmosphere may alter the attraction of insect mutualists and ultimately affect plant fitness. Here, using synthetic blends of Brassica rapa floral volatiles and real B. rapa flowers, we investigated

Anthropogenic hybridization is one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity. It incites human-mediated gene flow between non-native/exotic and native taxa, which can have irreversible effects on native species or locally adapted populations, eventually leading to extinction. The red deer, Cervus elaphus, is a game species that, due to its extraordinary economic value, has been introduced in several

The color patterns on the wings of butterflies and moths are among the most complex manifestations of pattern formation in nature. The complexities of these patterns arise from the diversification of a conserved set of homologous elements known as the Nymphalid Ground Plan that can change color, shift position, expand, or disappear altogether. Recent work has shown that the anterior–posterior (AP)

For many migratory species, migration can represent a significant part of the annual cycle and the strategies used to move between the breeding and non-breeding areas vary considerably. Weather conditions are important during migration, particularly wind and temperature, and can play a crucial role in the timing of events during the annual cycle of migratory birds. When timing of specific events is

The extinction crisis creates a need to increase conservation funding and use it more efficiently. Most conservation resources are allocated through inefficient political processes that seem ill equipped for dealing with the crisis. In response, conservation triage emerged as a metaphor for thinking about the optimization of resource allocation. Because triage operates primarily as a metaphor, not

Three-dimensional (3D) models of fossil bones are increasingly available, thus opening a novel frontier in the study of organismal size and shape evolution. We provide an example of how photogrammetry can be combined with Geometric Morphometrics (GMM) techniques to study patterns of morphological convergence in the mammalian group of Xenarthra. Xenarthrans are currently represented by armadillos, sloths

Two evolutionarily distinct systems for cytochrome c maturation in mitochondria—Systems I and III—have been found among diverse aerobic eukaryotes. System I requires a set of proteins including mitochondrion-encoded CcmA, CcmB, CcmC, and CcmF (or a subset of the four proteins). On the other hand, System III is operated exclusively by nucleus-encoded proteins. The two systems are mutually exclusive