Nature Ecology & Evolution
@natecoevo.nature.com
Nature Ecology & Evolution publishes research and comment across the entire breadth of ecology and evolution, including both pure and applied topics. nature.com/natecolevol
Serving the truth or the state? rdcu.be/fx3na Megan Raby reviews a fascinating new book highlighting the involvement of American Museum of Natural History scientists in US government intelligence-gathering activities in Latin America and the Caribbean during World War I
Butterflies around the world are changing habitats - and experts say it’s ‘signalling a warning’
Butterflies around the world are changing habitats - and experts say it’s ‘signalling a warning’
New research shows early-warning species is on the move, expanding or contracting geographic range and changing altitude
theguardian.com
New Species Spotlight 👇 Crested rat (Lophiomys imhausi) rdcu.be/fxZwF Ignacio Lazagabaster’s finding of the bones of this poisonous mammal in a desert cave suggested a far greener history of the Judean Desert.
Crested rat (Lophiomys imhausi)
Nature Ecology & Evolution - Ignacio Lazagabaster’s finding of the bones of this poisonous mammal in a desert cave suggested a far greener history of the Judean Desert.
rdcu.be
Saturation mutagenesis of the FCY1 promoter in budding yeast shows that adaptation to 5-fluorocytosine is not accessible through single cis-regulatory mutations, despite large mutational effects on protein abundance 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The shape of fitness functions and the distribution of mutational effect sizes jointly limit adaptation by regulatory mutations - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Saturation mutagenesis of the FCY1 promoter in budding yeast shows that adaptation to 5-fluorocytosine is not accessible through single cis-regulatory mutations, despite large mutational effects on pr...
nature.com
Satellite-based analyses systematically underestimate carbon accumulation in mature forests. This study illustrates the importance of independent lines of evidence and suggests that terrestrial carbon budgets need to account for forest structure. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Widespread carbon accumulation in mature forests remains underestimated by satellite observations - Nature Ecology & Evolution
The authors combine satellites, repeat airborne lidar, dynamic global vegetation models and field plot monitoring across the conterminous USA to show widespread continued carbon accumulation in mature...
nature.com
Are current species conservation policies enough? New study indicates that common bird and common butterfly species across Europe are set to keep declining in the coming decades. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Predicted decline in common bird and butterfly species even under conservation policy scenarios in Europe - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Projections for 265 common bird and 144 common butterfly species across Europe under multiple sustainability scenarios, including those of existing conservation objectives, find no scenario in which t...
nature.com
This analysis shows that a widely used satellite-based ecosystem resilience indicator is a real signal linked to plant physiological responses to water deficit, provided that the estimation is based on appropriate methodological choice 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Physiological fidelity of a satellite-derived forest resilience indicator in the Amazon - Nature Ecology & Evolution
This analysis shows that a widely used satellite-based ecosystem resilience indicator is a real signal linked to plant physiological responses to water deficit, provided that the estimation is based o...
nature.com
A reconstruction of the evolutionary history of passerine body plans over the past ~50 Myr shows rare bursts of phenotypic innovation near the origin of major taxonomic groups that are temporally aligned with periods of increased climatic instability 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Rates of passerine body plan evolution in time and space - Nature Ecology & Evolution
A reconstruction of the evolutionary history of passerine body plans over the past ~50 Myr shows rare bursts of phenotypic innovation near the origin of major taxonomic groups that are temporally alig...
nature.com
This study shows that disease-risk alleles are generally associated with reduced longevity and increased fertility, while alleles that increase both fertility and disease risk have been favoured by natural selection 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Genetic trade-offs in fertility and longevity explain the maintenance of disease-associated alleles in humans - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Despite their detrimental health effects, disease loci persist in human populations. This study shows that disease-risk alleles are generally associated with reduced longevity and increased fertility,...
nature.com
A reconstruction of the evolutionary history of passerine body plans over the past ~50 Myr shows rare bursts of phenotypic innovation near the origin of major taxonomic groups that are temporally aligned with periods of increased climatic instability 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Rates of passerine body plan evolution in time and space - Nature Ecology & Evolution
A reconstruction of the evolutionary history of passerine body plans over the past ~50 Myr shows rare bursts of phenotypic innovation near the origin of major taxonomic groups that are temporally alig...
nature.com
Increasing nutrient diversity is expected to promote microbial diversity. This study shows that more complex environments can enhance resource uptake, intensify competition and lead to microbial biodiversity loss, challenging a central ecological assumption 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Increased nutrient diversity can induce loss of microbial diversity through enhanced resource uptake - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Increasing nutrient diversity is expected to promote microbial diversity. This study shows that more complex environments can enhance resource uptake, intensify competition and lead to microbial biodi...
nature.com
Using five years of daily lake plankton monitoring data and empirical dynamic modelling, this study shows that grazing, competition and facilitation reshape the temperature and nutrient conditions required for toxic cyanobacterial blooms 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Biotic interactions shape the realized niche of toxic cyanobacteria - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Using five years of daily lake plankton monitoring data and empirical dynamic modelling, this study shows that grazing, competition and facilitation reshape the temperature and nutrient conditions req...
nature.com
Obituary: Alan M. Wilson (1964–2026) rdcu.be/fwdSM Visionary comparative biomechanist and physiologist who pioneered experimental methods for laboratory and field research into large-mammal locomotor performance and ecology.
Alan M. Wilson (1964–2026)
Nature Ecology & Evolution - Visionary comparative biomechanist and physiologist who pioneered experimental methods for laboratory and field research into large-mammal locomotor performance and...
rdcu.be
Genomic and evolutionary basis of parthenogenesis in a disease-vector tick species 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Genomic and evolutionary basis of parthenogenesis in a disease-vector tick species - Nature Ecology & Evolution
The authors combine comparative genomics across arthropods with comparative transcriptomics, population genetics analysis and functional experiments in Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks to elucidate the...
nature.com
Combining genomic data from 156 nematode species with fossil calibrations, the authors develop a time-calibrated phylogeny that resolves the timing of nematode diversification and evolution of parasitism, while accounting for variation in divergence time estimates 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The timescale of nematode evolution reveals late and convergent radiations of parasitism - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Establishing a universal evolutionary timescale of nematodes has been complicated by their patchy fossil record and analytical limitations. Combining genomic data from 156 nematode species with fossil...
nature.com
A satellite-derived metric is widely used as proxy for ecosystem resilience despite the lack of mechanistic validation. Is it a real ecophysiological signal? How sensitive is it to methodological choices? Find out here (open-access): www.nature.com/articles/s41... @gerslab.bsky.social
Physiological fidelity of a satellite-derived forest resilience indicator in the Amazon - Nature Ecology & Evolution
This analysis shows that a widely used satellite-based ecosystem resilience indicator is a real signal linked to plant physiological responses to water deficit, provided that the estimation is based o...
nature.com
And here is the Research Briefing from the authors: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Biodiversity buffers the effects of drought on productivity most in drier grasslands and less so in forests - Nature Ecology & Evolution
We synthesized data from 75 biodiversity experiments across grasslands and forests worldwide to test how climate extremes and environmental context shape the effects of plant diversity on productivity...
nature.com
Experimental Interaction Ecology@eisenhauerlab.bsky.social · 3w agoNew collaborative paper led by Takehiro Sasaki out @natecoevo.nature.com with plenty of contributors from our group & others @idiv-research.bsky.social Biodiversity enhances productivity under drought in more arid grasslands but has limited effects in more arid forests 🌱🌲 doi.org/10.1038/s415...
New collaborative paper led by Takehiro Sasaki out @natecoevo.nature.com with plenty of contributors from our group & others @idiv-research.bsky.social Biodiversity enhances productivity under drought in more arid grasslands but has limited effects in more arid forests 🌱🌲 doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Biodiversity effects under climate extremes intensify with aridity in grasslands but not forests - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning under climate extremes may depend on ecosystem type and baseline aridity. Here the authors show that the effects of plant diversity on productivity are st...
doi.org
Compiling a global database of non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) from >2,000 plant species, the authors show that evolutionary history explains a larger proportion of NSC variation than environmental controls 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Evolutionary history drives organ-specific variability in plant non-structural carbohydrates - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Compiling a global database of non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) from >2,000 plant species, the authors show that evolutionary history explains a larger proportion of NSC variation than environme...
nature.com
Citizen science platforms must mitigate against the threat of generative AI rdcu.be/ftL0T Lees et al. highlight the growing problem of AI-manipulated media contaminating citizen science platforms
Citizen science platforms must mitigate against the threat of generative AI
Nature Ecology & Evolution - Citizen science platforms must mitigate against the threat of generative AI
rdcu.be
Citizen science platforms must mitigate against the threat of generative AI rdcu.be/ftL0T Lees et al. highlight the growing problem of AI-manipulated media contaminating citizen science platforms
Citizen science platforms must mitigate against the threat of generative AI
Nature Ecology & Evolution - Citizen science platforms must mitigate against the threat of generative AI
rdcu.be
Here the authors show that species’ range dynamics determine the ability of correlative and process-based models to predict extinction risk under climate change, and suggest how to update the IUCN guidelines accordingly 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Models used for Red List assessments underestimate climate-related extinction risk of range-shifting species - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Climate change is a threat to many species. Here the authors show that species’ range dynamics determine the ability of correlative and process-based models to predict extinction risk under climate ch...
nature.com
Our new commentary rdcu.be/ftx6h in @natecoevo.nature.com written with folks from @inaturalist.bsky.social and @cornellbirds.bsky.social shows that use of AI to manipulate existing or create new wildlife images undermines the huge value of vast citizen science databases. 🌍🪰🪶 #Ornithology 🧵 1/10
Citizen science platforms must mitigate against the threat of generative AI
Nature Ecology & Evolution - Citizen science platforms must mitigate against the threat of generative AI
rdcu.be
Most vascular plants' distribition are in disequilibrium w/ current climates, w/ species ranges best predicted by climatic conditions 10-18 yrs before sampling, especially so for closed-canopy species 🌳🌳🌲🌲 ➡️ Lagging dynamics or microclimatic processes ? @natecoevo.nature.com shorturl.at/m2EOx
Analysis of fitness and wing shape in laboratory-bred Drosophila reveals signatures of apparent stabilizing selection against extreme wing shapes, consistent with deep-time divergence in wing shape across the Drosophilidae clade 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Apparent stabilizing selection explains micro- and macroevolution of Drosophila wings - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Analysis of fitness and wing shape in laboratory-bred Drosophila reveals signatures of apparent stabilizing selection against extreme wing shapes, consistent with deep-time divergence in wing shape ac...
nature.com
A little-known type of alga dominated the deadly algal bloom that killed around one million marine animals in Australia in 2025 go.nature.com/4vnk9lq
Found: the toxic killer that caused an ocean catastrophe
Scientists identify an alga species as the culprit behind the deaths of more than one million marine animals.
go.nature.com
Almost every European plant species is out of equilibrium. Climate change is only part of the story—disturbance greatly shapes where species actually occur. 🚨Our new paper 🌱in @natecoevo.nature.com analysed 3,047 species across >1.1M European vegetation plots. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Our new work @natecoevo.nature.com shows Karenia cristata produces brevetoxins and is the dominant player in the prolonged bloom & mass mortality event in Southern Australia. Glad to be part of this work with Shauna Murray & the whole team! rdcu.be/fse9r The Conversation: tinyurl.com/3rnyxrnj
A catastrophic marine mortality event caused by a complex algal bloom including the brevetoxin producer Karenia cristata
Nature Ecology & Evolution - Genomic characterization and toxicity assays identify Karenia cristata as a brevetoxin-producing species that is the dominant component of the prolonged microalgal...
rdcu.be
Nature Ecology & Evolution@natecoevo.nature.com · 4w agoGenomic characterization and toxicity assays identify Karenia cristata as a brevetoxin-producing species that is the dominant component of the prolonged microalgal bloom causing mass marine mortality in South Australia 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Our July issue is now live! www.nature.com/natecolevol/... Featuring research on: ⛏️ Impacts of nickel mining 🪸 Habitat complexity on coral reefs 🦠 Evolution of osmotrophy Cover image from Guhlin et al. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In 2023, a big supplier of rainforest carbon offsets was exposed: over 90% of offsets were worthless Although the carbon credit industry questioned the validity of the research, a new study shows that while some projects reduced deforestation, over-crediting was rife 👇
Unobserved confounders cannot explain the discrepancy between claimed and actual carbon offsets
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