Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Joshua P. Twining, W. Ian Montgomery, David G. Tosh
Summary: Invasive species pose a serious threat to biodiversity globally. Research on native and non-native species interactions found that the presence of European pine martens can reverse the replacement of red squirrels by grey squirrels in the region. However, despite the recovery of pine marten populations, grey squirrels are likely to persist in urban areas unless urgent control measures are implemented.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Finn C. G. Parker, Catherine J. Price, Clare McArthur, Jenna P. Bytheway, Peter B. Banks
Summary: Biological invasions are increasing globally, leading to more interactions between native and alien species. This study examines if native predators can overcome their naivete towards novel alien prey through a learned association between prey cues and food rewards, and if this conditioning increases their motivation to hunt alien prey. The study found that pre-exposing native bush rats to cockroach odor and food rewards increased their predation rates on the invasive cockroach species. The results suggest that predators can overcome naivete through learning, and pre-exposure to novel prey cues can enhance predation on alien prey.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Andrew Slade, Andy White, Peter W. W. Lurz, Craig Shuttleworth, David G. Tosh, Joshua P. Twining
Summary: Invasive species are a major threat to native species, both through direct and indirect interactions. Recent research has found that the recovery of native predators can benefit native prey species that compete with invasive prey. Using the red squirrel, grey squirrel, and squirrelpox virus system in North Wales as a case study, a stochastic spatial model was developed to examine the impact of the native predator, the pine marten, on community structure and the indirect effect on linked native-invasive prey species and a viral pathogen. The model demonstrated the potential role of native predators in reversing the replacement of a threatened native prey by regulating invasive prey and suppressing the viral pathogen.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Rujing Yang, Xiaoli Yu, Peixiao Nie, Runyao Cao, Jianmeng Feng, Xiaokang Hu
Summary: Grey squirrels from North America are displacing native squirrels in Europe but their climatic niche and range dynamics remain largely unknown. Through niche and range dynamic models, it was found that North American grey squirrels can survive in more variable climatic conditions and have a wider climatic niche breadth than European grey squirrels. If European grey squirrels occupied the same climatic niche space as North American grey squirrels, their potential range would be 2.45 times larger than their current range. The unfilling ranges of European grey squirrels compared to North American grey squirrels were primarily in France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, and Portugal. These findings emphasize the invasion potential of European grey squirrels and the importance of considering niche shifts in invasion risk assessment.
PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
David M. Midlick, Sarah S. Garris, Karl N. Rohrer, Michael H. Ferkin
Summary: Our experiment showed that female meadow voles were more influenced by mink urine or olive oil, while males did not exhibit such preferences. Additionally, gender differences play a significant role in environmental preferences and behavioral responses of meadow voles facing the risk of predation.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Daphna Shapiro Goldberg, Gil Rilov, Sebastien Villeger, Jonathan Belmaker
Summary: Invasive rabbitfish pose a threat to the marine ecosystem in the Mediterranean, but the presence of predator grouper in Marine Protected Areas can help mitigate their impact. Controlled experiments show that rabbitfish reduce their feeding behavior in response to chemical alarm cues from recently killed conspecific fish, suggesting that introducing predation cues in target areas could help manage the ecological impacts of invasive species.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Fisheries
Jennifer E. Smith, John Keane, Craig Mundy, Caleb Gardner, Michael Oellermann
Summary: Climate change increases the need to control range-extending species, but the predation rate of resident Southern Rock Lobsters on the Longspined Sea Urchins is low, indicating the need for additional control methods to safeguard ecological communities and commercial stocks.
ICES JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Mark S. Teshera, Rulon W. Clark, Amy E. Wagler, Eli Greenbaum
Summary: The text describes how most viperids are ambush predators and their hunting strategies and scavenging habits. Through captive trials, it was found that rattlesnakes do not prefer envenomated prey or venom cues of a specific species, challenging previous assumptions about their foraging behavior.
Article
Parasitology
Sajad Farahani, Per J. Palsboll, Ido Pen, Jan Komdeur
Summary: The study found that infected G. fossarum showed higher predator avoidance behavior, potentially aiding in the transmission of P. minutus to the definitive host; while uninfected gammarids did not appear to avoid the chemical cues of non-host predators.
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Joshua P. Twining, Colin Lawton, Andy White, Emma Sheehy, Keziah Hobson, W. Ian Montgomery, Xavier Lambin
Summary: Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity, and the efficacy of using coevolved natural enemies as biological control agents has been limited. This study examines the impact of restoring native predator populations on invasive species, using the pine marten-red and grey squirrel system as an example, and develops ecological theory related to natural biological control and evolutionary processes in vertebrate predator-prey interactions. The study finds that the evolutionary naivety of invasive species and lack of local refuges result in higher predation rates on naive prey compared to coevolved prey. Based on the evidence, the restoration of vertebrate predator populations is suggested as a crucial nature-based solution for addressing the invasive species crisis.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Matthew W. Rees, Jack H. Pascoe, Mark Le Pla, Alan Robley, Emma K. Birnbaum, Brendan A. Wintle, Bronwyn A. Hradsky
Summary: This study examines mesopredator release in response to targeted control of dominant predators. The results indicate that feral cat density can increase when red foxes are controlled, highlighting the importance of managing invasive predators in conservation efforts.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Denise Bertleff, Jette Diekmann, Sophia Brand, Ayse Guel Uenlue, Roman Bucher
Summary: The study compared aphid consumption and cue avoidance behavior of aphids between various ladybird species, finding that the invasive Asian ladybird and the native Coccinella septempunctata consumed more aphids compared to smaller native species. The results suggest that body size rather than ladybird origin determined aphid predation rates, and the lack of aphid avoidance behavior towards cues of the invasive Asian ladybird may contribute to its invasive success.
ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Sean Beckmann, Paloma Avila, Terence Farrell
Summary: Rodents use direct and indirect cues of predators to assess predation risk. While the responses to mammalian predators are well-studied, the understanding of responses to reptilian predators is limited. This study explores the responses of rodents to scent cues of snake predators in tropical and subtropical regions and finds that different species utilize different cues to evaluate predation risk.
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY
(2022)
Article
Mathematics
Zhenglong Chen, Shunjie Li, Xuebing Zhang
Summary: This paper studies the dynamics of a delayed reaction-diffusion predator-prey system incorporating the effects of fear and anti-predator behavior. The global attractor and local stability of positive equilibria are analyzed using the mathematical model. The Hopf bifurcation induced by time delay is also investigated. Numerical simulations are conducted to validate the theoretical analysis.
Article
Ecology
Vivek Srivastava, Allan L. Carroll
Summary: Efforts to minimize impacts of highly mobile insect pests in a warming environment are complicated by the dynamicity and uncertainty of their distributions. Tools that aid such management efforts are urgently required for successful outcomes. We modified the traditional static species distribution model (SDM) framework to incorporate dynamic biotic and abiotic predictors and found that dynamic SDMs provided more accurate predictions of the potential distribution of the mountain pine beetle (MPB) compared to static SDMs. The DSDM framework can help researchers understand the distributional dynamics of mobile species in climatically variable regions.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Joshua P. Twining, W. Ian Montgomery, David G. Tosh
Summary: Invasive species pose a serious threat to biodiversity globally. Research on native and non-native species interactions found that the presence of European pine martens can reverse the replacement of red squirrels by grey squirrels in the region. However, despite the recovery of pine marten populations, grey squirrels are likely to persist in urban areas unless urgent control measures are implemented.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Joshua P. Twining, Chris Mills
Summary: The article discusses cooperative foraging as an example of advanced social behavior, highlighting evidence of it in the yellow-throated marten in India. The authors emphasize that a tropical climate and seasonal changes in fruit resources may release the species from typical constraints associated with martens, challenging the current understanding of social behaviors in solitary carnivores. They suggest that advancements in biologging technologies will provide new insights into the social complexities of wildlife and should be used to refine ecological theories regarding sociality in animal populations.
Article
Ecology
Eleanor R. Dickinson, Joshua P. Twining, Rory Wilson, Philip A. Stephens, Jennie Westander, Nikki Marks, David M. Scantlebury
Summary: This study assessed the validity of using captive conspecifics and phylogenetically-similar domesticated counterparts for calibrating behaviour classification. Results showed high accuracy in behavioural classification of captive Alpine ibex and domestic pygmy goats, but using domestic counterparts to predict wild species behaviour was not sufficient. The study highlights the importance of calibrating biologging devices with similar conspecifics in environments that reflect the wild species' habitat.
Article
Biology
Rory P. Wilson, Kayleigh A. Rose, Richard Gunner, Mark D. Holton, Nikki J. Marks, Nigel C. Bennett, Stephen H. Bell, Joshua P. Twining, Jamie Hesketh, Carlos M. Duarte, Neil Bezodis, Milos Jezek, Michael Painter, Vaclav Silovsky, Margaret C. Crofoot, Roi Harel, John P. Y. Arnould, Blake M. Allan, Desley A. Whisson, Abdulaziz Alagaili, D. Michael Scantlebury
Summary: Research has shown that tag masses should not exceed 3% of carrier body mass and tag forces resulting from animal movement should be taken into consideration when determining acceptable tag mass limits. A tag-based acceleration method was used to clarify acceptable tag mass limits by quantifying animal athleticism in terms of fractions of animal movement time devoted to different collar-recorded accelerations. The corrected tag masses should constitute between 1.6% and 2.98% of carrier mass, depending on athleticism, leading to a fundamental change in how acceptable tag mass limits should be determined by ethics bodies.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Correction
Biology
Rory P. Wilson, Kayleigh A. Rose, Richard Gunner, Mark D. Holton, Nikki J. Marks, Nigel C. Bennett, Stephen H. Bell, Joshua P. Twining, Jamie Hesketh, Carlos M. Duarte, Neil Bezodis, Milos Jezek, Michael Painter, Vaclav Silovsky, Margaret C. Crofoot, Roi Harel, John P. Y. Arnould, Blake M. Allan, Desley A. Whisson, Abdulaziz Alagaili, D. Michael Scantlebury
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Joshua P. Twining, Chris Sutherland, Neil Reid, David G. Tosh
Summary: The recovery of native predators can have significant implications for species interactions, and this study shows that these interactions are mediated by habitat. The expansion of the native pine marten was not influenced by human habitat modification, but its effect on the red squirrel was dependent on habitat type. These findings highlight the importance of habitat in shaping the interactions between predators and prey.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
W. Ian Montgomery, Robert W. Elwood, Jaimie T. A. Dick
Summary: The introduction of non-native species has major negative effects on native species and biodiversity. This study found that the abundance of an invasive species constrained the spatial niche breadth of a native congeneric species, indicating the role of strong interspecific competition in species replacements.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Joshua P. Twining, Colin Lawton, Andy White, Emma Sheehy, Keziah Hobson, W. Ian Montgomery, Xavier Lambin
Summary: Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity, and the efficacy of using coevolved natural enemies as biological control agents has been limited. This study examines the impact of restoring native predator populations on invasive species, using the pine marten-red and grey squirrel system as an example, and develops ecological theory related to natural biological control and evolutionary processes in vertebrate predator-prey interactions. The study finds that the evolutionary naivety of invasive species and lack of local refuges result in higher predation rates on naive prey compared to coevolved prey. Based on the evidence, the restoration of vertebrate predator populations is suggested as a crucial nature-based solution for addressing the invasive species crisis.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Neil Reid, Maria F. Hughes, Rosaleen A. Hynes, W. Ian Montgomery, Paulo A. Prodohl
Summary: This study assessed the prevalence of hybridisation and genetic introgression between introduced European brown hares and endemic Irish hares. The results showed a high prevalence of bidirectional hybridisation and introgression in Ireland, which may pose a threat to the native species. Compared to other areas in Europe, the situation in Ireland is more complex. Therefore, further genetic surveillance and population monitoring are needed to understand the conservation implications of European brown hares in Ireland.
CONSERVATION GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Joshua P. Twining, Claire McFarlane, Denise O'Meara, Catherine O'Reilly, Marina Reyne, W. Ian Montgomery, Sarah Helyar, David G. Tosh, Ben C. Augustine
Summary: Effective monitoring of wildlife populations is crucial for conservation biology. This study compares three methods of population estimation for carnivores, finding that all approaches produce plausible and consistent results despite differences in precision, cost, and effort. The choice of method depends on objectives, funding constraints, and prior knowledge of the target species.
Article
Ecology
Ruth Kelly, W. Ian Montgomery, Neil Reid
Summary: Wildfires have detrimental impacts on temperate peatland plant and arthropod communities, resulting in a loss of species and a decrease in ecosystem functioning. While broad vegetation groups show some initial recovery, specific species like Sphagnum spp and bryophytes do not recover to their prefire composition. Arthropod communities also show differences between burnt and unburnt areas and fail to return to their original composition. The study highlights the need for a precautionary approach to prevent further wildfires and protect these important upland habitats.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Catherine O'Reilly, Peter Turner, Declan T. O'Mahony, Joshua P. Twining, David G. Tosh, Christopher Smal, Kate McAney, Ciara Powell, John Power, Denise B. O'Meara
Summary: The study on genetic diversity of pine martens in Ireland reveals evidence of a genetic bottleneck and low effective population size, which may result in further reductions of diversity in the future. Despite the lack of genetic structure, the Irish population shows reduced diversity compared to other carnivores in Ireland, with haplotypes shared or genetically similar to those commonly found in southern Europe.
BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2021)