Article
Biology
L. Aulus-Giacosa, F. Gueraud, P. Gaudin, M. Buoro, J. C. Aymes, J. Labonne, M. Vignon
Summary: Changes in body size can be influenced by social and non-social factors. In naturally founded populations, body size tends to increase with spatial expansion but decreases as populations age and density increases. However, in human-introduced populations, body size remains constant or even increases as populations age.
Article
Plant Sciences
Dean E. Pearson, Yvette K. Ortega, Ozkan Eren, Diego Villarreal, Ylva Lekberg, Jose Hierro
Summary: Disturbance is a key factor driving exotic plant invasions, with disturbed areas favoring exotic species over natives. In this study, the researchers conducted a biogeographic investigation of disturbance across multiple plant species. They found that the skewed species pools in the introduced ranges, which were further influenced by introduction filters, resulted in the proliferation of ruderal-biased exotics in the more invasible range. The weak recovery of the native community in this range played a significant role in facilitating the invader recruitment.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maggie P. Lauria Sneideman, Victoria H. Meller
Summary: A protein that upregulates gene expression of the X chromosome has been discovered in male mosquitoes, which is crucial for equalizing gene expression between sexes in organisms with X and Y chromosomes.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Thomas L. Schmidt, T. Swan, Jessica Chung, Stephan Karl, Samuel Demok, Qiong Yang, Matt A. Field, Mutizwa Odwell Muzari, Gerhard Ehlers, Mathew Brugh, Rodney Bellwood, Peter Horne, Thomas R. Burkot, Scott Ritchie, Ary A. Hoffmann
Summary: Population genomic approaches have been used to study the invasion of Aedes albopictus in the Torres Strait Islands of Australia in 2004, revealing spatial genetic structure within populations and direct gene flow from Papua New Guinea. The study also identified recent movement between islands and introgression of linked alleles from PNG, indicating a highly interconnected invasive system.
Article
Plant Sciences
Rachel M. Germain, Mackenzie Urquhart-Cronish, Natalie T. Jones, Margaret M. Mayfield, Maia Raymundo
Summary: Populations in communities are affected by species interactions, and this study explores how these interactions evolve in natural communities. The authors conducted experiments transplanting different populations of an invasive grass into natural communities and found that the interaction strengths and fitness of the populations varied. The results demonstrate the importance of species interactions in determining fitness in ecological communities.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Melody Walker, Michael A. Robert, Lauren M. Childs
Summary: Mosquitoes are vectors of pathogens causing infectious diseases, and studying population dynamics and life history traits is crucial. Existing models often overlook density dependence in mosquito larval development, leading to inaccurate predictions. Incorporating density dependence into simulation models improves prediction accuracy, particularly in container-inhabiting mosquitoes like Aedes.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2021)
Article
Biology
Qin Zeng, Lingzhi She, Hao Yuan, Yuying Luo, Renke Wang, Wei Mao, Weifeng Wang, Yueting She, Chaojun Wang, Mengyi Shi, Ting Cao, Renxian Gan, Yongjun Li, Jiayi Zhou, Wei Qian, Shixiong Hu, Yong Wang, Xiaoying Zheng, Kuibiao Li, Lianyang Bai, Xiaoling Pan, Zhiyong Xi
Summary: The study on using the incompatible insect technique (IIT) to control Aedes albopictus showed significant reductions in the numbers of captured females and hatched eggs after releases of male mosquitoes in two different phases. Mosquito biting was also markedly decreased. Population replacement was effectively prevented without the use of irradiation to sterilize residual females.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ernesto Azzurro, Sonia Smeraldo, Manuela D'Amen
Summary: With over a thousand introduced species, the Mediterranean is the most heavily invaded marine region in the world. The study reconstructed the invasion and dynamics of exotic fish species, calculated introduction and spread rates, and investigated time correlates since introduction using a comprehensive dataset of georeferenced observations. The findings revealed an exponential increase in the arrival rate of introduced species and highlighted temporal and geographical patterns in the invasion process.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Meghna Singh, Suryanshu, Kanika, Gurmeet Singh, Alok Dubey, R. K. Chaitanya
Summary: Developing a malaria vaccine is challenging due to the parasite's ability to evade the immune system, but potential candidate vaccines have been discovered. Complete elimination of malaria requires a holistic multi-component approach. Recent research has focused on the sexual stages of malaria in the mosquito host and obtained important information on these stages.
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Ettore Vitali, Peter Rosenberg, Shiwei Zhang
Summary: By leveraging cutting-edge numerical methodologies, this study investigates the ground state and properties of a two-dimensional spin-polarized Fermi gas in an optical lattice. The results provide strong evidence of the stability of the elusive Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) superfluid phase, and show the existence of density order in the system, suggesting the possibility of an intricate coexistence of long-range orders in the ground state. The study also points out significant differences between the ground-state properties and the standard mean-field description, providing a compelling avenue for future theoretical and experimental explorations of spin imbalance, strong interactions, and superfluidity in this exotic phase of matter.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Henry J. J. de la Cruz, Cristian Salgado-Luarte, Gisela C. C. Stotz, Ernesto Gianoli
Summary: The study found that M. crystallinum indirectly facilitated the growth of M. nodiflorum by increasing soil salinity, which was due to the suppression of salt-sensitive plants by M. crystallinum. This indirect facilitation may lead to biodiversity loss.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2023)
Article
Biology
James S. Sinclair, Oliver C. Stringham, Bradley Udell, Nicholas E. Mandrak, Brian Leung, Christina M. Romagosa, Julie L. Lockwood
Summary: The international trade in exotic vertebrate pets has social and economic benefits, but also ecological, ethical, and human health impacts. Understanding the structure of the pet trade is crucial to optimize its benefits and mitigate negative effects, but data gaps hinder this effort. Network approaches, like the one presented in this article, can help inform and manage the growing demand for exotic pets.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Egle Jakubaviciute, Ulrika Candolin
Summary: Density-dependent behavioral interactions can facilitate invasion success and subsequent population expansion of non-native species. Sticklebacks dominate behaviorally over shrimp, but shrimp's activities and distribution are influenced by stickleback density.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2021)
Article
Biology
Bong Soon Lim, Ji Eun Seok, Chi Hong Lim, Gyung Soon Kim, Hyun Chul Shin, Chang Seok Lee
Summary: This study aimed to clarify the spatial distribution of exotic plants at national, regional, and local levels in Republic of Korea and their ecological impacts, as well as to prepare a strategy to reduce these impacts. The study found that exotic plants usually preferred disturbed areas such as lowlands, roadsides, and bare ground. At the national level, the distribution of exotic plants tended to be influenced by topographic conditions and increased around urbanized areas, agricultural fields, and coastal areas. Restorative treatment recovered the species composition and increased species diversity in the vegetation infected by exotic species.
Editorial Material
Ecology
Qinfeng Guo
Summary: In their influential paper, Shea and Chesson proposed a model (S&C model) to explore the scale dependency in the relationships between native and exotic species richness. Two updates were made in this study based on extensive new data: (1) changing the negative richness relationship between natives and exotics to non-consistent or non-significant; and (2) modifying the original diagram to accurately represent the richness and correlations of native and exotic species across different scales.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
