Article
Ecology
Ceeanna J. J. Zulla, Gavin M. M. Jones, H. Anu Kramer, John J. J. Keane, Kevin N. N. Roberts, Brian P. P. Dotters, Sarah C. C. Sawyer, Sheila A. A. Whitmore, William J. J. Berigan, Kevin G. G. Kelly, R. J. Gutierrez, M. Zachariah Peery
Summary: This study tested the effects of forest stand types on hunting and breeding success of California spotted owls in a mixed-ownership landscape in the Sierra Nevada, California. Results showed that spotted owls made shorter nocturnal movements in homogeneous territories with large areas of medium-aged forest, but delivered prey at a higher rate to nest sites in territories with more forest edge. The study highlights the importance of considering species-specific trade-offs and individual life history activities when studying the effects of landscape heterogeneity.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Sara A. Kaiser, Kathryn C. Grabenstein, T. Scott Sillett, Michael S. Webster
Summary: This study found that food availability does not affect offspring sex ratio in the migratory black-throated blue warbler, contradicting the predictions of the Trivers-Willard hypothesis. It highlights the challenges of studying mechanisms driving patterns in offspring sex allocation in migratory species.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ornithology
Nino Maag, Malcolm D. Burgess, Marta Maziarz, Shannon Luepold, John W. Mallord, Richard K. Broughton, Andrew Cristinacce, Raphael Arlettaz, Sandro Carlotti, Joan Castello, Tony Davis, Michael Gerber, Alex Grendelmeier, Christopher J. Orsman, Michael Riess, Pablo Stelbrink, Tomasz Wesolowski, Zephyr Zuest, Gilberto Pasinelli
Summary: This study investigated the reproductive success and its relationship with population trends of the wood warbler in different regions of Europe. The results showed that nest survival and the dominant nest predator class varied across regions and strongly influenced reproductive success. However, there was no consistency between reproductive success and population trends in different regions.
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ineta Kacergyte, Debora Arlt, Ake Berg, Michal Zmihorski, Jonas Knape, Zuzanna M. Rosin, Tomas Part
Summary: The size of wetlands is positively associated with local species richness, pair abundance, and chick abundance. Creating mainly small wetlands with a few larger ones is suggested to benefit breeding wetland bird communities at the regional scale.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Alice Monnier-Corbel, Anne-Christine Monnet, Leo Bacon, Blas M. Benito, Alexandre Robert, Yves Hingrat
Summary: The study indicates that reproductive success of North African Houbara bustard is negatively impacted by local densities, with this relationship remaining constant over time and space and not varying with habitat quality.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Igor David da Costa, Jorge Luis da Silva Santos, Leonardo Lopes Costa, Juliano Silva Lima, Ilana Rosental Zalmon
Summary: Artificial reefs play a significant role in increasing fisheries productivity by providing resources, protection, and breeding sites for fish. This study demonstrates that artificial reefs attract and support fish during both the initial stages of development and reproduction periods. This has important implications for understanding the functionality and value of artificial reefs in fisheries.
ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Thomas V. Riecke, Johann Hegelbach, Michael Schaub
Summary: An understanding of the drivers of individual fitness is crucial for evolutionary ecology and life-history theory. This study used long-term data on white-throated dippers in Switzerland to investigate the effects of parental age, mating tactic, and individual heterogeneity on reproductive success. The results showed that reproductive parameters such as polygyny, hatching probability, and offspring survival were influenced by age and mating tactic, indicating the importance of these factors in determining individual fitness.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Jessica E. Marsh, John Iwan Jones, Rasmus B. Lauridsen, James B. Grace, Pavel Kratina
Summary: This study used structural equation modeling to analyze the effects of Ranunculus macrophytes on the abundance and growth of 0+ salmon, and investigated the underlying mechanisms. The results showed that Ranunculus cover had a direct positive influence on salmon abundance, but no direct influence on growth. Instead, it indirectly promoted growth through its positive influence on prey biomass.
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Susanne Kortsch, Leonardo Saravia, Alyssa R. R. Cirtwill, Thomas Timberlake, Jane Memmott, Liam Kendall, Tomas Roslin, Giovanni Strona
Summary: The arrangement of plant species and pollinator traits interact to determine pollination success, and the influence of these drivers depends on how pollination is estimated. Visitation rate overestimates pollination service, while other functional metrics reflect the frequency of individual pollinator revisits.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
A. Challen Hyman, Grace S. Chiu, Mary C. Fabrizio, Romuald N. Lipcius
Summary: This study used 21 years of survey data and GIS information to evaluate the nursery habitat value of blue crabs in three tributaries of lower Chesapeake Bay. The results showed that salt marsh surface area and turbidity were the main factors affecting crab abundance, while relative seagrass area had no association. Therefore, the identification of nurseries should consider multiple potential habitats and incorporate spatial and temporal statistical dependence.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Min Chen, Xue-Yong Zhao, Xiao-An Zuo, Shao-Kun Wang, Hao Qu, Yue Ping, Xu-Jun Ma, Liang-Xu Liu
Summary: Our study found that supplementing with pollen significantly increased seed set per flower, indicating pollen limitation in this species. Additionally, hand cross-pollination resulted in greater seed set in the restored habitat compared to the fragmented environment. More Apis mellifera visits were recorded in the restored habitats, potentially explaining the difference in seed production between fragmented and restored habitats.
Article
Ecology
Natasha D. G. Hagemeyer, Mario B. Pesendorfer, Walter D. Koenig, Eric L. Walters
Summary: In this 34-year study of acorn woodpeckers, the population increased considerably despite a reduction in high-quality breeding habitat. The increase in abundance was largely determined by the formation of new social groups, driven by the expansion of canopy cover and neighborhood-level acorn abundance. These findings suggest that scale-dependent processes and resource availability play important roles in driving changes in population dynamics.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Hanna Corell, Clare Bradshaw, Mattias Skold
Summary: In the stratified southern Baltic Sea, the Eastern cod's reproductive success could be decreased by increased suspended sediment concentrations caused by bottom trawling. The eggs risk sinking out of the reproductive volume into deeper, unfavourable conditions. The study found that water areas 3 km away from the trawling site experience suspended sediment concentrations above background levels, affecting a significant portion of the cod eggs.
ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Benjamin J. Padilla, Chris Sutherland
Summary: This research explores patterns of avian diversity and abundance in heterogenous landscapes using multiple dimensional gradients of human-mediated modification. The results show that avian richness is highest in more heterogeneous regions of the landscape, and individual species exhibit varying responses. This study provides valuable insight for conservation and management in human-dominated landscapes.
Article
Zoology
C. D. Robinson, S. L. Lance, M. E. Gifford
Summary: Coloration in response to selection might evolve relating to colorful traits that affect survival or reproductive success. In prairie lizards, males exhibit blue ventral patches while females have fewer. There is a correlation between testosterone level and coloration, but it is not a strong driver of the evolution of ventral coloration in S. consobrinus.
JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
(2021)