Article
Ecology
Jakub Z. Kosicki
Summary: This study examines niche divergence and interspecific competition in the spatial distribution of sister species within a sympatric zone in Poland, showing how different habitat preferences can lead to co-existence of related congeners due to ecological mechanisms.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Sean E. H. Pang, Yiwen Zeng, Jose Don T. De Alban, Edward L. Webb, Boris Leroy
Summary: In this study, the effects of data misrepresentations on model performance were investigated by simulating anthropogenic range contractions. The results showed that data misrepresentations can lead to overprediction or underprediction of species distributions. Models with temporally dynamic land-use variables outperformed conventional models. This study is important for improving the establishment of species distribution models.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Valentina A. Ndolo, David William Redding, Isaac Lekolool, David Mumo Mwangangi, David Onyango Odhiambo, Mark A. Deka, Andrew J. K. Conlan, James L. N. Wood
Summary: Kenya has experienced a sharp increase in livestock anthrax cases, with only 12% of sub-counties accounting for almost a third of the cases. Recent studies have found limitations in capturing the spatial and temporal dependencies in the surveillance data of anthrax suitability. To overcome these limitations, researchers applied a Bayesian approach using R-INLA and developed spatial and spatiotemporal models to analyze a long-term dataset of livestock anthrax cases in Kenya. The models discovered a high intensity of anthrax in the Northern counties that have marginalized pastoralists, suggesting the need for targeted public health programs in these regions.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Zhongjing Cheng, Chengyu Weng, Stephan Steinke, Mahyar Mohtadi
Summary: The study utilized pollen data from a deep-sea sedimentary record in the northern South China Sea to explore the historical behavior of coastal wetlands over the past 140,000 years. The research found a close link between sea-level rise and the expansion of coastal salt marshes, indicating a certain resilience of coastal wetlands to future sea-level rise.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Maria Kahlert, Satu Maaria Karjalainen, Francois Keck, Martyn Kelly, Mathieu Ramon, Frederic Rimet, Susanne Schneider, Kalman Tapolczai, Jonas Zimmermann
Summary: In recent years, diatom taxonomy has advanced with the discovery of new species and the use of molecular genetics to reveal cryptic diversity. This study focuses on defining the ecological profiles and geographical distributions of unique molecular identifiers (ASVs) for the genera Fragilaria and Ulnaria. The study found that there are no general geographical barriers for the distribution of freshwater benthic diatom ASVs in Europe, but dispersal is not rapid enough to hide historical events. Fragilaria and Ulnaria ASVs showed considerable overlap in geographical distribution, habitat, and ecological preferences.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
J. H. Pantel, J. M. T. Engelen, L. De Meester
Summary: This study investigates niche use and co-occurrence patterns along an urbanization gradient. The results show that most species have conserved niche positions from rural to urban areas, but the niches of species occurring in both areas are partly unfilled in urban populations. Niche overlap is an important predictor of species co-occurrence. Urbanization has damaging effects on biodiversity, benefiting generalist species and making it difficult for species to occupy available niche space.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Mark A. Deka, Antonio R. Vieira, William A. Bower
Summary: This study compiled occurrence data of confirmed human and animal cases of anthrax from 1954 to 2021 in 94 countries, and developed updated maps of the global predicted ecological suitability of anthrax. The study revealed the relative risk and transmission risk associated with anthrax globally.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Charlotte Lambert, Jerome Fort
Summary: The study finds that bird migration is mainly driven by seasonal environmental conditions, and different migratory strategies of seabirds have different adaptability to seasonal environments. In contrast to previous studies, this research discovers that seabird migration is not triggered by unfavorable environment at breeding or non-breeding grounds, suggesting that it may be constrained by the scarcity of suitable breeding sites.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geography
Peter Demjan, Dagmar Dreslerova, Jan Kolar, Tomas Chuman, Dusan Romportl, Miroslav Trnka, Tibor Lieskovsky
Summary: This study applies ecological niche modelling to analyze a long time-series of archaeological data, revealing the development of settlement behavior and its dependence on environmental conditions. The results show that settlement strategies were remarkably stable and previous settlement was beneficial for subsequent land-use. Comparison with contemporary landscape typology highlights the long-term legacy of prehistoric settlement, making it an important heritage monument.
Article
Ecology
Janet Franklin
Summary: Species distribution modelling (SDM), also known as environmental or ecological niche modelling, has been widely used in various aspects of biogeography for the past 30 years. This tool helps in understanding historical biogeography, diversity patterns, species ranges, ecoregional classification, conservation assessment and predicting future global change impacts.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Nannan Wang, Yanyan Tian, Xianyong Cao, Mingjian Wei
Summary: This research provides a quantitative reconstruction of the past climate and forest cover between 544 and 480 ka, suggesting that the Luochuan area was sparsely covered by temperate deciduous forest under warm and humid conditions with a strong East Asian summer monsoon during this period. The study confirms that MIS 13 was a warm and humid period and that sparse forest developed on the tablelands of the central Loess Plateau, which provides new thinking on the ecosystem restoration program of the Loess Plateau.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Ayalew Assefa, Abebe Tibebu, Amare Bihon, Mohabaw Yemana
Summary: Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a highly contagious viral disease affecting sheep and goats in Africa and Asia. To eradicate this disease, efforts are being made by international organizations, who have developed a predictive model to identify suitable territories for the virus and predict a decrease in suitable territories by 2040, potentially eradicating the disease by 2030.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
O. Koch, W. A. Mengesha, S. Pironon, T. Pagella, I Ondo, I Rosa, P. Wilkin, J. S. Borrell
Summary: Despite global agricultural growth, food insecurity is increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study explores the potential cultivation range of enset, an underutilized indigenous crop, in southern and eastern Africa using ecological niche modeling. The findings suggest a significant expansion potential for enset cultivation, with integration of crop wild relatives allowing for even greater expansion into dryer and warmer regions. Although climate change may reduce the potential range in the future, there are still suitable areas in Ethiopia, Lake Victoria region, and the Drakensberg Range. By combining bioclimatic assessment with socioeconomic data, priority areas with high population density and food deficits can be identified for enset integration, potentially benefitting millions of people and enhancing climate resilience.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Matilda J. M. Brown, Timothy J. Brodribb, Gregory J. Jordan
Summary: The study uses no-analogue assemblages to infer the historical extinctions and climatic changes experienced by southern conifers during the Cenozoic period, revealing that most no-analogue pairs are due to changes in thermal distribution. This suggests that most southern conifers have thrived in wet climates throughout the Cenozoic, with a strong hydrological stability. Future threats to these plants are likely to come from changes in rainfall, rather than temperature.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Marlon E. Cobos, Claudia Nunez-Penichet, Peter D. Campbell, Jacob C. Cooper, Fernando Machado-Stredel, Narayani Barve, Uzma Ashraf, Abdelghafar A. Alkishe, Eric Ngeno, Rahul Raveendran Nair, P. Joser Atauchi, Adeola Adeboje, A. Townsend Peterson
Summary: Place-prioritization analyses allow researchers to prioritize areas for biodiversity conservation based on the geographic distributions of species. However, the vulnerability of these analyses to biases arising from incomplete and imbalanced distributional information is not well understood.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Aki Jarl Laruson, Matthew C. Fitzpatrick, Stephen R. Keller, Benjamin C. Haller, Katie E. Lotterhos
Summary: This study explores the relationship between GF Offset and fitness in the Gradient Forest algorithm, and finds that GF Offset is correlated with fitness offsets under both single locus and polygenic architectures. However, neutral demography, genomic architecture, and the nature of the adaptive environment can confound this relationship.
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Karel Mokany, Chris Ware, Skipton N. C. Woolley, Simon Ferrier, Matthew C. Fitzpatrick
Summary: This article presents a working guide to Generalized Dissimilarity Modelling (GDM) for characterizing and predicting beta diversity. It provides guidance on various aspects of GDM, including data preparation, model fitting, refinement, and assessment. The article also highlights the potential of GDM for spatial biodiversity analyses and suggests priority areas for future research and development.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Anoob Prakash, Sonia DeYoung, Susanne Lachmuth, Jacquelyne L. Adams, Kurt Johnsen, John R. Butnor, David M. Nelson, Matthew C. Fitzpatrick, Stephen R. Keller
Summary: This study examines the genetic and plastic variation levels of red spruce populations in response to climate change. The findings suggest that red spruce has some genetic variation and plasticity, but the plasticity of its phenology traits may have negative impacts on growth under warmer climates.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Karel Mokany, Chris Ware, Thomas D. Harwood, Rebecca K. Schmidt, Simon Ferrier
Summary: The article highlights the importance of tracking changes in biodiversity through ecosystem accounting, using the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia as a case study. Results show varying changes in biodiversity across different regions and features, with a general decrease in biodiversity in the northern regions and stable or increasing biodiversity in the southern regions.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Sarah R. Weiskopf, Zuzana Harmackova, Ciara G. Johnson, Maria Cecilia Londono-Murcia, Brian W. Miller, Bonnie J. E. Myers, Laura Pereira, Maria Isabel Arce-Plata, Julia L. Blanchard, Simon Ferrier, Elizabeth A. Fulton, Mike Harfoot, Forest Isbell, Justin A. Johnson, Akira S. Mori, Ensheng Weng, Isabel M. D. Rosa
Summary: Models can help decision-makers anticipate the consequences of policies, but their usage in decision-making is still uncommon. Active stakeholder involvement and building trust and relationships are crucial for impactful decision-making.
ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLING & SOFTWARE
(2022)
Review
Ecology
Katie E. Lotterhos, Matthew C. Fitzpatrick, Heath Blackmon
Summary: The fields of ecology, evolution, and systematics lack standardized principles for evaluating methods, leading to inconsistencies in method testing, ambiguity in limitations, and the risk of misapplication. This review highlights common pitfalls, the benefits of testing methods with simulated data, and best practices for method evaluations. It emphasizes the difference between evaluation and validation and discusses the strengths and limitations of different evaluation metrics.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Forest Isbell, Patricia Balvanera, Akira S. Mori, Jin-Sheng He, James M. Bullock, Ganga Ram Regmi, Eric W. Seabloom, Simon Ferrier, Osvaldo E. Sala, Nathaly R. Guerrero-Ramirez, Julia Tavella, Daniel J. Larkin, Bernhard Schmid, Charlotte L. Outhwaite, Pairot Pramual, Elizabeth T. Borer, Michel Loreau, Taiwo Crossby Omotoriogun, David O. Obura, Maggie Anderson, Cristina Portales-Reyes, Kevin Kirkman, Pablo M. Vergara, Adam Thomas Clark, Kimberly J. Komatsu, Owen L. Petchey, Sarah R. Weiskopf, Laura J. Williams, Scott L. Collins, Nico Eisenhauer, Christopher H. Trisos, Delphine Renard, Alexandra J. Wright, Poonam Tripathi, Jane Cowles, Jarrett E. K. Byrnes, Peter B. Reich, Andy Purvis, Zati Sharip, Mary O'Connor, Clare E. Kazanski, Nick M. Haddad, Eulogio H. Soto, Laura E. Dee, Sandra Diaz, Chad R. Zirbel, Meghan L. Avolio, Shaopeng Wang, Zhiyuan Ma, Jingjing Liang, Hanan C. Farah, Justin Andrew Johnson, Brian W. Miller, Yann Hautier, Melinda D. Smith, Johannes M. H. Knops, Bonnie J. E. Myers, Zuzana Harmackova, Jorge Cortes, Michael B. J. Harfoot, Andrew Gonzalez, Tim Newbold, Jacqueline Oehri, Marina Mazon, Cynnamon Dobbs, Meredith S. Palmer
Summary: Despite progress in understanding global biodiversity loss, there are still taxonomic and geographic knowledge gaps. Decision makers often rely on expert judgement, but cannot engage with large and diverse groups of specialists. A survey of biodiversity experts worldwide revealed consensus and differences in perspectives and estimates, with underrepresented groups recommending different conservation priorities and providing higher estimates of biodiversity loss.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Kinsey M. Brock, Marie-Claire Chelini, Cole Ayton, Indiana E. Madden, Cynthia Ramos, Jessica L. Blois, Panayiotis Pafilis, Danielle L. Edwards
Summary: Space is a limited resource that animals compete for, resulting in different behaviors and impacting their survival and adaptation. A study on the Aegean wall lizard found that different color morphs exhibit distinct behaviors during competition, which may contribute to the maintenance of morphs.
Article
Ecology
Tom Harwood, Jamie Love, Michael Drielsma, Clare Brandon, Simon Ferrier
Summary: This study develops a repeatable indicator for measuring the capacity of landscapes to retain biodiversity under different climate conditions. An Australian case study shows significant regional variations in biodiversity retention, depending on climate change rate, landscape heterogeneity, and anthropogenic impacts.
Article
Plant Sciences
Thibaut Capblancq, Susanne Lachmuth, Matthew C. Fitzpatrick, Stephen R. Keller
Summary: This study combines genomic methods and common gardens to investigate local adaptation in red spruce. It identifies environmental gradients and loci involved in climate adaptation and uncovers phenotypic evidence of local adaptation to climate.
Article
Ecology
Jeff W. W. Atkins, Jennifer Costanza, Kyla M. M. Dahlin, Matthew P. P. Dannenberg, Andrew J. J. Elmore, Matthew C. C. Fitzpatrick, Christopher R. R. Hakkenberg, Brady S. S. Hardiman, Aaron Kamoske, Elizabeth A. A. LaRue, Carlos Alberto Silva, Atticus E. L. Stovall, Elske K. K. Tielens
Summary: Lidar-derived forest structural diversity (FSD) metrics are useful for describing forest structural characteristics, but the spatial resolution over which these metrics are calculated is important and often overlooked. This study found that a spatial grain size between 25 and 75 m is appropriate for capturing the representative elementary area (REA) of various FSD metrics across different forest types.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Robert A. Boria, Jessica L. Blois
Summary: This study investigates the range dynamics and demography of the deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, and finds that climate change has played a significant role in shaping its population and differentiation.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
John W. Williams, Trisha L. Spanbauer, Peter D. Heintzman, Jessica Blois, Eric Capo, Simon J. Goring, Marie-Eve Monchamp, Laura Parducci, Jordan M. Von Eggers
Summary: Ancient environmental DNA data have the potential to provide insights into past global biodiversity dynamics at an unprecedented taxonomic extent and resolution, but this requires bridging bioinformatics and paleoecoinformatics and strengthening expert community governance and curation.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Susanne Lachmuth, Thibaut Capblancq, Stephen R. Keller, Matthew C. Fitzpatrick
Summary: Ecological genomic models are used to guide conservation practices in the face of environmental change. Genomic offsets provide a tool to assess genotype-environment disruption under climate change. This study assesses the impact of various modeling components on genomic offset predictions for red spruce and highlights the importance of climate change scenario and predictor set choice.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Correction
Ecology
K. Mokany, C. Ware, S. N. C. Woolley, S. Ferrier, M. C. Fitzpatrick
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)