The effects of grassland degradation on the genetic structure of a small mammal.

Grassland degradation is challenging the health of grassland ecosystems globally and causing biodiversity decline. Previous studies have demonstrated the impact of grassland degradation on the abundance and behavior of small mammals. Little is known about how it affects the genetic structure of gregarious mammals in the wild.

Fecal DNA metabarcoding helps characterize the Canada jay's diet and confirms its reliance on stored food for winter survival and breeding.

Accurately determining the diet of wild animals can be challenging if food items are small, visible only briefly, or rendered visually unidentifiable in the digestive system. In some food caching species, an additional challenge is determining whether consumed diet items have been previously stored or are fresh. The Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis) is a generalist resident of North American boreal and subalpine forests with anatomical and behavioural adaptations allowing it to make thousands of arboreal food caches in summer and fall that are presumably responsible for its high winter survival and late winter/early spring breeding.

Alpine grassland degradation intensifies the burrowing behavior of small mammals: evidence for a negative feedback loop.

Globally, grassland degradation is an acute ecological problem. In alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau, increased densities of various small mammals in degraded grassland are assumed to intensify the degradation process and these mammals are subject to lethal control. However, whether the negative impact of small mammals is solely a result of population size or also a result of activity and behavior has not been tested.

Biological invasions as a selective filter driving behavioral divergence.

Biological invasions are a multi-stage process (i.e., transport, introduction, establishment, spread), with each stage potentially acting as a selective filter on traits associated with invasion success.

Spatial and temporal variation in prey color patterns for background matching across a continuous heterogeneous environment.

In heterogeneous habitats, camouflage via background matching can be challenging because visual characteristics can vary dramatically across small spatial scales. Additionally, temporal variation in signaling functions of coloration can affect crypsis, especially when animals use coloration seasonally for intraspecific signaling (e.g.