High latitude northern bats (Eptesicus nilssonii) reveal adaptations to both high and low ambient temperatures.

Insectivorous bats at northern latitudes need to cope with long periods of no food for large parts of the year. Hence, bats which are resident at northern latitudes throughout the year will need to undergo a long hibernation season and a short reproductive season where foraging time is limited by extended daylight periods. Eptesicus nilssonii is the northernmost occurring bat species worldwide and hibernates locally when ambient temperatures (Ta) limit prey availability.

State dependence of arousal from torpor in brown long-eared bats (Plecotus auritus).

To cope with periods of low food availability and unsuitable environmental conditions (e.g., short photoperiod or challenging weather), many heterothermic mammals can readily go into torpor to save energy.

Drivers and consequences of partial migration in an alpine bird species.

Partial migration, where a portion of the population migrates between winter and summer (breeding) areas and the rest remain year-round resident, is a common phenomenon across several taxonomic groups. Several hypotheses have been put forward to explain why some individuals migrate while others stay resident, as well as the fitness consequences of the different strategies. Yet, the drivers and consequences of the decision to migrate or not are poorly understood.

Ontogenetic niche shifts in a locally endangered tree species (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata) in a disturbed forest in Northern Ethiopia: Implications for conservation.

Understanding the responses of different ontogenetic stages to environmental and human disturbance factors is essential for developing efficient conservation strategies for endangered plant species. We examined how three ontogenetic stages of a locally endangered tree species, Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata, responded to environmental factors and human disturbance in Hugumburda dry Afromontane forest in Ethiopia.

Enhancing pollination is more effective than increased conventional agriculture inputs for improving watermelon yields.

Agricultural practices to improve yields in small-scale farms in Africa usually focus on improving growing conditions for the crops by applying fertilizers, irrigation, and/or pesticides. This may, however, have limited effect on yield if the availability of effective pollinators is too low. In this study, we established an experiment to test whether soil fertility, soil moisture, and/or pollination was limiting watermelon () yields in Northern Tanzania.

High frequency GPS bursts and path-level analysis reveal linear feature tracking by red foxes.

There is a need to quantify and better understand how wildlife interact with linear features, as these are integral elements of most landscapes. One potentially important aspect is linear feature tracking (LFT), yet studies rarely succeed in directly revealing or quantifying this behavior. In a proof-of-concept study, we employed short-term intensive GPS monitoring of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in a multiple-use landscape in southern Norway.

Univariate Community Assembly Analysis (UniCAA): Combining hierarchical models with null models to test the influence of spatially restricted dispersal, environmental filtering, and stochasticity on community assembly.

Identifying the influence of stochastic processes and of deterministic processes, such as dispersal of individuals of different species and trait-based environmental filtering, has long been a challenge in studies of community assembly. Here, we present the Univariate Community Assembly Analysis (UniCAA) and test its ability to address three hypotheses: species occurrences within communities are (a) limited by spatially restricted dispersal; (b) environmentally filtered; or (c) the outcome of stochasticity-so that as community size decreases-species that are common outside a local community have a disproportionately higher probability of occurrence than rare species. The comparison with a null model allows assessing if the influence of each of the three processes differs from what one would expect under a purely stochastic distribution of species.

Strong positive effects of termites on savanna bird abundance and diversity are amplified by large herbivore exclusion.

Vast areas of the African savanna landscapes are characterized by tree-covered termite mounds embedded within a relatively open savanna matrix. In concert with termites, large herbivores are important determinants of savanna woody vegetation cover. The relative cover of woody species has considerable effects on savanna function.

The effects of habitat management on the species, phylogenetic and functional diversity of bees are modified by the environmental context.

Anthropogenic landscape elements, such as roadsides, hedgerows, field edges, and power line clearings, can be managed to provide important habitats for wild bees. However, the effects of habitat improvement schemes in power line clearings on components of diversity are poorly studied. We conducted a large-scale experiment to test the effects of different management practices on the species, phylogenetic, and functional diversity of wild bees in power line clearings (n = 19 sites across southeastern Norway) and explored whether any treatment effects were modified by the environmental context.

Inter-assemblage facilitation: the functional diversity of cavity-producing beetles drives the size diversity of cavity-nesting bees.

Inter-specific interactions are important drivers and maintainers of biodiversity. Compared to trophic and competitive interactions, the role of non-trophic facilitation among species has received less attention. Cavity-nesting bees nest in old beetle borings in dead wood, with restricted diameters corresponding to the body size of the bee species.

Female offspring desertion and male-only care increase with natural and experimental increase in food abundance.

In species with biparental care, one parent may escape the costs of parental care by deserting and leaving the partner to care for the offspring alone. A number of theoretical papers have suggested a link between uniparental offspring desertion and ecological factors, but empirical evidence is scarce. We investigated the relationship between uniparental desertion and food abundance in a natural population of Tengmalm's owl Aegolius funereus, both by means of a 5-year observational study and a 1-year experimental study.