1,276 results match your criteria: "Centre for Ecology and Conservation[Affiliation]"

Fish and tips: Historical and projected changes in commercial fish species' habitat suitability in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sci Total Environ

October 2024

Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC), Departament de Recursos Marins Renovables, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; Ecopath International Initiative (EII), Barcelona, Spain.

Global warming has significantly altered fish distribution patterns in the ocean, shifting towards higher latitudes and deeper waters. This is particularly relevant in high-latitude marine ecosystems, where climate-driven environmental changes are occurring at higher rates than the global average. Species Distribution Models (SDMs) are increasingly being used for predicting distributional shifts in habitat suitability for marine species as a response to climate change.

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The evolution of morphological castes under decoupled control.

J Evol Biol

August 2024

Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, United Kingdom.

Eusociality, where units that previously reproduced independently function as one entity, is of major interest in evolutionary biology. Obligate eusociality is characterized by morphologically differentiated castes and reduced conflict. We explore conditions under which morphological castes may arise in the Hymenoptera and factors constraining their evolution.

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Establishing marine species distributions is essential for guiding management and can be estimated by identifying potential favorable habitat at a population level and incorporating individual-level information (e.g., movement constraints) to inform realized space use.

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Theoretically, males should increase their ejaculate expenditure when the probability of sperm competition occurring (or risk) is high but decrease ejaculate expenditure as the number of competing ejaculates (or intensity) increases. Here we examine whether male decorated crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) use cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) transferred to females by rival males at mating to assess the risk and intensity of sperm competition and adjust their ejaculate accordingly. Unmated females and those perfumed with CHCs extracted from one, three, or five males could be distinguished chemically, providing a reliable cue of the risk and intensity of sperm competition.

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In autumn 1950 David and Elizabeth Lack chanced upon a huge migration of insects and birds flying through the Pyrenean Pass of Bujaruelo, from France into Spain, later describing the spectacle as combining both grandeur and novelty. The intervening years have seen many changes to land use and climate, posing the question as to the current status of this migratory phenomenon. In addition, a lack of quantitative data has prevented insights into the ecological impact of this mass insect migration and the factors that may influence it.

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Ongoing technological advances have led to a rapid increase in the number, type and scope of animal-tracking studies. In response, many software tools have been developed to analyse animal movement data. These tools generally focus on movement modelling, but the steps required to clean raw data files from different tracking devices have been largely ignored.

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From December 2012 to June 2014, 796 Pacific guitarfish were caught in 183 fishing sets in northern Peru. Catch occurred in 86.3% of sets.

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Aggressive interactions influence cognitive performance in Western Australian magpies.

Proc Biol Sci

June 2024

Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia.

Extensive research has investigated the relationship between the social environment and cognition, suggesting that social complexity may drive cognitive evolution and development. However, evidence for this relationship remains equivocal. Group size is often used as a measure of social complexity, but this may not capture intraspecific variation in social interactions.

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Article Synopsis
  • The IPBES invasive alien species assessment is the first comprehensive global review focusing on the threats posed by invasive species to biodiversity and human wellbeing, synthesizing over 13,000 scientific and local knowledge sources.
  • It reveals significant and escalating threats from invasive alien species and outlines practical management strategies for addressing these challenges.
  • The assessment has garnered support from 143 member states, urging immediate action against biological invasions to protect ecosystems and communities worldwide.
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The diversification of macroscopic pelagic arthropods such as caryocaridid archaeostracans was a crucial aspect of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, and the plankton revolution. A pelagic mode of life has been inferred for caryocaridids from their common presence in black graptolitic shales alongside carapace morphologies that appear streamlined. However, the hydrodynamic performance within the group and comparisons with other archaeostracans were lacking.

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Effectiveness of eDNA for monitoring riverine macroinvertebrates.

Sci Total Environ

September 2024

Biosciences, Geoffrey Pope Building, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK. Electronic address:

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a technique increasingly used for monitoring organisms in the natural environment including riverine macroinvertebrates. However, the effectiveness of eDNA for monitoring riverine macroinvertebrates compared with the more traditional method of sampling the organisms directly and identifying them via morphological analysis, has not been well established. Furthermore, the ability of the various gene markers and PCR primer sets to detect the full range of riverine invertebrate taxa has not been quantified.

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The genome sequence of the Common Spotted Hoverfly, (Meigen, 1822).

Wellcome Open Res

October 2023

Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, England, UK.

We present a genome assembly from an individual female (the Common Spotted Hoverfly; Arthropoda; Insecta; Diptera; Syrphidae). The genome sequence is 616.9 megabases in span.

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The genome sequence of the slender grass hoverfly, (Fabricius, 1794).

Wellcome Open Res

October 2023

Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, England, UK.

We present a genome assembly from an individual male (the slender grass hoverfly; Arthropoda; Insecta; Diptera; Syrphidae). The genome sequence is 738.2 megabases in span.

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Indicator models of sexual selection posit that females choose males on the basis of traits that reveal male genetic quality and thereby enjoy increased offspring production. Here, we report that females of the butterfly Eurema hecabe receive indirect benefits from choosing males based on their ultraviolet (UV) wing coloration, a heritable and condition-dependent trait in this species. We first used a large laboratory-bred pedigree to demonstrate a per-family association between inbreeding and male UV trait value.

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Anthropogenic disturbance affects calling and collective behaviour in corvid roosts.

Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci

July 2024

Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK.

Acoustic communication plays an important role in coordinating group dynamics and collective movements across a range of taxa. However, anthropogenic disturbance can inhibit the production or reception of acoustic signals. Here, we investigate the effects of noise and light pollution on the calling and collective behaviour of wild jackdaws (), a highly social corvid species that uses vocalizations to coordinate collective movements at winter roosting sites.

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Adapting genetic algorithms for artificial evolution of visual patterns under selection from wild predators.

PLoS One

May 2024

Faculty of Environment, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom.

Camouflage is a widespread and well-studied anti-predator strategy, yet identifying which patterns provide optimal protection in any given scenario remains challenging. Besides the virtually limitless combinations of colours and patterns available to prey, selection for camouflage strategies will depend on complex interactions between prey appearance, background properties and predator traits, across repeated encounters between co-evolving predators and prey. Experiments in artificial evolution, pairing psychophysics detection tasks with genetic algorithms, offer a promising way to tackle this complexity, but sophisticated genetic algorithms have so far been restricted to screen-based experiments.

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Article Synopsis
  • The text discusses a study on genomic diversity in the great tit (Parus major), focusing on how environmental factors and demographic history impact genetic variation across different populations in Europe.
  • The research, which is one of the most extensive genomic surveys for a wild vertebrate, involved analyzing about 500,000 SNP markers from 647 individuals across 29 populations to understand patterns of genomic divergence.
  • Findings revealed that genetic differentiation varied significantly among populations, influenced by factors like local recombination rates and natural selection, with reduced diversity noted in island populations and evidence of recent adaptive changes at the edges of the species' range.
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Many insects depend on high-altitude, migratory movements during part of their life cycle. The daily timing of these migratory movements is not random, e.g.

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Towards a standardized framework for AI-assisted, image-based monitoring of nocturnal insects.

Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci

June 2024

Department of Ecoscience and Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, C.F Møllers Alle 3, Aarhus, Denmark.

Article Synopsis
  • Automated sensors can enhance global monitoring of nocturnal insects by providing a systematic approach from device development to data processing.
  • These systems use lights to attract insects, cameras to capture images, and computers for managing data and processing schedules, while metadata helps streamline sampling efficiency.
  • Effective data processing techniques, including bias correction in species detection, are essential to cope with the large volumes of images collected, emphasizing the need for improved monitoring strategies to address biodiversity loss.
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Understanding the influence of social interactions on individual fitness is key to improving our predictions of phenotypic evolution. However, we often overlook the different components of selection regimes arising from interactions among organisms, including social, correlational, and indirect selection. This is due to the challenging sampling efforts required in natural populations to measure phenotypes expressed during interactions and individual fitness.

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Using stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen of turtle tissues and putative prey items, we investigated the diet of immature green turtles and hawksbill turtles foraging in the lagoon of Aldabra Atoll, a relatively undisturbed atoll in the southern Seychelles. Aldabra offers a unique environment for understanding sea turtle ecology. Green turtles mostly consumed seagrass and brown algae while hawksbill turtles mainly consumed mangroves and invertebrates.

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UDP-glycosyltransferases act as key determinants of host plant range in generalist and specialist species.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

May 2024

State Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-breeding and Integrated Utilization, School of Life Sciences, College of Agriculture, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, Henan, China.

Phytophagous insects have evolved sophisticated detoxification systems to overcome the antiherbivore chemical defenses produced by many plants. However, how these biotransformation systems differ in generalist and specialist insect species and their role in determining insect host plant range remains an open question. Here, we show that UDP-glucosyltransferases (UGTs) play a key role in determining the host range of insect species within the genus.

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Massive seasonal high-altitude migrations of nocturnal insects above the agricultural plains of East China.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

April 2024

Centre for Ecology and Conservation, and Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, United Kingdom.

Long-distance migrations of insects contribute to ecosystem functioning but also have important economic impacts when the migrants are pests or provide ecosystem services. We combined radar monitoring, aerial sampling, and searchlight trapping, to quantify the annual pattern of nocturnal insect migration above the densely populated agricultural lands of East China. A total of ~9.

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