The role of climatic variables on nest evolution in tanagers.

Avian nests are fundamental structures in avian reproduction and face strong selective forces. Climatic conditions are likely to have shaped the evolution of specific nest traits, but evidence is scarce at a macroevolutionary level. The Thraupidae family (commonly known as tanagers) is an ideal clade to understand the link between nest architecture and climate because it presents wide variation in nest traits.

Parasite management in aquaculture exerts selection on salmon louse behaviour.

The evolution of pest resistance to management strategies is a major challenge for farmed systems. Mitigating the effects of pest adaptation requires identifying the selective pressures imposed by these strategies. In Atlantic salmon () aquaculture, barriers are used to prevent salmon louse () larvae (copepodids) from entering salmon cages.

The role of replication studies in ecology.

Recent large-scale projects in other disciplines have shown that results often fail to replicate when studies are repeated. The conditions contributing to this problem are also present in ecology, but there have not been any equivalent replication projects. Here, we survey ecologists' understanding of and opinions about replication studies.

Infection in patchy populations: Contrasting pathogen invasion success and dispersal at varying times since host colonization.

Repeated extinction and recolonization events generate a landscape of host populations that vary in their time since colonization. Within this dynamic landscape, pathogens that excel at invading recently colonized host populations are not necessarily those that perform best in host populations at or near their carrying capacity, potentially giving rise to divergent selection for pathogen traits that mediate the invasion process. Rarely, however, has this contention been empirically tested.

The influence of potential stressors on oviposition site selection and subsequent growth, survival and emergence of the non-biting midge ().

Theory predicts that animals should prefer habitats where their fitness is maximized but some mistakenly select habitats where their fitness is compromised, that is, ecological traps. Understanding why this happens requires knowledge of the habitat selection cues animals use, the habitats they prefer and why, and the fitness costs of habitat selection decisions. We conducted experiments with a freshwater insect, the non-biting midge to ask: (a) whether females respond to potential oviposition cues, (b) to explore whether oviposition is adaptive in relation to metal pollution and conductivity, and (c) whether individuals raised in poor quality sites are more likely to breed in similarly poor locations.

Inferring species richness using multispecies occupancy modeling: Estimation performance and interpretation.

Multispecies occupancy models can estimate species richness from spatially replicated multispecies detection/non-detection survey data, while accounting for imperfect detection. A model extension using data augmentation allows inferring the number of species in the community, including those completely missed by sampling (i.e.

Little evidence of a road-effect zone for nocturnal, flying insects.

Roads and traffic may be contributing to global declines of insect populations. The ecological effects of roads often extend far into the surrounding habitat, over a distance known as the road-effect zone. The quality of habitat in the road-effect zone is generally degraded (e.

Specific MHC class I supertype associated with parasite infection and color morph in a wild lizard population.

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a large gene family that plays a central role in the immune system of all jawed vertebrates. Nonavian reptiles are underrepresented within the MHC literature and little is understood regarding the mechanisms maintaining MHC diversity in this vertebrate group. Here, we examined the relative roles of parasite-mediated selection and sexual selection in maintaining MHC class I diversity of a color polymorphic lizard.

A spatially integrated framework for assessing socioecological drivers of carnivore decline.

Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are key threats to the long-term persistence of carnivores, which are also susceptible to direct persecution by people. Integrating natural and social science methods to examine how habitat configuration/quality and human-predator relations may interact in space and time to effect carnivore populations within human-dominated landscapes will help prioritise conservation investment and action effectively.We propose a socioecological modelling framework to evaluate drivers of carnivore decline in landscapes where predators and people coexist.

Environmental determinism, and not interspecific competition, drives morphological variability in Australasian warblers (Acanthizidae).

Interspecific competition is thought to play a key role in determining the coexistence of closely related species within adaptive radiations. Competition for ecological resources can lead to different outcomes from character displacement to, ultimately, competitive exclusion. Accordingly, divergent natural selection should disfavor those species that are the most similar to their competitor in resource use, thereby increasing morphological disparity.

Useful surrogates of soil texture for plant ecologists from airborne gamma-ray detection.

Plant ecologists require spatial information on functional soil properties but are often faced with soil classifications that are not directly interpretable or useful for statistical models. Sand and clay content are important soil properties because they indicate soil water-holding capacity and nutrient content, yet these data are not available for much of the landscape. Remotely sensed soil radiometric data offer promise for developing statistical models of functional soil properties applicable over large areas.

The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project.

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.

Describing and understanding behavioral responses to multiple stressors and multiple stimuli.

Understanding the effects of environmental change on natural ecosystems is a major challenge, particularly when multiple stressors interact to produce unexpected "ecological surprises" in the form of complex, nonadditive effects that can amplify or reduce their individual effects. Animals often respond behaviorally to environmental change, and multiple stressors can have both population-level and community-level effects. However, the individual, not combined, effects of stressors on animal behavior are commonly studied.

A simple framework for a complex problem? Predicting wildlife-vehicle collisions.

Collisions of vehicles with wildlife kill and injure animals and are also a risk to vehicle occupants, but preventing these collisions is challenging. Surveys to identify problem areas are expensive and logistically difficult. Computer modeling has identified correlates of collisions, yet these can be difficult for managers to interpret in a way that will help them reduce collision risk.