The evolutionary consequences of interactions between the epigenome, the genome and the environment.

The epigenome is the suite of interacting chemical marks and molecules that helps to shape patterns of development, phenotypic plasticity and gene regulation, in part due to its responsiveness to environmental stimuli. There is increasing interest in understanding the functional and evolutionary importance of this sensitivity under ecologically realistic conditions. Observations that epigenetic variation abounds in natural populations have prompted speculation that it may facilitate evolutionary responses to rapid environmental perturbations, such as those occurring under climate change.

Beyond CREA: Evolutionary patterns of non-allometric shape variation and divergence in a highly allometric clade of murine rodents.

The shared functions of the skull are thought to result in common evolutionary patterns in mammalian cranial shape. Craniofacial evolutionary allometry (CREA) is a particularly prominent pattern where larger species display proportionally elongate facial skeletons and smaller braincases. It was recently proposed that CREA arises from biomechanical effects of cranial scaling when diets are similar.

The surprising complexity and diversity of sperm storage structures across Galliformes.

In internal fertilisers, the precise timing of ovulation with the arrival of sperm at the site of fertilisation is essential for fertilisation success. In birds, mating is often not synchronised with ovulation, but instead females utilise specialised sperm storage tubules (SSTs) in the reproductive tract, which can ensure sperm are always available for fertilisation at the time of ovulation, whilst simultaneously providing a mechanism of post-copulatory sexual selection. Despite the clear importance of SSTs for fertilisation success, we know little about the mechanisms involved in sperm acceptance, storage, and release.

Navigating uncertainty in maximum body size in marine metazoans.

Body size is a fundamental biological trait shaping ecological interactions, evolutionary processes, and our understanding of the structure and dynamics of marine communities on a global scale. Accurately defining a species' body size, despite the ease of measurement, poses significant challenges due to varied methodologies, tool usage, and subjectivity among researchers, resulting in multiple, often discrepant size estimates. These discrepancies, stemming from diverse measurement approaches and inherent variability, could substantially impact the reliability and precision of ecological and evolutionary studies reliant on body size data across extensive species datasets.

Predator-induced shape plasticity in .

All animals and plants respond to changes in the environment during their life cycle. This flexibility is known as phenotypic plasticity and allows organisms to cope with variable environments. A common source of environmental variation is predation risk, which describes the likelihood of being attacked and killed by a predator.

Accelerating the open research agenda to solve global challenges.

Harnessing science-based policy is key to addressing global challenges like the biodiversity and climate crises. Open research principles underpin effective science-based policy, but the uptake of these principles is likely constrained by the politicisation, commoditisation and conflicting motives of stakeholders in the research landscape. Here, using the mission and vision statements from 129 stakeholders from across the research landscape, we explore alignment in open research principles between stakeholders.

Harbor porpoise losing its edge: Genetic time series suggests a rapid population decline in Iberian waters over the last 30 years.

Impact of climate change is expected to be especially noticeable at the edges of a species' distribution, where they meet suboptimal habitat conditions. In Mauritania and Iberia, two genetically differentiated populations of harbor porpoises () form an ecotype adapted to local upwelling conditions and distinct from other ecotypes further north on the NE Atlantic continental shelf and in the Black Sea. By analyzing the evolution of mitochondrial genetic variation in the Iberian population between two temporal cohorts (1990-2002 vs.

Conserved cellular patterning in the mesophyll of rice leaves.

The mesophyll cells of grass leaves, such as rice, are traditionally viewed as displaying a relatively uniform pattern, in contrast to the clear distinctions of palisade and spongy layers in typical eudicot leaves. This quantitative analysis of mesophyll cell size and shape in rice leaves reveals that there is an inherent pattern in which cells in the middle layer of the mesophyll are larger and less circular and have a distinct orientation of their long axis compared to mesophyll cells in other layers. Moreover, this pattern was observed in a range of rice cultivars and species.

Early life conditions influence fledging success and subsequent local recruitment rates in a declining migratory songbird, the Whinchat .

Life history traits and environmental conditions influence reproductive success in animals, and consequences of these can influence subsequent survival and recruitment into breeding populations. Understanding influences on demographic rates is required to determine the causes of decline. Migratory species experience spatially and temporally variable conditions across their annual cycle, making identifying where the factors influencing demographic rates operate challenging.

An allozyme polymorphism is associated with a large chromosomal inversion in the marine snail .

Understanding the genetic targets of natural selection is one of the most challenging goals of population genetics. Some of the earliest candidate genes were identified from associations between allozyme allele frequencies and environmental variation. One such example is the clinal polymorphism in the arginine kinase () gene in the marine snail .

Nitrogen availability and plant-plant interactions drive leaf silicon concentration in wheat genotypes.

Estimating plasticity of leaf silicon (Si) in response to abiotic and biotic factors underpins our comprehension of plant defences and stress resistance in natural and agroecosystems. However, how nitrogen (N) addition and intraspecific plant-plant interactions affect Si concentration remains unclear.We grew 19 durum wheat genotypes ( ssp.

Partner intrinsic characteristics influence foraging trip duration, but not coordination of care in wandering albatrosses .

Long-lived monogamous species gain long-term fitness benefits by equalizing effort during biparental care. For example, many seabird species coordinate care by matching foraging trip durations within pairs. Age affects coordination in some seabird species; however, the impact of other intrinsic traits, including personality, on potential intraspecific variation in coordination strength is less well understood.

Variation in mycorrhizal growth response among a spring wheat mapping population shows potential to breed for symbiotic benefit.

All cereal crops engage in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses which can have profound, but sometimes deleterious, effects on plant nutrient acquisition and growth. The mechanisms underlying variable mycorrhizal responsiveness in cereals are not well characterised or understood. Adapting crops to realise mycorrhizal benefits could reduce fertiliser requirements and improve crop nutrition where fertiliser is unavailable.

Removing climbers more than doubles tree growth and biomass in degraded tropical forests.

Huge areas of tropical forests are degraded, reducing their biodiversity, carbon, and timber value. The recovery of these degraded forests can be significantly inhibited by climbing plants such as lianas. Removal of super-abundant climbers thus represents a restoration action with huge potential for application across the tropics.

Genome-wide transcriptome signatures of ant-farmed epiphytes reveal key functions in a unique symbiosis.

Farming of fungi by ants, termites, or beetles has led to ecologically successful societies fueled by industrial-scale food production. Another type of obligate insect agriculture in Fiji involves the symbiosis between the ant and epiphytes in the genus (Rubiaceae) that the ants fertilize, defend, harvest, and depend on for nesting. All farmed form tubers (domatia) with preformed entrance holes and complex cavity networks occupied by .