Wolf Predation on White-tailed Deer Before, During, and After a Historically Mild Winter in Northern Minnesota.

In many southern boreal ecosystems of North America, wolves are the primary predators of white-tailed deer, and white-tailed deer are the primary prey of wolves. Furthermore, wolf-deer systems have and will continue to become more common as white-tailed deer range continues expanding northward in North America. Despite this, there is little information on kill rates of wolves on deer (i.

Accurately estimating correlations between demographic parameters: A comment on Deane et al. (2023).

Estimating correlations among demographic parameters is an important method in population ecology. A recent paper by Deane et al. ( 13:e9847, 2023) attempted to explore the effects of different priors for covariance matrices on inference when using mark-recovery data.

Disease resistance gene count increases with rainfall in .

Intracellular plant defense against pathogens is mediated by a class of disease resistance genes known as NB-LRRs or NLRs (R genes). Many of the diseases these genes protect against are more prevalent in regions of higher rainfall, which provide better growth conditions for the pathogens. As such, we expect a higher selective pressure for the maintenance and proliferation of R genes in plants adapted to wetter conditions.

Recent advances in enzymatic carbon-carbon bond formation.

Enzymatic carbon-carbon (C-C) bond formation reactions have become an effective and invaluable tool for designing new biological and medicinal molecules, often with asymmetric features. This review provides a systematic overview of key C-C bond formation reactions and enzymes, with the focus of reaction mechanisms and recent advances. These reactions include the aldol reaction, Henry reaction, Knoevenagel condensation, Michael addition, Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation, Mannich reaction, Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction, Diels-Alder reaction, acyloin condensations Thiamine Diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent enzymes, oxidative and reductive C-C bond formation, C-C bond formation through C1 resource utilization, radical enzymes for C-C bond formation, and other C-C bond formation reactions.

Insect-microbe interactions and their influence on organisms and ecosystems.

Microorganisms are important associates of insect and arthropod species. Insect-associated microbes, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, can drastically impact host physiology, ecology, and fitness, while many microbes still have no known role. Over the past decade, we have increased our knowledge of the taxonomic composition and functional roles of insect-associated microbiomes and viromes.

ZooTraits: An R shiny app for exploring animal trait data for ecological and evolutionary research.

Animal trait data are scattered across several datasets, making it challenging to compile and compare trait information across different groups. For plants, the TRY database has been an unwavering success for those ecologists interested in addressing how plant traits influence a wide variety of processes and patterns, but the same is not true for most animal taxonomic groups. Here, we introduce ZooTraits, a Shiny app designed to help users explore and obtain animal trait data for research in ecology and evolution.

Larval swimming in the sea anemone is sensitive to a broad light spectrum and exhibits a wavelength-dependent behavioral switch.

In nearly all animals, light-sensing mediated by opsin visual pigments is important for survival and reproduction. Eyeless light-sensing systems, though vital for many animals, have received relatively less attention than forms with charismatic or complex eyes. Despite no single light-sensing organ, the sea anemone has 29 opsin genes and multiple light-mediated behaviors throughout development and reproduction, suggesting a deceptively complex light-sensing system.

Verified hypotheses on the "nurse" and "burial" effects on introduced regeneration in a mesic Scots pine forest.

A previous study on the encroachment of North American northern red oak L. into the mesic Scots pine forest (in central Poland) revealed high abundances of seedlings and saplings under shrubs, with lower abundances in open areas or clumps of bilberry L. It was unclear whether the regeneration success of is enhanced by the presence of shrubs due to their "nurse effect", and how burying acorns of different sizes in soil or moss affects the survival of oak seeds and seedlings (a "burial effect").

Linked selection and the evolution of altruism in family-structured populations.

Much research on the evolution of altruism via kin selection, group selection, and reciprocity focuses on the role of a single locus or quantitative trait. Very few studies have explored how linked selection, or selection at loci neighboring an altruism locus, impacts the evolution of altruism. While linked selection can decrease the efficacy of selection at neighboring loci, it might have other effects including promoting selection for altruism by increasing relatedness in regions of low recombination.

Drivers of plant diversity, community composition, functional traits, and soil processes along an alpine gradient in the central Chilean Andes.

High alpine regions are threatened but understudied ecosystems that harbor diverse endemic species, making them an important biome for testing the role of environmental factors in driving functional trait-mediated community assembly processes. We tested the hypothesis that plant community assembly along a climatic and elevation gradient is influenced by shifts in habitat suitability, which drive plant functional, phylogenetic, and spectral diversity. In a high mountain system (2400-3500 m) Región Metropolitana in the central Chilean Andes (33°S, 70°W).

Eat or be eaten: Implications of potential exploitative competition between wolves and humans across predator-savvy and predator-naive deer populations.

Recolonization of predators to their former ranges is becoming increasingly prevalent. Such recolonization places predators among their prey once again; the latter having lived without predation (from such predators) for a considerable time. This renewed coexistence creates opportunities to explore predation ecology at both fundamental and applied levels.

Chronosequence of invasion reveals minimal losses of population genomic diversity, niche expansion, and trait divergence in the polyploid, leafy spurge.

Rapid evolution may play an important role in the range expansion of invasive species and modify forecasts of invasion, which are the backbone of land management strategies. However, losses of genetic variation associated with colonization bottlenecks may constrain trait and niche divergence at leading range edges, thereby impacting management decisions that anticipate future range expansion. The spatial and temporal scales over which adaptation contributes to invasion dynamics remain unresolved.

Exposing the error hidden in plain sight: A critique of Calder's (1983) group selectionist seed-dispersal hypothesis for mistletoe "mimicry" of host plants.

Some mistletoe species (Loranthaceae) resemble their host plants to a striking degree. Various mechanisms have been proposed for the developmental origins of novel traits that cause mistletoes to appear similar to their hosts, as well as for the adaptive phenotypic evolution of such traits. Calder (1983) proposed a logically flawed group selectionist seed-dispersal hypothesis for mistletoes to resemble their hosts.

Patchy and Pink: Dynamics of a Chlainomonas sp. (Chlamydomonadales, chlorophyta) algal bloom on Bagley Lake, North Cascades, WA.

Snow algal blooms frequently occur throughout alpine and polar environments during spring and summer months; however, our understanding of bloom dynamics is limited. We tracked a recurrent bloom of Chlainomonas sp. on Upper Bagley Lake in the North Cascade Mountains, USA, to assess the spatiotemporal dynamics in bloom color intensity, community photophysiology, and community composition over eight weeks.

Ultra-processed foods: Processing versus formulation.

The four-tiered NOVA food classification defines foods based on their degree of processing and ranges from native unprocessed foods to so-called "ultra-processed" foods. Recent publications have suggested that foods classified as ultra-processed are unhealthy and contribute to the obesity epidemic. It is important to distinguish between formulation and processing of a food.

A new genus and new species of Ecuadorian Philopotamidae (Trichoptera).

A new genus and species of Philopotamidae (Trichoptera), , is described from the southern slope of Volcán Sumaco in Ecuador. This new genus differs from other philopotamid genera by having very elongate, narrow anterolateral apodemes on segment IX and the inferior appendages, a very elongate and narrow tergum X, and a very elongate, tubular phallus. In addition, two new species of are also described and illustrated from Sumaco as well as three new Chimarra (Chimarra), one new Chimarra (Curgia), and one new Chimarra (Otarrha) from the eastern and western slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes.

A review of the (Hymenoptera, Halictidae) and keys to the shiny green Halictinae of the midwestern United States.

and other shiny green Halictinae have had various taxonomic issues and are often misidentified. One prevailing taxonomic issue is that (Fabricius) has two subspecies, that have long been recognized as morphologically distinct ( and (Smith), but the subspecies are inconsistently applied in the literature. Here, we review the of the Midwest and further address the species in the broader United States to resolve the outstanding taxonomic issues with the midwestern species.

New species of the genus Stephens from Africa (Trichoptera, Philopotamidae) and characterization of the African groups and subgroups of the genus.

This paper is primarily based on collections in Tanzania and Ghana in 1990-1991 and 1991-1994, respectively. In all, 46 species of were collected, 31 of them new species. All these species are illustrated or re-illustrated and described in the paper.

A preliminary molecular phylogeny of the family Hydroptilidae (Trichoptera): an exploration of combined targeted enrichment data and legacy sequence data.

Hydroptilidae is an extremely diverse family within Trichoptera, containing over 2,600 known species, that displays a wide array of ecological, morphological, and habitat diversity. However, exploration into the evolutionary history of microcaddisflies based on current phylogenetic methods is mostly lacking. The purpose of this study is to provide a proof-of-concept that the use of molecular data, particularly targeted enrichment data, and statistically supported methods of analysis can result in the construction of a stable phylogenetic framework for the microcaddisflies.

The Trichoptera of Panama. XIX. Additions to and a review of the genus (Trichoptera, Hydroptilidae) in Panama.

Prior to 2016, three species of caddisflies in the genus (Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae) were known from Panama. Subsequently, one new species and four new country records were added to Panama's fauna. Herein, four new species are described ( , , , ) and two new country records added for Panama ( Flint, 1996, Thomson & Holzenthal, 2015).

Catalog of the Hydroptilidae (Insecta, Trichoptera).

The microcaddisfly (Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae) fauna is catalogued from a review of more than 1,300 literature citations through the end of 2020 to include 2,665 currently recognized, valid species in six subfamilies and 76 genera. Fourteen subspecies are included in the total as well as 23 fossil species and three fossil genera. The family Ptilocolepidae (Trichoptera), also covered in this catalogue, comprises 19 valid species in two genera; two subspecies and two fossil species are included in the total.

A simple, low-cost method to age mammals? An alternative to cementum annuli analysis.

One of the most common and ubiquitous methods to age mammals is by counting the cementum annuli in molars, premolars, incisors, or canines. Despite the ubiquity and perceived simplicity of the method, cementum annuli analysis can be time-consuming, expensive, inaccurate, and imprecise, and require specialized equipment. Using beavers () as a test species, we developed a straightforward method to age mammals that requires little specialized equipment.

Divergent responses of butterflies and bees to burning and grazing management in tallgrass prairies.

Butterflies and bees contribute significantly to grassland biodiversity and play important roles as pollinators and herbivores. Grassland conservation and management must be seen through the lens of insect conservation and management if these species are to thrive. In North America, grasslands are a product of climate and natural disturbances such as fire and grazing.

Barberry plays an active role as an alternate host of in Spain.

Stem rust, caused by , is a destructive group of diseases. The pathogen uses species as alternate hosts to complete its life cycle. .