Trophic position determines the persistence of neotropical understory birds after forest disturbance.

Habitat loss and degradation are key drivers of the current biodiversity crisis. Most research focuses on the question of which traits allow species to persist in degraded habitats. We asked whether a species' trophic position or niche width influences the resilience of species in degraded habitats and to what extent habitat degradation affects trophic interactions between species.

Enhanced dispersal capacity in edge population individuals of a rapidly expanding butterfly.

Natural range shifts offer the opportunity to study the phenotypic and genetic changes contributing to colonization success. The recent range shift of the Southern small white butterfly () from the South to the North of Europe offers a prime example to examine a potential dispersal syndrome in range-expanding individuals. We compared butterflies from the core and edge populations using a multimodal approach addressing behavioral, physiological, and morphological traits related to dispersal capacity.

Geometric regularity in webs of non-orb-weaving spiders.

Geometric regularity of spider webs has been intensively studied in orb-weaving spiders, although it is not exclusive of orb weavers. Here, we document the geometrically regular, repetitive elements in the webs of the non-orb-weaving groups Leptonetidae and Telemidae for the first time. Similar to orb weavers, we found areas with regularly spaced parallel lines in the webs of , sp.

Stay in shape: Assessing the adaptive potential of shell morphology and its sensitivity to temperature in the invasive New Zealand mud snail through phenotypic plasticity and natural selection in Europe.

Climate change may force organisms to adapt genetically or plastically to new environmental conditions. Invasive species show remarkable potential for rapid adaptation. The ovoviviparous New Zealand mud snail (NZMS), , has successfully established across Europe with two clonally reproducing mitochondrial lineages since its arrival in the first half of the 19th century.

Ecological impacts of photosynthetic light harvesting in changing aquatic environments: A systematic literature map.

Underwater light is spatially as well as temporally variable and directly affects phytoplankton growth and competition. Here we systematically (following the guidelines of PRISMA-EcoEvo) searched and screened the published literature resulting in 640 individual articles. We mapped the conducted research for the objectives of (1) phytoplankton fundamental responses to light, (2) effects of light on the competition between phytoplankton species, and (3) effects of climate-change-induced changes in the light availability in aquatic ecosystems.

Population-specific responses of an insect herbivore to variation in host-plant quality.

Anthropogenic climate change poses a substantial challenge to many organisms, to which they need to respond to avoid fitness reductions. Investigating responses to environmental change is particularly interesting in herbivores, as they are potentially affected by indirect effects mediated via variation in host-plant quality. We here use the herbivorous insect to investigate geographic variation in the response to variation in food quality.

Physiological basis of interactive responses to temperature and salinity in coastal marine invertebrate: Implications for responses to warming.

Developing physiological mechanistic models to predict species' responses to climate-driven environmental variables remains a key endeavor in ecology. Such approaches are challenging, because they require linking physiological processes with fitness and contraction or expansion in species' distributions. We explore those links for coastal marine species, occurring in regions of freshwater influence (ROFIs) and exposed to changes in temperature and salinity.

UV radiation affects antipredatory defense traits in .

In aquatic environments, prey perceive predator threats by chemical cues called kairomones, which can induce changes in their morphology, life histories, and behavior. Predator-induced defenses have allowed for prey, such as , to avert capture by common invertebrate predators, such as sp. larvae.

Differences in seasonal survival suggest species-specific reactions to climate change in two sympatric bat species.

Long-lived animals with a low annual reproductive output need a long time to recover from population crashes and are, thus, likely to face high extinction risk, if the current global environmental change will increase mortality rates. To aid conservation of those species, knowledge on the variability of mortality rates is essential. Unfortunately, however, individual-based multiyear data sets that are required for that have only rarely been collected for free-ranging long-lived mammals.

Effects of temperature and drought on early life stages in three species of butterflies: Mortality of early life stages as a key determinant of vulnerability to climate change?

Anthropogenic climate change poses substantial challenges to biodiversity conservation. Well-documented responses include phenological and range shifts, and declines in cold but increases in warm-adapted species. Thus, some species will suffer while others will benefit from ongoing change, although the biological features determining the prospects of a given species under climate change are largely unknown.