Browse our latest Ecology articles

Page 35 of 50
    1. Ecology
    2. Evolutionary Biology

    Quorums enable optimal pooling of independent judgements in biological systems

    James AR Marshall, Ralf HJM Kurvers ... Max Wolf
    Consideration of signal detection theory shows how decision ecology relates to optimal collective decisions, helping explain the prevalence of quorum-sensing in even the simplest collective systems, such as bacterial communities.
    1. Ecology
    2. Evolutionary Biology

    Emergence of trait variability through the lens of nitrogen assimilation in Prochlorococcus

    Paul M Berube, Anna Rasmussen ... Sallie W Chisholm
    In the context of an organism's ecology, physiology, and macroevolutionary history, inheritance and gene loss can yield emergent patterns of trait variability that give the appearance of gene acquisition.
    1. Ecology
    2. Evolutionary Biology

    Molecular basis of wax-based color change and UV reflection in dragonflies

    Ryo Futahashi, Yumi Yamahama ... Takema Fukatsu
    UV-reflective dragonfly wax is shown to consist of very long-chain methyl ketones and aldehydes, and a synthetic dragonfly wax spontaneously forms light-scattering fine structures with strong UV reflection.
    1. Ecology

    The return to water in ancestral Xenopus was accompanied by a novel mechanism for producing and shaping vocal signals

    Ursula Kwong-Brown, Martha L Tobias ... Darcy B Kelley
    When ancestral Xenopus returned to water ~170mya, they evolved a new method for producing courtship calls underwater without airflow, using vibrations that also preserve essential acoustic information on species identity.
    1. Ecology
    2. Evolutionary Biology
    Killifish illustration

    The Natural History of Model Organisms: Nothobranchius furzeri, an 'instant' fish from an ephemeral habitat

    Martin Reichard, Matej Polačik
    The turquoise killifish from ephemeral pools in African savannah combines extremely short lifespan with a standard vertebrate body plan – ideal attributes for a laboratory animal.
    1. Ecology

    Plant diversity maintains multiple soil functions in future environments

    Nico Eisenhauer, Jes Hines ... Peter B Reich
    Empirical evidence shows that conserving local plant diversity is a robust strategy to maintain multiple valuable ecosystem services provided by soils in both present and future environmental conditions.
    1. Ecology
    2. Evolutionary Biology

    Point of View: Managing a sustainable deep-sea ‘blue economy’ requires knowledge of what actually lives there

    Adrian G Glover, Helena Wiklund ... Thomas G Dahlgren
    High-throughput, integrative taxonomy has a crucial role to play in ensuring that the resources in our oceans are managed and developed in a sustainable manner.
    1. Ecology
    2. Microbiology and Infectious Disease

    Immune-mediated hookworm clearance and survival of a marine mammal decrease with warmer ocean temperatures

    Mauricio Seguel, Felipe Montalva ... Nicole Gottdenker
    In years with colder ocean temperatures, fur seal pups receive more maternal care and have a better energy balance, clearing hookworm infection earlier, which increases their chances of survival.
    1. Ecology

    The lost world of Cuatro Ciénegas Basin, a relictual bacterial niche in a desert oasis

    Valeria Souza, Alejandra Moreno-Letelier ... Luis Enrique Eguiarte
    At Cuatro Ciénegas, the ancestral niche conditions of the ancient shores of Laurentia persisted along with its microbial communities that have been coevolving for a very long time.
    1. Ecology
    2. Evolutionary Biology

    Reconstructing the functions of endosymbiotic Mollicutes in fungus-growing ants

    Panagiotis Sapountzis, Mariya Zhukova ... Jacobus J Boomsma
    Domestication of endosymbiotic Mollicutes may have resolved nitrogen-recycling challenges for attine ants and enabled the evolutionary derived leaf-cutting ants to fully exploit their herbivorous niches.