Permafrost peatlands play an important role in global carbon cycle. However, the initiation and development of the permafrost peatlands and their response to climate change remains unclear, hindering our understanding of the past and future of this region. Here we reconstructed the evolution process of permafrost peatland in the Greater Khingan mountains (GKM) from Northeast China, since 3500 cal. yr BP using palynological evidence from permafrost peat cores, as well as an AMS 14C dating. The results indicated that from 3500 to 2900 cal. yr BP, the vegetation mainly consisted of Pinus, thermophilic broadleaved trees, and Polypodiaceae. From 2900 to 2250 cal. yr BP, the vegetation mainly consisted of Pinus, thermophilic broadleaved trees, and Artemisia, with the peatland initiation period characterized by a warm and humid climate. From 2250 to 1650 cal. yr BP, the vegetation mainly consisted of Pinus, Betula and Polypodiaceae, with cold and wet climates lead to an initiation of peatland accumulation. From 1650 to 750 cal. yr BP, the vegetation principally consisted of Pinus and Artemisia, and the dry, cold climate led to a slowdown or stagnation in peatland development. Late in this period, the warmer, wetter climate allowed the peatland to develop again, thereby completing the transition from a eutrophic peatland to a mesotrophic peatland. Since 750 cal. yr BP, the vegetation has mainly consisted of Pinus, Alnus and Cyperaceae, indicating a colder and wetter climate, and the peatland shifted to an oligotrophic state. Our results showed that the evolution of the GKM’s permafrost peatlands mainly influenced by climate, and permafrost peatlands development in the future will depend upon global climate change trends.

While sociality is known to mediate territorial processes, it is less clear how sociality interacts with environmental features and neighbors’ location to influence habitat selection and behavior. Scent marking, a fundamental behavior in maintaining territories, can be utilized by receiving conspecifics to evaluate both encounter risk and competitive ability of the depositing individual or group. African wild dog packs were followed in the field across 2010-2021, where researchers recorded individual behaviors and pack composition, including scent marking behaviors. We combined this historical and unique behavioral dataset with co-occurring GPS collar data to make inferences on territorial behaviors, sociality, and habitat selection across spatial scales. We performed three analyses to determine 1) the relative probability of scent mark placement, 2) the probability of scent marking, and 3) the trade-off strategy between scent marking and hunting, as predicted by habitat, neighbors’ territories, and pack social composition. Specifically, we used resource selection function frameworks to determine how and whether conspecifics influenced habitat selection and behavior at multiple orders of selection. We found that conspecifics were influential across all three analyses, and mediated the impact of habitat on scent mark placement and probability. Scent mark placement and probability were both influenced by the social composition of packs, specifically pup presence, pack size, and number of overlapping neighbors, while pack size and pack experience influenced territorial maintenance strategy. Our findings demonstrate the importance of social structure across scales of territorial processes, from larger-scale habitat selection to the probability of a behavior. We demonstrate how key behavioral theories underpinning territoriality function at the scale of habitat selection and behavioral decision-making in a free-ranging, large carnivore. Future research should continue to incorporate sociality in understanding the habitat selection of animals.

Biodiversity offers diverse ecosystem services responsible for increasing human well-being and moving financial capital around the world. Therefore, given the natural and human causes of biodiversity reduction, we need to use computational methods that not only show where to find high species richness, or phylogenetic and functional diversity, but also low economic cost or even high originality or distinctiveness. In this paper, we introduce a new package (‘bivariatemaps’) with methods to prioritize areas, communities or species on a large scale, and we show an example for finding the best areas for the conservation of terrestrial and flying mammals (endothermics) and the Serpentes (ectothermics). We do that by finding high potential for providing ecosystem services (measured here by Species Richness) and correlating it with Economic Cost (measured as Land Acquisition Cost). Additionally, we correlated NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) with Economic Cost, to observe how we could maximize productivity while reducing resource usage as much as possible. To achieve this goal, we first developed the ‘bivariatemaps’ package, using it to plot bivariate maps that integrate the Species Richness with the Land Cost for each of the three studied groups. We observe that more attention should be paid to tropical countries, which have high species richness, but low land acquisition cost. We note that more attention should be paid to the Indomalayan region, which has a high richness of species low-cost sites for the conservation of species. Bivariate maps have been published in studies since the 70s, but only in the 2010s they became more used by the general public, including scientists from low-profit universities. We hope that this paper (and the ‘bivariatemaps’ package) helps to generate works planned globally and regionally in the face of natural and anthropogenic processes responsible for the loss of biodiversity that can bring us socio-economic benefits.

Ongoing and predicted range loss of kelp forests in response to climatic stressors are pressing marine managers to look into the adaptive capacity of populations to inform conservation strategies. Characterising how adaptive genetic diversity and structure relate to present and future environmental variation represents an emerging approach to quantifying kelp vulnerability to environmental change and identifying which populations have the genetic material to handle future ocean conditions. The dominant Australian kelp, Ecklonia radiata, was genotyped from 10 locations spanning 2,000 km of coastline and a 9.5°C average temperature gradient, along the east coast of Australia, a global warming hotspot. ddRAD sequencing was used to generate 10,700 high quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and characterize levels of neutral and adaptive genomic diversity and structure. The adaptive dataset, reflecting portions of genome putatively under selection, was used to infer genomic vulnerability by 2050 under the RCP 8.5 scenario. There was strong neutral genetic differentiation between Australia mainland and Tasmania, but only weak genetic structure among mainland populations within the main path of the East Australian Current. Genetic diversity was highest in the centre of the range, and lowest in the warm-edge population. The adaptive SNP candidates revealed similar genetic structure patterns with a spread of adaptive loci across most warm (northern) populations. The lowest, but most unique, adaptive genetic diversity values were found in both warm and cool population edges, indicating local adaptation but low evolutionary potential. Critically, genomic vulnerability modelling identified high levels of vulnerability to future environmental conditions in Tasmania. Populations of kelp at range edges are unlikely to adapt and keep pace with predicted climate change. Ensuring the persistence of these kelp forests, by boosting resilience to climate change, may require active management strategies with assisted adaptation in warm-edge (northern) populations and assisted gene flow in cool-edge (Tasmania) populations.

The gut microbiome is an important component of host health and function and is influenced by internal and external factors such as host phylogeny, age, diet, and environment. Monitoring the gut microbiome has become an increasingly important management tool for wild populations of threatened species. The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is the largest extant carnivorous marsupial from the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Devils are currently endangered due to devil facial tumour disease. Previous assessments have shown differences between captive and wild devil gut microbiomes and changes during translocations. However, wild gut microbiome variability across Tasmania and the drivers of these differences are not well understood. We conducted a range-wide assessment of gut microbiomes at ten locations across Tasmania, via 16S rRNA sequencing, and tested the influence of diet (12S sequencing), location, sex, and cohort. We show that the five most abundant phylum and genera were consistent across all ten locations. Location, cohort, and sex impacted bacterial richness, but location did not impact diversity. While there were differences in diet across the state, there was no strong evidence of differences between juveniles and adults, nor between males and females. Contrary to our hypothesis, diet only explained a small amount of variation seen in microbial communities. We suspect that other variables, such as environmental factors and immune system development may have a stronger influence on gut microbiome variability. Adjustments to dietary supplementation is not necessary when preparing devils for translocation to different sites. Future research should prioritize collecting environmental samples for microbial analysis and integrating metabolomics to elucidate functional differences associated with Tasmanian devil gut microbiome variability.

The grey partridge population has experienced significant declines across Europe, largely due to agricultural intensification and loss of habitat, leading to conservation actions such as Red-listing in the UK and hunting bans in Greece. The genetics of Balkan and Scottish populations remain largely unexplored; genetic analyses are essential to evaluate the impact of past restocking efforts on wild populations, as breeding between released and wild-living partridges may complicate recovery efforts. In this study, we sample wild and farmed individuals of grey partridge from the Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia) and the United Kingdom (UK) and employ 2300 SNPs, eight microsatellites and two mitochondrial markers to investigate the genetic structure and diversity of their populations and the impact of past restocking activities. We reveal a clear distinction between two clades, an Eastern and a Western, as in previous studies, with wild birds from Greece and the UK classified to each clade respectively. However, birds from North Macedonia belonged to either clade, suggesting a contact zone between the two or a genetic legacy of past restocking practices. The captive stock in Greece and the UK is clearly of Western origin, with minor introgression of the Eastern clade being detected. Finally, an informative SNP marker panel is presented that accurately assigns each individual to either the Eastern or Western clade and will serve as a valuable tool for monitoring population structure, guiding conservation efforts, and assessing the impact of restocking activities on grey partridge populations.

Sexual differences in physiology are widely regarded as potential proximate mechanisms that underlie sex differences in mortality, life history and disease risk of vertebrates. However, little is known about the causes of sex-specific variation in physiology. Sexual selection and parental workload are two key components suggested to play a role. Theory predicts that, within males, species with stronger male sexual selection (greater sexual dichromatism and more frequent social polygyny) and higher male parental effort should have lower immune capacity and stronger oxidative imbalance. Within females, weak or no direct effect of male sexual selection on physiology is expected, but species where females invest more in parental care should have lower immune capacity and higher oxidative imbalance. We tested these predictions by phylogenetic comparative analyses conducted separately for the two sexes and based on 11,586 physiological measurements of samples collected in the field from 2,048 individuals of 116 and 106 European species for males and females, respectively. For males, we found that the degree of dichromatism, polygyny and male parental effort correlated negatively with multiple immune indices, and the level of antioxidant glutathione correlated positively with polygyny score. In contrast, female immune and oxidative variables were unrelated or weakly related to both male sexual selection or female parental effort. We conclude that sex roles can drive inter-specific variation in immune function (primarily in male birds), but less so in oxidative physiology. These findings support earlier claims that males pay higher physiological costs of sexual selection than females, but apparently also of caregiving. We discuss how females might avoid such costs.

Galliformes are one of the most rapidly declining groups of bird species in Europe. The black grouse belongs to species closely related to the types of habitats that are disappearing due to environmental changes caused by man, climate crisis, and an increase in the number of predator species. While the populations of this species in Northern and North-Eastern Europe are still relatively stable, in Central and Western Europe the black grouse is declining very quickly. For example, in Poland, there has been an approximately 100-fold decrease in its population over the last 50 years. However, there is a difference between the rate of decline in black grouse numbers in Central European lowlands and mountain refuges - e.g. the Alps and the Carpathians. The European mountains, still offering habitats shaped by relatively severe climate, may soon be the only type of habitat for this species to survive in this part of the continent. Our study aimed to indicate the main environmental factors determining the occurrence of the species in a mountain refuge, on the southwestern border of this species' continuous range. Based on a comprehensive model containing data on land cover by vegetation, topography, and human disturbance, we assessed environmental factors that shape the probability of black grouse occurrence in one of its last refuges in Europe. Our results reveal a trend for black grouse to prefer habitats of an early succession stage, and those can only persist in specific climatic conditions, or thanks to active protection. Detailed knowledge of the habitat choice of an endangered species is valuable data necessary to avoid the fragmentation of remaining patches of its habitat, to assess the state of the environment in times of climate crisis, and to protect its features that ensure and increase the survival of vulnerable species, such as black grouse.

jabbrv-ltwa-all.ldf jabbrv-ltwa-en.ldf Despite high population densities, valuable plant communities persist in various isolated habitat fragments in many cities around the world. These include several sand grasslands in Budapest, which are notable for their species richness and the presence of rare, protected species such as Hippophaë rhamnoides. Since 2006, efforts to restore natural open sandy grassland habitats have been ongoing within the Újpest Sea buckthorn Nature Conservation Area. The objective of these initiatives is to reduce the prevalence of invasive woody species and to preserve the fragmented sandy grassland ecosystems. The objective of our research was to evaluate the efficacy of conserving the habitat of Hippophaë rhamnoides and restoring natural sandy vegetation over a 15-year period. Furthermore, the objective was to ascertain which Festuca species are dominant in the area. The impact of these interventions was evaluated through the analysis of coenological data across 10 quadrats per plot, with each sample plot representing a different year of shrub removal. By employing a systematic approach to habitat management, over 40% of the protected area has been successfully converted into grassland. In the undisturbed central region, where natural open sandy grasslands have always existed, the dominant grass species is Festuca vaginata. However, in areas where shrubs have been eradicated, Festuca pseudovaginata and Festuca tomanii have emerged as the dominant species. Keywords: Festuca pseudovaginata, Festuca vaginata, Festuca tomanii, habitat restoration, Hippophaë rhamnoides, sandy vegetation

Arabidopsis lyrata has become a useful system for the study of comparative genomics, hybridization, polyploidyization, and evolutionary transitions from outcrossing to selfing. Previous studies of its mating system have used microsatellite loci but low allelic diversity, particularly in self-compatible populations characterized by low levels of outcrossing, reduce these markers for more detailed studies. Here, we aimed to develop population-level SNP markers for A. lyrata ssp. lyrata. We performed de novo SNP discovery and identified 6,808 putative SNPs from genome-wide sequences of 22 individuals originating from a highly selfing population. Further filtering and marker validation enabled the development of 17 SNP marker loci that can be visualized using standard PCR-RFLP protocols. These markers had average minor-allele frequencies of 0.40 in the target population and four of seven markers were variable in a small sample from nine other A. lyrata populations. These PCR-RFLP markers have the potential to be useful for the analysis of mating patterns in within and beyond the inbred self-compatible populations of A. lyrata studied here, and enable the continued development of A. lyrata as a model for studying evolutionary transitions from outcrossing to selfing.

It is generally assumed that population size of all wild animal species are regulated through density-dependent mechanisms, but the mechanisms responsible have been difficult to identify for elephants and large whales. We have used information on physiological reproductive mechanisms in humans in a stochastic computer simulation study to explore how known density-dependent fertility mechanisms in humans could regulate population size in a hypothetical large mammal species, assuming no deliberate interference with sexual or reproductive processes. Two physiological reproductive mechanisms in women are dependent on nutrition in utero or early life: age at menarche and post-partum amenorrhea during lactation, and were included in the model. If large female mammals in general have physiological reproductive mechanisms similar to human females, strong density-dependence mechanisms will be the result, but with a substantial delay, 20 to 50 years. The model results are discussed in relation to what is known about populations of the Eastern North Pacific gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus), Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) and elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Amboseli National Park, Kenya.

Soil microbiota can colonise plant roots via a two-step selection process, which involves the recruitment of microbiota first from bulk soil into plant rhizospheres, then into root endospheres. This process is poorly understood in all but a few model species, which is surprising given its fundamental role in plant and soil ecology. Here we examined the microbial assembly processes across the rhizospheres and root endospheres in eight natural populations of the pan-palaeotropical C4 grass, Themeda triandra, in southern Australia. We assessed whether root endosphere colonisation patterns aligned with the two step-selection process. We also assessed the degree to which the assembly patterns of these rhizospheres and endospheres were influenced by deterministic processes. We show that two-step selection was the dominant recruitment dynamic across these natural T. triandra populations, and present clear evidence that host plants influenced microbial assembly via deterministic pressures that produced strong convergence of endospheres. Both endospheres and rhizospheres were influenced by local environmental filtering, including aridity. Our study improves our understanding of assembly processes of root endospheres, which is central to plant-soil interactions yet poorly understood in non-model species. We show that endospheres of native populations of a widely distributed, keystone grass (T. triandra) were strongly shaped by the host plant and displayed patterns consistent with the two-step selection process. These findings raise intriguing questions about the functions of this ‘core’ microbial endosphere, but our limited understanding of their ecology hinders our ability to harness these important relationships to, for example, improve plant propagation and revegetation practices.

Effective biodiversity conservation requires knowledge of species’ distributions across large areas, yet prevalence data for marine sessile species is scarce. As marine organism distributions generally depend on terrain heterogeneity, topographic variables derived from digital elevation models (DEMs) can be useful proxies in distribution modelling. However, the suitability of such variables depends on spatial resolution. Here, we (1) assess three high-resolution bathymetry DEMs for accuracy, (2) harness DEM-derived topographic variables for regional coral species distribution models (SDMs), and (3) develop a transferable framework to produce, select and integrate multi-resolution topographic variables into marine spatial modelling. We use a case study from three reef-building Acropora coral species sampled across 23 reefs of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Obtaining three open-source bathymetric DEMs (15m Allen Coral Atlas (ACA), 30m DeepReef, 100m DeepReef), we produce eight derived topographic variables generalised to multiple nested spatial resolutions (15m to 120m) to assess SDM sensitivity to bathymetry source and resolution. We found that the ACA and DeepReef DEMs had similar vertical accuracies, each producing topographic variables relevant to marine SDMs. Slope and vector ruggedness measure (VRM) explained most of the variance for all three species. Coral prevalence increased with slope to a moderate steepness before quickly decreasing with increasing steepness for two species, while the third species plateaued. The prevalence of all species was negatively associated with VRM. Topographic variables for coral SDMs were most relevant at 15–60m resolutions, where the optimal resolution depended on the variable type and species. Overall, we show that the finest resolution was unnecessary to achieve high-performing SDMs. Running SDMs with multi-resolution topographic variables provided insights into the importance of terrain attributes for distribution modelling of different species. We provide a transferrable framework to facilitate the adoption of multiscale SDMs for better-informed conservation and management planning.

The microbiome – the community of microorganisms that is associated with an individual animal – has been an important driver of insect biodiversity globally, enabling insects to specialize on narrow, nutrient deficient diets. The importance of maternally inherited, obligate bacterial endosymbionts to provisioning nutrients missing from these narrow dietary niches has been well studied in insects. However, we know comparatively little about the processes that dictate the composition of non-maternally inherited bacteria in insect microbiomes, despite the importance of these bacteria in insect health, fitness, and vector competence. Here, we used two species of obligate insect ectoparasites of bats, the bat flies (Streblidae) Trichobius sphaeronotus and Nycterophilia coxata, to examine whether the microbiome, beyond obligate bacterial endosymbionts, is conserved or variable across geographic space, between ectoparasite species, or covaries with the external microbiome of their bat hosts or the cave environment. Our results indicate that ectoparasite microbiomes are highly conserved and specific to ectoparasite species, despite these species feeding on the blood of the same bat individuals in some cases. In contrast, we found high geographic variation in the fur microbiome of host bats and that the bat fur microbiome mimics the cave microbiomes. This research suggests that there is constraint on blood-feeding insect ectoparasites to maintain a specific microbiome distinct from their host and the environment, potentially to meet their nutritional needs. Given many of these bacteria are not known to be maternally inherited, this research lays the foundation for future examinations of how blood-feeding arthropods acquire and maintain bacteria in their microbiomes.

1. In the evolutionary arms race between plants and herbivores, sophisticated mechanisms of indirect defense play a pivotal role. This study investigated the intricate ecological dynamics between Aristolochia contorta, Sericinus montela, and Ooencyrtus spp., with a special focus on the role of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in plant. 2. This study utilized field surveys, olfactometer experiments, and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis to investigate the role of volatile organic compounds. 3. Field surveys showed a 54.6% egg parasitism rate, with quadrats containing A. contorta and larvae attracting more Ooencyrtus spp. than those with the plant alone. In olfactometer bioassays, Ooencyrtus spp. demonstrated a notable preference for leaves damaged by a pattern wheel, attracting 46.8% of Ooencyrtus spp. compared to undamaged controls. Moreover, leaves treated with larval saliva were found to be similarly attractive, drawing in 48.7% of Ooencyrtus spp.. In addition, the difference in attraction between leaves with and without larval saliva did not reach statistical significance. GC-MS analysis identified essential VOCs in the damaged leaves, including hexyl acetate, cyclohexene, δ-cadinene, α-pinene, and β-caryophyllene. Additionally, leaves treated with larval saliva revealed the presence of exo-isocitral (0.61%), and β-pinene (0.14%), though in minimal amounts. Despite these complex responses, our analysis suggests that the compounds introduced or increased in concentration by larval saliva do not significantly boost the attraction of Ooencyrtus spp. 4. This finding implies that while the VOCs response to damage and saliva application is multifaceted, serving multiple defensive functions, the quantities of these saliva-induced compounds could be insufficient to substantially influence the behavior of Ooencyrtus spp. towards the damaged leaves. This research furthers our understanding of the indirect defense strategies of plants, particularly highlighting the vital roles of VOCs in A. contorta. Moreover, our findings suggest new avenues for exploring the ecological and evolutionary roles of chemical signals, shedding light on the complex interactions facilitated by these chemical cues in plant defense mechanisms.

Behavioral variation within a population is generally maintained by frequency dependent selection allowing various personalities to coexist. Bolder individuals usually engage in more risky behaviors that can gain fitness benefits such as growth under certain conditions. Therefore, it has been suggested that there should be a link between personality and dietary niches, but the results so far are inconsistent. In addition, the equilibrium of the distribution of behavioral traits and the trophic niche of native populations may shift following the introduction of an invasive species. Here, using the invasive brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and native brown trout (Salmo trutta) as model species in two different natural streams in Sweden, we aimed to test whether 1) the trophic niche of native brown trout living in allopatry and brown trout living in sympatry with brook trout differ and 2) bolder brown trout individuals utilize a different foraging niche. Our results suggest that there is a dietary niche convergence between brown trout and brook trout, which likely is a result of brook trout invasion, but that the trophic niche of native brown trout varies across streams, possibly due to difference invasion impact (varying ratio of brook trout to brown trout). We also found a strong positive correlation between trophic position and personality of brown trout irrespective of the presence of brook trout.

Stand structure affects tree efficiency for a competitive use of resources and largely determines stand productivity and carbon stocks. Consequently, research on individual size and differentiation of stand structures is critical for improving monoculture-stand productivity and carbon stock. Here, we studied the effects of four thinning intensities (control: 0%, LIT: 20%, MIT: 30% and HIT: 40%) in an experimental plantation of Cryptomeria japonica var. sinensis, and assessed the individual differentiation characteristics, diameter class-frequency distribution, stand productivity and carbon stocks over 6 years. The results showed that the Gini coefficient decreased with increasing thinning intensity and stand age. Self-thinning of the C. japonica stands occurred even after thinning, it was relatively high when stand were 10-13 years old but did not occur in the 6th year after thinning in treatments T2 and T3. The mean diameter of each treatment increased with increasing stand age, and the normal distribution curve of diameter class frequency gradually shifted to the right, with small changes in the control treatment and the larger one in treatment T3. Thinning increased the large-diameter (DBH ≥ 26 cm) timber, especially in T2, T3 treatments. Stand volume and productivity varied with stand age, with the greatest change in stand volume observed in T3 followed by that in the control treatment. Stand productivity at different thinning intensities generally decreased and then increased with increasing stand age. Although the carbon stock of individual trees and stand increased with time, the individual trees appear the obviously increased trendy with increasing thinning intensity. The results provided important insights into the implications of designing thinning intensity and timing, and determining the tree-size class removal to meet specific management objectives.

Conflicts between individuals of the same species are common in nature and are mostly resolved with limited aggression. Several theoretical studies, such as the Hawk-Dove game model, investigate the evolution of limited aggression expressed during conflicts between individuals. These studies mainly focus on the individuals involved in the conflict and their genes. Recently accumulating evidence indicates that microbes are associated with diverse functions of their host, and can affect host behavior. Here we extend the classic Hawk-Dove game model to include both the hosts and their microbes. We find that non-aggressive host behavior is more likely to evolve and spread in population when induced by the microbes residing in the host, compared to non-aggressive behavior induced by host genes. Our results suggest that microbes may help explain the ubiquity of non-violent conflict resolution. Consequently, factors that alter the microbial composition within hosts may affect the aggressiveness level in host populations.