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Online now: The overlooked role of epigenetics in fisheries-induced evolution

Online now: Genomic metrics should inform formal conservation threat assessments

Online now: Rare molecules as community architects

Rare molecules as community architectsIn natural chemical mixtures, a few molecules matter far more than their abundance suggests. Two recent studies identify defensive polyketides in estuarine mudflats and root exudate metabolites in a nitrogen-limited rhizosphere as compounds that restructure communities at trace concentrations, providing convergent evidence for candidate keystone molecules at the molecular scale.dlvr.it

Online now: Species range contractions in geographic and environmental space

Species range contractions in geographic and environmental spaceSpecies range contractions are a defining feature of the Anthropocene. Given their prevalence, a key question arises: do range contractions follow consistent patterns? Empirical studies have produced mixed results, revealing some emergent patterns, but also considerable variation among taxa. Here, we present a framework that seeks to explain this variation, conceptualising range contractions as the outcome of the interaction between species’ population growth rates and threat impacts, mediated by environmental conditions. Our framework shows how four primary patterns of range contraction arise, with a fifth emerging under incomplete threat spread. By describing when, where, and why particular patterns of decline occur, our framework advances understanding of species’ responses to global change and provides a basis for more generalisable conservation strategies.dlvr.it

Online now: Pre-emptive behaviour in a landscape of intergroup conflict

Online now: Risks of heightened human–wildlife conflict when subsidies disappear

Risks of heightened human–wildlife conflict when subsidies disappearAnthropogenic food subsidies often elevate wildlife populations. Reducing these subsidies may alter behavior more rapidly than population size, creating a transient period of heightened human–wildlife conflict. Recognizing these transitional dynamics can improve conflict mitigation and conservation outcomes while enhancing public safety for communities living alongside dangerous species.dlvr.it

Online now: Transboundary protected areas for freshwater biodiversity

Transboundary protected areas for freshwater biodiversityRecently, Li et al. [1] initiated an important discussion about the role of transboundary protected areas (TBPAs) in biodiversity conservation, nature’s contributions to people, and cultural values. Their study opened an opportunity to broaden the discussion on freshwater biodiversity. This is essential because, for a long time and across many regions of the world, freshwater ecosystems, which have high levels of biodiversity, have been neglected when creating protected areas [e.g., 2–4]. Paradoxically, freshwater biodiversity is extremely threatened [e.g., 5] and, therefore, needs to be targeted in conservation strategies such as TBPAs [4].dlvr.it

Online now: Rebuilding the species pool within a phylogenetic framework

Rebuilding the species pool within a phylogenetic frameworkThe species pool is a fundamental concept with the potential to connect ecological and evolutionary processes in community ecology and biogeography. However, current definitions of the concept primarily focus on contemporary ecological processes, ignoring the historical and evolutionary processes that generated the species pool. We propose a phylogenetic framework that defines the species pool by inferring evolutionary connectivity between communities in a biogeographic region. Our framework is better suited to addressing questions regarding assembly processes occurring over long time periods, offering deeper evolutionary insights for community ecology and conservation biogeography.dlvr.it

Online now: The carbon cost of forest fragmentation: Size matters

The carbon cost of forest fragmentation: Size mattersForest conservation typically prioritizes total area, treating every hectare as interchangeable regardless of how the landscape is configured. Analyzing 17 million patches, Zou et al. reveal that per-area productivity rises superlinearly with patch size. Fragmentation can, therefore, erode carbon sequestration, exposing a hidden cost that challenges area-based conservation paradigms.dlvr.it

Online now: Biogeographical costs and opportunities of thermal adaptation

Biogeographical costs and opportunities of thermal adaptationWhat determines where species occur and where they do not? Brightly et al. showed that cold-origin lineages are less likely to form amphitropical distributions. This raises questions about the biogeographical costs and opportunities of adapting to a particular thermal environment, with implications for species persistence or extinction under climate change.dlvr.it

Online now: Microbial contributions to host life history trade-offs

Microbial contributions to host life history trade-offsAll organisms must allocate finite resources among growth, maintenance, and reproduction, generating trade-offs that constrain adaptation. Host-associated microbiomes are dynamic resource engines capable of generating and reallocating energy and resources for their hosts. In doing so, we argue they may recalibrate the trade-offs fundamental to host life history evolution.dlvr.it

Online now: Can habitat modification in the native range promote invasion?

Can habitat modification in the native range promote invasion?The anthropogenically induced adaptation to invade (AIAI) hypothesis posits that selection in human-modified habitats within native ranges can adapt populations to invade similarly altered environments elsewhere. Although widely invoked, empirical tests of this hypothesis remain limited because disentangling native-range adaptation from post-introduction evolution is challenging. Here, we clarify how anthropogenic disturbance creates repeatable selective regimes and demonstrate how targeted sampling, population genomics, and genotype–environment associations can disentangle native-range adaptation from post-introduction evolution. Incorporating genomic offset, genetic architecture, nongenetic changes, experiments, and temporal data further strengthens inference. These insights and approaches establish the AIAI hypothesis as a mechanism that explicitly links human disturbance with the evolutionary dynamics of invasive species, providing novel insights into the prediction and management of biological invasions.dlvr.it

Online now: The host–microbiome dimension of ecological regime shifts

The host–microbiome dimension of ecological regime shiftsRising climate and local pressures increase the risk of regime shifts, yet despite progress, thresholds remain difficult to identify early enough to take action. We argue that this shortfall reflects a host-centric view that largely omits host-associated microbiomes, which can shape resilience by modulating stress tolerance, aiding recovery, and stabilizing alternative states through inhibitory chemical interactions. We propose a research agenda that integrates host-associated microbiomes into regime-shift ecology by combining novel microbiome manipulations in laboratory and field settings with regime-shift mapping tools, while simultaneously developing microbiome-based early warning indicators. Reframing regime-shift theory through a host-associated microbiome lens can provide practical tools to anticipate collapse, improve monitoring, and inform timely interventions, thereby supporting more adaptive and robust conservation under accelerating global change.dlvr.it

Online now: The emerging field of wild animal welfare science

The emerging field of wild animal welfare scienceThe emerging interdisciplinary field of wild animal welfare science (WAWS) explicitly expands the study of welfare to animals in the wild. It has applied value in informing how to improve the welfare of wild animals, ensuring they can thrive as well as survive in the face of the challenges of the Anthropocene. It also has intellectual value by generating new knowledge and insights about the affective states of wildlife. We aim to help scientists and practitioners understand how WAWS can support their work. To facilitate engagement in the field, we articulate core principles and key characteristics, and explore opportunities and challenges. We encourage those with relevant interests to engage in the field’s development and application.dlvr.it

Online now: Integrating nutritional mutualists into the evolution of defense

Integrating nutritional mutualists into the evolution of defenseHistorically, mutualisms have been categorized by their benefits: nutrition, defense, or transportation. However, many nutritional mutualists have secondary effects on defense. In this review, we propose that nutritional mutualists are major, overlooked drivers of defense evolution and identify four distinct mechanisms by which they can affect the evolution of defense traits. Direct tests of all four mechanisms are scarce. We argue that this is because most work has focused on mutualist effects on trait expression rather than on the parameters that govern evolution: genetic variances, genetic correlations, and natural selection. We highlight new questions that this perspective brings into focus and outline experiments to test them. Finally, we propose that overlap in mutualism and defense resource budgets can unite mutualism and defense theory.dlvr.it

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Online now: Formation of three great Asian plateaus, climate change, and biodiversity

Formation of three great Asian plateaus, climate change, and biodiversityA reference citation number in the legend of Figure 1 was misassigned, and an extra grant number was mistakenly included in the Acknowledgments section when the article was published. The corrected reference citation number and grant number details appear below. The authors apologize for these oversights.dlvr.it

Online now: Digital twins as a tool for ecosystem research

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Online now: Constraint and convergence in the evolution of vertebrate sound production

Constraint and convergence in the evolution of vertebrate sound productionUnderstanding vertebrate sound production offers powerful insights into constraint and convergence in evolution. Sound production falls into two broad categories: muscle-driven and airflow-driven. Muscle-driven mechanisms, widespread among fish, are tightly limited by muscle contraction rates, producing lower-frequency signals that often radiate poorly. In contrast, airflow-driven mechanisms, especially those using myoelastic aerodynamic (MEAD) principles, overcome these limits, enabling long-distance communication across a vast frequency range. MEAD-based laryngeal sound production dominates in tetrapods and convergently evolved in novel vocal organs in birds and toothed whales—all supporting complex, long-distance communication and new acoustic niches. In this review, we show how physical and physiological constraints shaped convergent innovations, positioning MEAD as a central evolutionary strategy underlying the remarkable diversity of vertebrate sounds.dlvr.it