🌿 Category

ecology

312 papers

Ecology explores the intricate relationships between living organisms and their environments, revealing how life adapts, interacts, and sustains itself across the planet. From microscopic soil communities to vast migratory patterns, this field examines the delicate balance that keeps ecosystems functioning and resilient. Understanding these connections is vital for addressing urgent challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss.

At Gist.Science, we make the latest research from bioRxiv accessible to everyone. We process every new preprint in this category as it appears, offering both clear plain-language explanations and detailed technical summaries to suit every reader. This approach ensures that groundbreaking findings in ecological science are not locked behind complex terminology but are available for immediate understanding and discussion.

Below are the latest papers in ecology, curated to help you stay informed about the evolving story of life on Earth.

🌿 ecology

Carryover effects modulate spring phenological responses to temperature in a herbivorous insect

This study demonstrates that temperature conditions experienced during the autumn and winter pupal and egg stages of the winter moth induce carryover effects on spring phenology, which are only partially compensated for and decrease under warming conditions, highlighting the necessity of accounting for multi-stage thermal impacts to accurately predict phenological shifts and species interactions.

Rattigan, S. D., Beaupere, L. C., Sheldon, B. C., Learmonth, R.2026-04-03
🌿 ecology

Camera trap monitoring of unmarked animals: a map of the relationships between population size estimators

This paper clarifies the often-confusing landscape of camera trap density estimation methods for unmarked animals by developing a mathematical framework that maps the relationships between various estimators under specific simplifying assumptions, thereby providing a clearer conceptual foundation for researchers to select and implement appropriate monitoring strategies.

Calenge, C.2026-04-01
🌿 ecology

Too few, too many, or just right? Optimizing sample sizes for population-level inferences in animal tracking projects

This paper proposes a flexible workflow, implemented in the `movedesign` R Shiny application, to optimize animal tracking study designs by balancing sampling duration, frequency, and population size against logistical constraints to ensure robust, unbiased population-level inferences for movement and space use.

Silva, I., Fleming, C., Noonan, M., Fagan, W., Calabrese, J.2026-04-01
🌿 ecology

Characterization of the vertical distribution of plankton and the formation of thin layers in the northern Gulf of Mexico using digital holography

Using in situ digital holography, this study reveals that salt-wedge dynamics at the Mississippi River plume-shelf interface in the northern Gulf of Mexico drive the formation of thin phytoplankton layers dominated by chain-forming diatoms, while zooplankton remain broadly distributed and weakly coupled to these physical structures.

Vega, G. M., Kerkar, A. U., Nayak, A. R., McFarland, M., Lopes, R. M.2026-03-31
🌿 ecology

Robustness and management performance of MSY reference points derived from the hockey-stick stock-recruitment model under structural uncertainty

This study demonstrates that while Maximum Sustainable Yield reference points derived from the hockey-stick stock-recruitment model tend to be biased, their integration with adaptive learning and precautionary measures enables robust fisheries management with comparable yields to those achieved using the true underlying model, even under conditions of structural uncertainty and limited data.

Ichinokawa, M., Okamura, H.2026-03-30
🌿 ecology

Shifting Resilience: Trends and Predictors of Mesic Resource Productivity in Western U.S. Rangelands

Based on a 40-year Landsat analysis of western U.S. rangelands, this study reveals that mesic resource productivity has decoupled from drought severity since 2005 due to the combined buffering effects of CO2 fertilization and anthropogenic water management, though these systems remain vulnerable to groundwater depletion and ecological shifts.

Mueller, K. R., Morford, S. L., Kimball, J. S., Smith, J. T., Donnelly, P. J., Naugle, D. E.2026-03-30
🌿 ecology

Multidecadal changes in land cover across a disturbance gradient in mountain grasslands of Kyrgyzstan

This study utilizes high-resolution satellite imagery from 1997 to 2021 to map land-cover dynamics in Kyrgyzstan's Tien Shan mountains, revealing that intermediate elevations and high grazing intensities are the primary drivers of habitat transitions, thereby providing a critical framework for distinguishing climate impacts from land-use changes to inform localized management in data-poor regions.

Young, S. C. E., Watkins, H. V., Brownlee, S. F., Yan, H. F., Cote, I. M.2026-03-27