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.
This study demonstrates that photodegradation significantly accelerates litter decomposition and alters physical traits in South American monsoonal mountain grasslands, proving that this process is not limited to arid ecosystems and can enhance subsequent biotic decomposition through photofacilitation.
This study demonstrates that while negative density-dependence and Allee effects individually have limited long-term impacts on malaria mosquito populations, their interaction—particularly when sustained vector control interventions reduce population sizes to trigger Allee effects—significantly accelerates extinction and offers a strategic pathway for eliminating disease vectors.
An analysis of 258 invasive plant species in North America reveals that the majority have not yet reached climatic stasis, challenging the common assumption of environmental equilibrium in species distribution models and highlighting the unrealized expansion potential of these invaders.
This study developed and validated random forest models using Sentinel-3, Landsat, and in situ data to accurately predict surface water temperatures across U.S. lakes, thereby providing a critical tool for improving cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom forecasting and water resource management.
This study demonstrates that machine learning models, particularly neural networks, can effectively predict life-history traits such as elytral length and adult lifespan in the azuki bean beetle *Callosobruchus chinensis* by analyzing biological and environmental variables, thereby offering a valuable tool for advancing insect ecology and pest management research.
This study reveals that cold stress destabilizes the cnidarian-algal symbiosis in the sea anemone *Aiptasia couchii* by causing chilling injury to algal symbionts, which disrupts photosynthetic carbon cycling and ultimately leads to host starvation through metabolic reorganization and protein catabolism.
This paper argues that the observed correlation between high biodiversity and high poverty is not a natural outcome but a result of "systemic bio-inequity," where historical colonial exploitation of biodiverse regions created enduring socio-economic legacies that current conservation narratives fail to address, thereby perpetuating a paradox where natural wealth does not translate into prosperity.
This study demonstrates that in *Drosophila melanogaster*, insecticide resistance alleles interact with dietary landscapes to drive sex-specific reproductive trade-offs and shift nutritional optima, revealing that resistance evolution is shaped by the complex interplay of genetics, nutrition, and toxin exposure rather than chemical toxicity alone.
This study reveals that while spectral niche preferences and physiological plasticity shape *Ostreobium* community structure, inter-species competition is the dominant force driving niche partitioning, with white light specialists likely becoming key players during coral bleaching events.
A field and modeling study in Montpellier reveals that vegetated urban spaces, particularly residential areas with gardens, significantly enhance *Aedes albopictus* survival and increase the theoretical risk of Dengue and Chikungunya transmission compared to parks or impervious areas.