🌿 Category

ecology

368 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

Predicting life-history traits in a stored bean petst beetle Callosobruchus chinensis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) using machine learning

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.

Gu, X., Tuda, M.2026-03-07
🌿 ecology

Chilling injury to algal symbionts induces host starvation and metabolic reorganization in a temperate cnidarian

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.

Legain, M., Lopes Damasceno, T., Chaib, S., Reverter, M., Gauthier, H., Moldenhauer, C. S., Hueso-Jimenez, P. I., Mills (…)2026-03-06
🌿 ecology

Systemic bio-inequity links poverty to biodiversity and induces a conservation paradox

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.

Waldock, C., Nguyen, V. T. H., Awuor Owuor, M., Samwel Manyanza, A., Seehausen, O.2026-03-05
🌿 ecology

Dietary landscapes shape genotype- and sex-specific responses to insecticides

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.

Nogueira Alves, A., Houston, B., Yang, Y. T., Wedell, N.2026-03-04
🌿 ecology

Light-harvesting strategies and competition drive niche partitioning among Ostreobium lineages in the spectral architecture of the coral reef

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.

Pasella, M. M., Poretti, M., Sim, A., Ricci, F., Powrie, F., Verbruggen, H.2026-03-04
🌿 ecology

Vegetated urban spaces increase Aedes albopictus survival and the risk of Dengue and Chikungunya Transmission: a field and modelling study in Montpellier, France

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.

Bartholomee, C., Garcia-Marin, C., Sutter, C., Fournet, F., Bouhsira, E., Moiroux, N.2026-03-04
🌿 ecology

Differential kin interactions between invasive and native plants: evidence from Alternanthera philoxeroides and its native congener

A greenhouse experiment comparing the invasive *Alternanthera philoxeroides* and its native congener *A. sessilis* reveals that the invasive species exhibits reduced kin competition and higher biomass in kin groups, whereas the native species shows stronger kin competition, suggesting that diminished competition among clones may facilitate the spread of the invasive plant.

Li, Y., Tang, Z., Xu, X., van Kleunen, M.2026-03-04
🌿 ecology

Transporting Causal Effects in Ecology: Concepts, Models and Software

This paper introduces a formal framework for causal effect transportability in ecology, utilizing structural causal models and accessible R software to enable the valid transfer of causal findings from source to target populations, as demonstrated by a case study on tree canopy cover and dissolved oxygen that shows transported estimates outperform naive model applications.

Tabell, O., Moser, N., Ovaskainen, O., Karvanen, J.2026-03-04
🌿 ecology

NordicTraits: imputed species-level functional trait dataset for vascular plants of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden

The NordicTraits dataset presents the first comprehensive, imputed, and openly available resource of 44 functional traits for 3,099 native vascular plant species across the Nordic countries, enabling robust trait-based ecological research on biodiversity and climate change responses in diverse northern European ecosystems.

Niittynen, P., Heikkinen, R. K., Hällfors, M. H., Määttänen, A.-M., Norros, V., Kemppinen, J.2026-03-04