A Long-Lived Alpine Perennial Advances Flowering under Warmer Conditions but Not Enough to Maintain Reproductive Success
The American Naturalist, Ahead of Print. (Source: The American Naturalist)
Source: The American Naturalist - March 27, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Meredith A. Zettlemoyer Rebecca J. Conner Micaela M. Seaver Ellen Waddle Megan L. DeMarche Source Type: research

Rapid Evolution of Resistance and Tolerance Leads to Variable Host Recoveries following Disease-Induced Declines
The American Naturalist, Ahead of Print. (Source: The American Naturalist)
Source: The American Naturalist - March 26, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Mark Q. Wilber Joseph A. DeMarchi Cheryl J. Briggs Sabrina Streipert Source Type: research

Benefits of Pair-Bond Duration on Reproduction in a Lifelong Monogamous Cooperative Passerine
The American Naturalist, Ahead of Print. (Source: The American Naturalist)
Source: The American Naturalist - March 26, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Pietro B. D ’Amelio Rita Covas Andr é C. Ferreira Rita Fortuna Liliana R. Silva Franck Theron Fanny Rybak Claire Doutrelant Source Type: research

Divergence in Reproductive Behaviors Is Associated with the Evolutionary Loss of Parental Care
The American Naturalist, Ahead of Print. (Source: The American Naturalist)
Source: The American Naturalist - March 21, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Colby Behrens Meghan F. Maciejewski Eric Arredondo Anne C. Dalziel Laura K. Weir Alison M. Bell Source Type: research

Genetic Variation in Male Aggression Is Influenced by Genotype of Prior Social Partners in Drosophila melanogaster
The American Naturalist, Ahead of Print. (Source: The American Naturalist)
Source: The American Naturalist - March 21, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Marina Hutchins Tracy Douglas Lea Pollack Julia B. Saltz Source Type: research

It ’s about Her: Male Within-Season Movements Are Related to Mate Searching in a Songbird
The American Naturalist, Ahead of Print. (Source: The American Naturalist)
Source: The American Naturalist - March 19, 2024 Category: Zoology Authors: Shannon Buckley Luepold Fr änzi Korner-Nievergelt Zephyr Z üst Gilberto Pasinelli Source Type: research

Dorsal and Ventral Plumage Coloration Evolve as Distinct Modules with Different Environmental Correlations
Am Nat. 2024 Apr;203(4):528-534. doi: 10.1086/728766. Epub 2024 Feb 9.ABSTRACTAbstractMany animals exhibit contrast between their dorsal coloration and their ventral coloration. If selection acts differently on dorsal versus ventral coloration, ancestral covariance between these traits should break down, eventually leading to independent modules of trait evolution. Here, we compare the evolution of feather color across body regions for a clade of Australasian songbirds (Meliphagoidea). We find evidence for three modules of covarying color regions. Among these modules, ventral feathers evolve with high lability, evolving at...
Source: The American Naturalist - March 15, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Nicholas R Friedman Vladim ír Remeš Source Type: research

A Spatial Signal of Niche Differentiation in Tropical Forests
Am Nat. 2024 Apr;203(4):445-457. doi: 10.1086/729218. Epub 2024 Feb 9.ABSTRACTAbstractExplaining diversity in tropical forests remains a challenge in community ecology. Theory tells us that species differences can stabilize communities by reducing competition, while species similarities can promote diversity by reducing fitness differences and thus prolonging the time to competitive exclusion. Combined, these processes may lead to clustering of species such that species are niche differentiated across clusters and share a niche within each cluster. Here, we characterize this partial niche differentiation in a tropical fore...
Source: The American Naturalist - March 15, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Mihir S Umarani Dianzhuo Wang James P O'Dwyer Rafael D'Andrea Source Type: research

The Role of (Co)variation in Shaping the Response to Selection in New World Leaf-Nosed Bats
Am Nat. 2024 Apr;203(4):E107-E127. doi: 10.1086/729219. Epub 2024 Feb 20.ABSTRACTAbstractUnderstanding and predicting the evolutionary responses of complex morphological traits to selection remains a major challenge in evolutionary biology. Because traits are genetically correlated, selection on a particular trait produces both direct effects on the distribution of that trait and indirect effects on other traits in the population. The correlations between traits can strongly impact evolutionary responses to selection and may thus impose constraints on adaptation. Here, we used museum specimens and comparative quantitative ...
Source: The American Naturalist - March 15, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Daniela M Rossoni Bruce D Patterson Gabriel Marroig James M Cheverud David Houle Source Type: research

Nitrification Control by Plants and Preference for Ammonium versus Nitrate: Positive Feedbacks Increase Productivity but Undermine Resilience
Am Nat. 2024 Apr;203(4):E128-E141. doi: 10.1086/729090. Epub 2024 Feb 19.ABSTRACTAbstractSome plants, via their action on microorganisms, control soil nitrification (i.e., the transformation of ammonium into nitrate). We model how the covariation between plant control of nitrification and preference for ammonium versus nitrate impacts ecosystem properties such as productivity, nitrogen (N) losses, and overall resilience. We show that the control of nitrification can maximize productivity by minimizing total inorganic N losses. We initially predicted that plants with an ammonium preference should achieve the highest biomass...
Source: The American Naturalist - March 15, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Alice Nadia Ardichvili Nicolas Loeuille Jean-Christophe Lata S ébastien Barot Source Type: research

Parameter Sensitivity of Transient Community Dynamics
Am Nat. 2024 Apr;203(4):473-489. doi: 10.1086/728764. Epub 2024 Feb 20.ABSTRACTAbstractTransient dynamics have always intrigued ecologists, but current rapid environmental change (inducing transients even in previously undisturbed systems) has highlighted their importance more than ever. Here, I introduce a method for analyzing the sensitivity of transient ecological dynamics to parameter perturbations. The question the method answers is: how would the community dynamics have unfolded for some time horizon had the parameters been slightly different? I apply the method to three empirically parameterized models: competition ...
Source: The American Naturalist - March 15, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Gy örgy Barabás Source Type: research

Extra Nestlings That Are Condemned to Die Increase Reproductive Success in Hoopoes
Am Nat. 2024 Apr;203(4):503-512. doi: 10.1086/728883. Epub 2024 Feb 6.ABSTRACTAbstractThe adaptive value of routinely laying more eggs than can be successfully fledged has intrigued evolutionary biologists for decades. Extra eggs could, for instance, be adaptive as insurance against hatching failures. Moreover, because recent literature demonstrates that sibling cannibalism is frequent in the Eurasian hoopoe (Upupa epops), producing extra offspring that may be cannibalized by older siblings might also be adaptive in birds. Here, directed to explore this possibility in hoopoes, we performed a food supplementation experiment...
Source: The American Naturalist - March 15, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Mar ía Dolores Barón Manuel Mart ín-Vivaldi Ester Mart ínez-Renau Juan Jos é Soler Source Type: research

Chemical Profiles Differ between Communal Breeding Groups in a Highly Social Bird
Am Nat. 2024 Apr;203(4):490-502. doi: 10.1086/729221. Epub 2024 Feb 9.ABSTRACTAbstractGregarious species must distinguish group members from nongroup members. Olfaction is important for group recognition in social insects and mammals but rarely studied in birds, despite birds using olfaction in social contexts from species discrimination to kin recognition. Olfactory group recognition requires that groups have a signature odor, so we tested for preen oil and feather chemical similarity in group-living smooth-billed anis (Crotophaga ani). Physiology affects body chemistry, so we also tested for an effect of egg-laying compe...
Source: The American Naturalist - March 15, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Leanne A Grieves Allyson L Brady Gregory F Slater James S Quinn Source Type: research

Multitrophic Higher-Order Interactions Modulate Species Persistence
Am Nat. 2024 Apr;203(4):458-472. doi: 10.1086/729222. Epub 2024 Feb 20.ABSTRACTAbstractEcologists increasingly recognize that interactions between two species can be affected by the density of a third species. How these higher-order interactions (HOIs) affect species persistence remains poorly understood. To explore the effect of HOIs stemming from multiple trophic layers on a plant community composition, we experimentally built a mesocosm with three plants and three pollinator species arranged in a fully nested and modified network structure. We estimated pairwise interactions among plants and between plants and pollinato...
Source: The American Naturalist - March 15, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Lisa Buche Ignasi Bartomeus Oscar Godoy Source Type: research

Intermittent Search, Not Strict L évy Flight, Evolves under Relaxed Foraging Distribution Constraints
Am Nat. 2024 Apr;203(4):513-527. doi: 10.1086/729220. Epub 2024 Feb 21.ABSTRACTAbstractThe survival of an animal depends on its success as a forager, and understanding the adaptations that result in successful foraging strategies is an enduring endeavour of behavioral ecology. Random walks are one of the primary mathematical descriptions of foraging behavior. Power law distributions are often used to model random walks, as they can characterize a wide range of behaviors, including Lévy walks. Empirical evidence indicates the prevalence and efficiency of Lévy walks as a foraging strategy, and theoretical work suggests an ...
Source: The American Naturalist - March 15, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Winston Campeau Andrew M Simons Brett Stevens Source Type: research