Trends in ecology & evolution最新文献

Dynamic visual appearance, from the capacity of organisms to rapidly alter color or pattern of the body, is typically achieved through physiological color-change and/or bioluminescence. Since these processes often tune appearance to changing ecological conditions, even small errors in performance may impact fitness. Recent discoveries in the field of photobiology have led to an emerging hypothesis that photoreceptive systems associated with appearance-altering tissues function in the self-assessment of dynamic visual appearance. We outline the ecological significance of that self-assessment, the apparent convergence upon strategies to do so, and the implications of these strategies for: (i) the diversity of taxa that employ these strategies, and (ii) the evolution of visual pathways and optical structures previously only understood to serve ocular vision.

Land plants and microorganisms have developed intricate partnerships during millions of years of coevolution. However, it remains largely unknown how rhizosphere microbiomes align with diverse root functional traits among and within species. We argue that deciphering the bidirectional interactions of root traits with microbial partners is pivotal for understanding rhizosphere processes and belowground ecosystem functioning. We review emerging evidence illustrating how root functional traits shape rhizosphere microbiomes and how rhizosphere microbiomes modulate root-trait expression. We conclude that rhizosphere microbiota and root traits comprise a holistic evolutionary unit that governs plant health and belowground resource acquisition. This knowledge provides valuable insights into the adaptive evolution of plant host-microbe associations and informs strategies to leverage their beneficial interactions for sustainably managed systems.

Decision-makers need to act now to halt biodiversity loss, and ecologists must provide them with relevant species interaction indicators to inform about community- and ecosystem-level changes. Yet, the integration of ecological networks into conservation is still virtually nonexistent. Here, we argue that existing data and methodologies are sufficient to generate network information usable for conservation and to begin overcoming existing barriers to the integration of network information and biodiversity decision-making. Interaction network indicators must meet criteria important to decision-makers and be tied to specific conservation goals, which requires academics to better engage with practitioners. We use network robustness as an example of an already applicable indicator and showcase its potential with a reusable workflow to inform decision-making.

Phylogenetic variation, recombination rate evolution, and comparative genome structure and organization have typically been explored in isolation. The chromosomal and genomic context of selected genetic markers in phylogenetic studies is usually unknown, given the fragmented nature of most genome assemblies. It is now established that the position of markers in the genome can strongly influence the inferred phylogeny, often not reflecting speciation patterns and subsequent bifurcating tree structure but rather post-speciation introgression. The recent availability of chromosome-level genome assemblies and advances in estimating genome-wide recombination rates have created opportunities to jointly understand the interplay of chromosome evolution, the landscape of recombination, and phylogenetic signal.

In areas with high predation risk, some prey seek refuge in anthropogenic areas that their predators avoid. Abrahms et al. show that this 'human shield effect' is also utilized by predators, such as the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) that seeks refuge from lions.

Pollinator-mediated facilitation can support less attractive plant species within communities. Zhang and Agrawal proposed congener facilitation as a general ecological mechanism that compensates for the evolutionary loss of pollinator-attracting traits. However, detecting this effect may depend on landscape context and species-specific factors.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework aims to conserve 30% of land globally by 2030 using protected areas (PAs) and 'other effective area-based conservation measures' (OECMs). China plans to expand PAs to 18% of the land area. An additional 12% can be designated as OECMs within the ecological protection red lines.