Geckos feature a large range of eye sizes, but what drives this phenotypic diversity is currently unknown. Earlier studies point towards diel activity patterns (DAP) and locomotory mode, but phylogenetic comparative studies in support of the proposed adaptive mode of eye evolution are lacking. Here we test the hypothesis of DAP as the driver of eye size evolution with a dataset on 99 species of gecko. Results from phylogenetic generalized least square analysis (PGLS) and...

The extent to which biological diversity affects rates of diversification is central to understanding macroevolutionary dynamics, yet no consensus has emerged on the importance of diversity-dependence of evolutionary rates. Here we analyse the species-level fossil record of early Paleozoic graptoloids, documented with high temporal resolution, to test directly whether rates of diversification were influenced by levels of standing diversity within this major clade of marine zooplankton. To circumvent the statistical regression-to-the-mean artefact, whereby higher- and...

Understanding the dynamics of socio‐ecological systems is crucial to the development of environmentally sustainable practices. Models of social or ecological sub‐systems have greatly enhanced such understanding, but at the risk of obscuring important feedbacks and emergent effects. Integrated modelling approaches have the potential to address this shortcoming by explicitly representing linked socio‐ecological dynamics. We developed a socio‐ecological system model by coupling an existing agent‐based model of land‐use dynamics and an individual‐based model of demography and...

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are a global threat to honey bees, and spillover from managed bees threaten wider insect populations. Deformed wing virus (DWV), a widespread virus that has become emergent in conjunction with the spread of the mite Varroa destructor, is thought to be partly responsible for global colony losses. The arrival of Varroa in honey bee populations causes a dramatic loss of viral genotypic diversity, favoring a few virulent strains. Here, we investigate...

The #blackwomanhood Twitter chat took place on May 10th, 2018. It was a discussion around the syllabus for the Black Womanhood course taught by Martha Jones and Jessica Marie Johnson at Johns Hopkins University. http://dh.jmjafrx.com/2018/01/27/black-womanhood-the-syllabus/

The question of whether populations evolve predictably and consistently under similar selective regimes is fundamental to understanding how adaptation proceeds in the wild. We address this question with a replicated evolution experiment focused upon male sexual coloration in guppies (Poecilia reticulata). Fish were transplanted from a single high predation population in the Guanapo River to four replicate, guppy‐free low predation headwater streams. Two streams had their canopies thinned to adjust the setting under which male...

Bumblebees are among the world’s most important groups of pollinating insects in natural and agricultural ecosystems. Each spring, queen bumblebees emerge from overwintering and initiate new nests, which ultimately give rise to workers and new reproductives later in the season. Nest initiation and survival are thus key drivers of both bumblebee pollination services and population dynamics. We performed the first laboratory experiment with the model bumblebee species Bombus impatiens that explores how early nesting success...

Hemipteroid insects (Paraneoptera), with over 10% of all known insect diversity, are a major component of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Previous phylogenetic analyses have not consistently resolved the relationships among major hemipteroid lineages. We provide maximum likelihood-based phylogenomic analyses of a taxonomically comprehensive dataset comprising sequences of 2,395 single-copy, protein-coding genes for 193 samples of hemipteroid insects and outgroups. These analyses yield a well-supported phylogeny for hemipteroid insects. Monophyly of each of the three hemipteroid...

Exaggerated male traits under sexual selection are often used for both competition and courtship, raising the question of whether ornaments evolved simultaneously for both functions, or if use in one context preceded use in another. Here we apply a phylogenetic approach to study the evolution of ornamental dorsal fins in male poeciliid fish of the subgenera Mollienesia and Limia, which exhibit convergent development of an enlarged dorsal fin, and often direct erect-fin displays to male...

364 tweet ids and referenced urls collected from the #twitterandnews Twitter chat hosted by the Knight Foundation on Thursday, March 8th, 2018.

The diversity of colour patterns and its importance in interactions with the environment make colouration in animals an intriguing research focus. Aposematic colouration is positively correlated with body size in certain groups of animals, suggesting that warning colours are more effective or that crypsis is harder to achieve in larger animals. Surprisingly, this relationship has not been recovered in studies investigating insects, which may have been confounded by a focus on aposematic taxa that are...

Mutualisms contribute in fundamental ways to the origin, maintenance and organization of biological diversity. Introduced species commonly participate in mutualisms, but how this phenomenon affects patterns of interactions among native mutualists remains incompletely understood. Here we examine how networks of interactions among aphid-tending ants, ant-tended aphids, and aphid-attacking parasitoid wasps differ between 12 spatially paired riparian study sites with and without the introduced Argentine ant Linepithema humile in southern California. To resolve challenges in species...

Efficient host control predicts the extirpation of ineffective symbionts, but they are nonetheless widespread in nature. We tested three hypotheses for the maintenance of symbiotic variation in rhizobia that associate with a native legume: 1) partner mismatch between host and symbiont, such that symbiont effectiveness varies with host genotype, 2) resource satiation, whereby extrinsic sources of nutrients relax host control, and 3) variation in host control among host genotypes. We inoculated Acmispon strigosus from six...

Predicting population colonisations requires understanding how spatio-temporal changes in density affect dispersal. Density can inform on fitness prospects, acting as a cue for either habitat quality, or competition over resources. However, when escaping competition, high local density should only increase emigration if lower-density patches are available elsewhere. Few empirical studies on dispersal have considered the effects of density at the local and landscape scale simultaneously. To explore this, we analyze 5 years of individual-based data...

1. The mechanisms responsible for the success or failure of agricultural diversification are often unknown. Most studies of arthropod pest management focus on enhancing the effectiveness of natural enemies, but non-crop plants can also improve or hamper pest suppression by changing the host quality of crop plants by reducing or adding available soil nutrients or water. Native perennial ground covers may provide resources and long-term habitat to resident natural enemies and be more compatible than...

Maternal effects often provide a mechanism for adaptive transgenerational phenotypic plasticity. The maternal phenotype can profoundly influence the potential for such environmentally-induced adjustments of the offspring phenotype, causing correlations between offspring and maternal traits. Here we study potential effects of the maternal phenotype on offspring provisioning prior to and during gestation in the matrotrophic live-bearing fish species Poeciliopsis retropinna. Specifically, we examine how maternal traits such as body fat, lean mass and length relate to...

Global climate and land use change are altering plant and soil microbial communities worldwide, particularly in arctic and alpine biomes where warming is accelerated. The widespread expansion of woody shrubs into historically herbaceous alpine plant zones is likely to interact with climate to affect soil microbial community structure and function, however our understanding of alpine soil ecology remains limited. This study aimed to 1) determine whether the diversity and community composition of soil fungi vary...

Despite decades of interest, few studies have provided evidence supporting theoretical expectations for coupled relationships between aboveground and belowground diversity and ecosystem functioning in non-manipulated naturalecosystems. We characterized plant species richness and density, soil bacterial, fungal and eukaryotic species richness and phylogenetic diversity (using 16S, ITS, and 18S gene sequencing), and ecosystem function (levels of soil C and N, and rates of microbial enzyme activities) along a natural gradient in plant richness and density in...

1) Multi-species wildlife monitoring across large geographical regions is important for effective conservation planning in response to expected impacts from climate change and land use. Unlike many species of birds, mammals, and amphibians which can be efficiently sampled using automated sensors including cameras and sound recorders, reptiles are often much more challenging to detect, in part because of their typically cryptic behavior and generally small body sizes. Although many lizard species are more active during...

Although species interactions are often proposed to be stronger at lower latitudes and elevations, few studies have evaluated the mechanisms driving such patterns. In this study, we assessed whether, and by which mechanisms, abiotic changes associated with elevation altered the outcome of an ant-aphid protection mutualism. To do so, we characterized the multi-trophic interactions among the ant Formica podzolica, the aphid Aphis varians, and aphid natural enemies occurring on the plant Chamerion angustifolium within replicate...

A festival in celebration of the Durag was held and it was glorious. https://blavity.com/a-durag-fest-was-thrown-in-the-south-and-it-was-bountifully-blacker-than-youre-imagining This data set includes 1705 tweet ids that used the hashtag #DuragFest.

This data set contains 31,929 tweets ids for tweets containing the hashtag #GifHistory. This hashtag was used by Twitter user @MatthewACherry on February 9th, 2018 to start a conversation about the history of popular gifs on Twitter. Here is a link to the original tweet using the hashtag https://twitter.com/MatthewACherry/status/962011241815277568

This dataset contains 5,680 tweet ids for tweets that included the #AskTimothy hashtag. The ids were collected on September 22nd and 23rd, 2018. The #AskTimothy hashtag was created as one of many responses on Twitter to the conversation about diversity in museum curatorial positions sparked by this tweet from @DjChubbESwagg https://twitter.com/DjChubbESwagg/status/1042845814660517888

Data relevant to study on the foraging height of Hawaiian forest birds collected in kipuka along the Saddle Road, Upper Waiakea Forest Reserve.

This dataset include disaggregated soil moisture data using various alternatives for 2008 data.