We challenged archived genetic mapping data for 36 fruit, seed, flower and yield traits in tomato and found an unexpected bimodal distribution in one measure of trait variability, the mean coefficient of variation, with some traits being consistently more variable than others. To determine the degree of conservation of this distribution among higher plants, we compared 18 homologous phenotypes, including yield and seed production, across different crop species grown in a common ‘crop garden’ experiment....

Predicting the timing of upcoming events enables efficient resource allocation and action preparation. Rhythmic streams, such as music, speech, and biological motion, constitute a pervasive source for temporal predictions. Widely accepted entrainment theories postulate that rhythm-based predictions are mediated by synchronizing low-frequency neural oscillations to the rhythm, as indicated by increased phase concentration (PC) of low-frequency neural activity for rhythmic compared to random streams. However, we show here that PC enhancement in scalp recordings is...

1. Movement based indices such as Moves Per Minute (MPM) and Proportion Time Moving (PTM) are common methodologies to quantify foraging behavior. We explore fundamental drawbacks of these indices, question the ways scientists have been using them, and propose new solutions. 2. To do so, we combined analytical and simulation models with lizards foraging data at the individual and species levels. 3. We found that the maximal value of MPM is constrained by the minimal...

Understanding the ecological, behavioral and evolutionary response of organisms to changing environments is of primary importance in a human-altered world. It is crucial to elucidate how human activities alter gene flow and what are the consequences for the genetic structure of a species. We studied two lineages of the Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) throughout the contact zone between mesic and arid ecozones in the Middle East to evaluate the species' response to the growing...

Protective mimicry, in which a palatable species avoids predation by being mistaken for an unpalatable model, is a remarkable example of adaptive evolution. These complex interactions between mimics, models and predators can explain similarities between organisms beyond the often-mechanistic constraints typically invoked in studies of convergent evolution. However, quantitative studies of protective mimicry typically focus on static traits (e.g. colour and shape) rather than on dynamic traits like locomotion. Here, we use high-speed cameras and...

1. The 'habitat-specific species pool hypothesis' proposes that differences between habitats in the sizes of their species pools are the main drivers of diversity responses to habitat heterogeneity. Empirical tests of this hypothesis are not trivial since species might be missing from ecologically suitable habitats due to limited dispersal, while others may occur in unsuitable habitats by means of source-sink dynamics and mass effect. 2. We tested the habitat-specific species pool hypothesis in a local,...

1. Decomposition of organic matter in semiarid ecosystems is a key component of the terrestrial carbon (C) cycle. The well-known inaccuracies in predicting litter decay in water-limited regions were lessened by considering solar radiation as an abiotic decay driver of photodegradation. Moreover, exposure to high solar irradiance in dry periods often led to massive facilitation of litter decay in subsequent wet periods (“photoacceleration”), though in many studies this effect was absent. 2. Recently, water vapor...