Prey use contemporary information to update their risk estimation, and accordingly, optimize their anti-predator reactions. Conceptualization of this process is largely focused on information that reflects predator activity. We aimed to complement this unilateral view by testing whether prey also use cues of non-predatory species to update their risk perception. We focused our investigation on the desert isopod Hemilepistus reaumuri that reacts defensively to excavated soil mounds, even in the absence of direct predator cues....

Animals balance the risk of predation against other vital needs by adjusting their spatial behavior to match spatiotemporal variation in predation risk. To map this ‘landscape of fear’, prey use evolutionary rules of thumbs that are associated with the activity and hunting efficiency of predators. In addition, prey acquire perceptual information about the presence, identity, and state of potential predators and use these cues to focus their acute anti-predatory responses. Our goal was to explore...

The miniaturized arachnid order Palpigradi has ambiguous phylogenetic affinities, due to its odd combination of plesiomorphic and derived morphological traits. This lineage has never been sampled in phylogenomic datasets because of its small body size and fragility of most species, a sampling gap of immediate concern to recent disputes over arachnid monophyly. To redress this gap, we sampled a population of the cave-inhabiting species Eukoenenia spelaea from Slovakia and inferred its placement in the phylogeny...

Drought-related tree mortality had become a widespread phenomenon in forests around the globe. Recent drought years led to 5-10% mortality in the semi-arid pine forest of Yatir (Israel). The distribution of dead trees was, however, highly heterogeneous with parts of the forest showing >80% dead trees (D plots) and others with mostly live trees (L plots). At the tree level, visible stress was associated with low predawn leaf water potential at the dry season (-2.8...

Nutrient cycling in most terrestrial ecosystems is thought to be controlled by moisture-dependent decomposer activity. In arid ecosystems, plant litter cycling exceeds rates predicted based on precipitation amounts, suggesting that additional factors are involved in these systems. Attempts to reveal these factors have predominantly focused on abiotic degradation, precipitation frequency, soil-litter mixing, and alternative moisture sources. Our aim was to explore an additional hypothesis that macro-detritivores control litter cycling in deserts. We quantified the role...