Sharks, rays, and chimaeras of the Revillagigedo National Park: An update of new and confirmed records
The Revillagigedo Archipelago National Park is the largest no‐take Marine Protected Area in North America and it is essential for the conservation of globally endangered marine megafauna including cetaceans, sea birds, and cartilaginous fishes. The present paper reports the occurrence of 28 chondric…
The accuracy of phenology estimators for use with sparsely sampled presence‐only observations
Phenology is one of the most immediate responses to global climate change, but data limitations have made examining phenology patterns across greater taxonomic, spatial, and temporal scales challenging. One significant opportunity is leveraging rapidly increasing data resources from digitized museum…
Assessing influence in biofuel production and ecosystem services when environmental changes affect plant‐pest relationships
Climate change is currently affecting both biodiversity and human activities; land use change and greenhouse gas emissions are the main drivers. Many agricultural services are affected by the change, which in turn reflects on the basic provisioning services, which supply food, fibre and biofuels. Bi…
First records of remarkable damselfly species Nehalennia speciosa (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) from the Republic of Karelia (Russia)
Several local populations of remarkable Odonata species Nehalennia speciosa (Coenagrionidae) are reported for the first time from the Republic of Karelia. N. speciosa is considered a threatened species in Europe even though it is widespread throughout the Palaearctic region. The species was found wi…
Spatial and temporal sex ratio bias and Wolbachia-infection in New Zealand Crambidae (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea)
The New Zealand fauna of snout moths (Pyraloidea) predominantly consists of endemic species. During 2017 and 2018, 56 species of Pyraloidea in 1,749 individuals were collected at 14 localities. All species were screened for Wolbachia-infection, with specimens of eight species (14%) being positive, o…
Genomic‐wide sequencing reveals remarkable connection between widely disjunct populations of the internationally threatened bog buck moth
Rare, threatened species often suffer from habitat fragmentation, which leads to smaller populations vulnerable to negative impacts including inbreeding depression and collapse of metapopulation dynamics. Therefore, understanding the population structure and relationships of each population of a thr…
Variability and distribution of the golden-headed weevil Compsus auricephalus (Say) (Curculionidae: Entiminae: Eustylini)
The golden-headed weevil Compsus auricephalus is a native and fairly widespread species across the southern U.S.A. extending through Central America south to Panama. There are two recognised morphotypes of the species: the typical green form, with pink to cupreous head and part of the legs and the u…
Continuous expansion of the geographic range linked to realized niche expansion in the invasive Mourning gecko Lepidodactylus lugubris (Duméril & Bibr…
Lepidodactylus lugubris is a parthenogenetic gecko which has been increasingly expanding its range during the last century. This invasive species has been reported from multiple tropical and subtropical countries in five continents, most of which were colonized in recent times. In order to understan…
Native distribution characteristics rather than functional traits explain preadaptation of invasive species to high‐UV‐B environments
Aim: Alien species successfully colonize new ranges if they encounter favourable environmental conditions there and possess traits that match new challenges. Climate‐matching approaches comparing native and exotic ranges mostly consider temperature and precipitation niches of alien species, but have…
Reconstructing historical shifts in suitable habitat of Sceloporus lineages using phylogenetic niche modelling
Aim: We tested whether we could detect geographical shifts in modelled‐suitable habitat. We aim to enhance phylogenetic niche models of past suitable habitats for Sceloporus lineages by integrating modern and fossil occurrences with ecological and phylogenetic comparative modelling methods. Specific…
Grinnelian and Eltonian niche conservatism of the European honeybee (Apis mellifera) in its exotic distribution
The understanding of how niche-related traits change during species invasion have prompted what is now known as the niche conservatism principle. Most studies that have tested the niche conservatism principle have focused on the extent to which the species’ climatic niches remain stable in their exo…
Adaptation to Climate in Space and Time
Many species evolve adaptive clines in response to climatic gradients. This thesis investigated adaptation to climate across environmental gradients through time using cyanogenesis (release of HCN upon tissue lysis) in Trifolium repens as a model. First, adaptive responses to recent and rapid climat…
Extended leaf phenology has limited benefits for invasive species growing at northern latitudes
Many understory woody invasive plants in North America leaf out earlier or retain leaves later than their native associates. This extended leaf phenology is thought to grant invasive species an advantage over native species because spring and fall are crucial times for light access and carbon acquis…
The Biology, Ecology and Societal Importance of Marine Bryozoa
Bryozoans are common animals in marine benthic (seabed) ecosystems, and also occur in freshwater rivers, with 6063 and 108 extant species in each environment respectively. There are 17,867 fossil species described. They are distributed across the oceans with a relatively high diversity on the Antarc…
Functional adaptations and trait plasticity of urban trees along a climatic gradient
In urban environments, long-term tree survival and performance requires physiological tolerance or phenotypic plasticity in plant functional traits. Knowledge of these traits can inform the likely persistence of urban forests under future, more severe climates. We assessed the plasticity of morpholo…
Pine Tree Lappet Moth
A phenology model and temperature-based climate suitability model for the pine tree lappet moth (PTLM), Dendrolimus pini (Murayama), was developed using data from available literature and through modeling in CLIMEX v. 4 (Hearne Scientific Software, Melbourne, Australia; Kriticos et al. 2016), Maxent…
Climate change reduces the distribution area of the shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn.) in Burkina Faso
Vitellaria paradoxa, the shea tree, an economically important fruit-tree species native to savanna regions is threatened in Burkina Faso due to overexploitation and changing land-use. Furthermore, it remains unclear how climate change will influence its frequency and distribution. We investigated th…
Conservation status of Primulaceae, a plant family with high endemism, in China
Primroses, approximately 1000 species from the family Primulaceae, are mostly distributed in subalpine to alpine areas and attract attention due to their high ornamental value. However, they have been increasingly threatened by human activities and climate change in recent decades. China harbours 53…
Acknowledging uncertainty in evolutionary reconstructions of ecological niches
Reconstructing ecological niche evolution can provide insight into the biogeography and diversification of evolving lineages. However, comparative phylogenetic methods may infer the history of ecological niche evolution inaccurately because (a) species' niches are often poorly characterized; and (b)…
Distribution and invasive potential of the black-tufted marmoset Callithrix penicillata in the Brazilian territory
Biological invasions are one of the greatest existing threats to biodiversity. Invasive species can cause economic and environmental damage. Callithrix penicillata is naturally found in the Brazilian savanna and Caatinga. Its introduced populations have become a conservation problem due to its high …
Recognizing sources of uncertainty in disease vector ecological niche models: An example with the tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato
Epidemiology is one of many fields that use ecological niche modeling to assess potential distributions or potential range expansions of species. When such models are transferred in space and time, it is important to understand sources and location of uncertainty in their predictions. Here, we used …
Potential poleward distribution shift of dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) along the southern California Current System
The dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus, 1758) is an epipelagic top-predator that is globally distributed in tropical and subtropical waters. In the Eastern Tropical and Subtropical Pacific, this fish represents a target species for commercial and recreational fisheries. Climate change is affe…
Yellow sea mediated segregation between North East Asian Dryophytes species
While comparatively few amphibian species have been described on the North East Asian mainland in the last decades, several species have been the subject of taxonomical debates in relation to the Yellow sea. Here, we sampled Dryophytes sp. treefrogs from the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People’…
Increasing Cervidae populations have variable impacts on habitat suitability for threatened forest plant and lichen species
Large herbivores play a key role in temperate and boreal forest ecosystems. Cervidae (deer) population densities and community structure have undergone drastic changes in many parts of the world over the past decades, often with deer populations increasing. Many studies show impacts of Cervidae on m…
Little owl (Athene noctua) around human settlements and agricultural lands: Conservation and management enlightenments
Ecological studies have been focused on large, rare or endangered species but species which are adapted to traditional agroecosystems or rural environments received less attention. For example, Little owl is a typical inhabitant of agricultural lands and its population had greatly reduced due to the…