Ecology and EvolutionPub Date : 2026-05-06eCollection Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1002/ece3.73591
Ryan T Phillips, Ryan C Garrick
{"title":"How Large, Decayed, and Moist Must Rotting Logs Be to Act as Thermally Buffered Microhabitats in Temperate Eastern United States Forests?","authors":"Ryan T Phillips, Ryan C Garrick","doi":"10.1002/ece3.73591","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73591","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Deadwood is an essential habitat for forest biodiversity, yet coarse woody debris (CWD) is declining owing to silvicultural practices that impede recruitment (e.g., clearcutting, short logging rotations), and/or forest sanitization that prevents retention (e.g., removal of \"waste wood\"). Furthermore, connections among studies examining the ecological roles of CWD as potential refugia for saproxylic organisms susceptible to heat and desiccation, or cold, have been hampered by inconsistent thresholds used to define \"large-diameter\" logs. Here we measured temperature inside and outside rotting logs over four seasons in temperate montane Southern Appalachian forests, and assessed relationships between several metrics of thermal buffering with log diameter, decay stage, and moisture content. Our analyses showed that the microclimates of larger diameter logs exhibit significantly decreased temperature ranges in spring and fall, and increased minimum temperatures in winter and on extreme cold days. Qualitatively, logs with diameters of at least 25-30 cm provided modest to considerable thermal buffering (depending on the metric), and this may represent a useful threshold for targeted enhancement of CWD habitats. However, there was no detectable reduction of maximum temperatures in summer or on extreme warm days, suggesting that, in natural temperate mixed pine-oak forests in the eastern United States, a key benefit that saproxylic organisms gain from living in rotting logs may be avoidance of cold stress. Neither decay stage nor moisture content were significant predictors of thermal buffering in any season. Ultimately, larger diameter logs provide important microhabitats, and management strategies that prioritize their creation and retention should have far-reaching benefits for biodiversity in forests.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 ","pages":"e73591"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13148867/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147833825","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecology and EvolutionPub Date : 2026-05-06eCollection Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1002/ece3.73636
Qingling Hu, Cuiying Wang, Xianwen Yang, Fang Wang
{"title":"Current and Future Potential Distribution of the Invasive Thrips <i>Echinothrips americanus</i> (Terebrantia: Thripidae) Under Global Climate Change.","authors":"Qingling Hu, Cuiying Wang, Xianwen Yang, Fang Wang","doi":"10.1002/ece3.73636","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73636","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Echinothrips americanus</i> is an invasive pest that parasitizes over 48 families and 106 species of plants. It has spread to more than 20 countries, causing significant economic losses to the agricultural and forestry industries. Understanding the potential distribution of invasive species under climate change is crucial for management and monitoring. Therefore, this study used the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) Model to predict the potential distribution areas of <i>E. americanus</i> under current and future climate scenarios based on occurrence data and environmental variables. The results showed that the Annual mean temperature (Bio1) and Precipitation of the warmest quarter (Bio18) had the greatest contributions to the current distribution model of <i>E. americanus</i>. The potential distribution map revealed that the primary potential distribution areas of <i>E. americanus</i> are concentrated in Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Africa, with a total area of approximately 3.41 × 10<sup>7</sup> km<sup>2</sup>. Additionally, the study predicted changes in the suitable areas for <i>E. americanus</i> under future climate scenarios: the marginal suitable areas are expected to contract significantly, while the moderate and highly suitable areas may expand slightly. The total suitable area contracts more significantly under high-emission scenarios (SSP370/SSP585) and more moderately under low/moderate-emission scenarios (SSP126/SSP245). This study provides important data for understanding the potential global distribution of <i>E. americanus</i> and offers an early warning platform for noninfested regions that have not yet developed monitoring strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 ","pages":"e73636"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13148137/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Optimizing Sex Ratio and Colony Size to Enhance Reproduction and Mass-Rearing in <i>Spodoptera litura</i> Under Controlled Laboratory Conditions.","authors":"Chuanzhen Xue, Hanqi Li, Bowen Xu, Jiaying Mao, Xiaotong Xu, Yuanfei Li, Jianjun Mao, Mengqing Wang, Huizi Wu, Hancheng Wang, Yuyan Li, Lisheng Zhang","doi":"10.1002/ece3.73639","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73639","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The tobacco cutworm <i>Spodoptera litura</i> is a globally distributed polyphagous agricultural pest and common factitious host for mass-producing biological control agents (e.g., predators, parasitoids, entomopathogens), owing to its rapid development, and high reproductive capacity. Efficient large scale rearing of <i>S. litura</i> is also fundamental for developing sterile insect techniques (SIT) application, which require stable, high quality insect colonies to ensure consistent sterilization outcomes and effective field release strategies. However, skewed sex ratios frequently constrain colony performance and limit the efficiency of large-scale rearing systems. In this study, seven sex ratio treatments (1:1, 3:2, 2:1, 5:2, 3:1, 7:2, 4:1) were established to quantify key reproductive traits. Among the initial ratios, 1:1 produced the highest female longevity and maximum fecundity per female. This optimal ratio was subsequently scaled to colony sizes of 20:20, 40:40, and 60:60 to evaluate proportional effects on reproductive output. Fecundity per female was highest at the 1:1 sex ratio and decreased with increasing population size. The 40:40 configuration yielded the best overall reproductive performance. These findings refine the understanding of sex ratio dependent reproductive dynamics in <i>S. litura</i> and provide practical guidance for improving mass-rearing efficiency both for factitious host production and for supporting SIT development.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 ","pages":"e73639"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13148865/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147834849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecology and EvolutionPub Date : 2026-05-06eCollection Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1002/ece3.73496
Emilie Champagne, Daniel Dumais, Geneviève Picher, Patricia Raymond
{"title":"Will It Survive? Evaluating the Effects of Damage and Silviculture on Tree Seedling Survival Using Multi-State Models.","authors":"Emilie Champagne, Daniel Dumais, Geneviève Picher, Patricia Raymond","doi":"10.1002/ece3.73496","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73496","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plantations are the spearhead of adaptive silviculture, as planting stock can be selected to increase the resistance and resilience to climate-related stressors and to accelerate the transition toward future conditions. Yet, plantations require high investments for an uncertain future outcome. Especially, we do not have a global understanding of how damage from abiotic and biotic agents relates to seedlings' survival, and how 'damage history' can be modulated by silvicultural treatments. Here, we aimed at establishing the effects of timing and frequency of damage (i.e., loss of photosynthetic tissue, mechanical damage, herbivore damage, or presence of pathogens) on the survival of planted trees, using 6 years of surveys in an assisted migration experiment. Seedlings of eight species were categorized as 'Healthy', 'Damaged', or 'Dead' each fall. We analyzed transitions among categories using multi-state models, a technique typical of the medical field that can be used to study disease progression. Survival and recovery of damaged seedlings declined with earlier and more frequent damage for all species, with the exception of <i>Pinus strobus</i>, affected by white pine blister rust. Shade-intolerant species suffered less damage and had reduced mortality and higher recovery rates in the patch clearcut (1.2 ha), when compared to the shelterwood cut (40% of basal area removed). Shade-tolerant species benefitted from open light conditions, either because these conditions were appropriate for a quick establishment or because of nursery's full light conditions. These results highlight the importance of providing adequate environmental conditions for quick seedling establishment, which will affect seedlings' ability to withstand damage. Although multi-state models have limits, we propose that the study of 'damage history' can provide valuable insights in the context of plantations and could be expanded to other uses. Damage and recovery rates, especially, could be used as early indicators of plantation success, guiding the choices of silvicultural treatments.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 ","pages":"e73496"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13147155/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecology and EvolutionPub Date : 2026-05-06eCollection Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1002/ece3.73291
Rebecca S Morris, Fred Kraus, V Deepak, Saunak Pal, Stephen J Richards, Simon T Maddock
{"title":"Genetic Diversification in a New Guinean Frog Genus (<i>Mantophryne</i>, Microhylidae) was Driven by Ancient Tectonic Activity and Climate Reorganisation.","authors":"Rebecca S Morris, Fred Kraus, V Deepak, Saunak Pal, Stephen J Richards, Simon T Maddock","doi":"10.1002/ece3.73291","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73291","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Western Melanesia sits at the junction of three major tectonic plates, characterised by dynamic plate interactions and geological diversity. Tectonic activity in this region has given rise to modern New Guinea, a relatively young island with extreme topographic heterogeneity and evolutionarily complex biota. New Guinea-particularly the East Papuan Composite Terrane (EPCT)-supports exceptional frog diversity; however, evolutionary histories of many frogs of the EPCT are poorly understood. The microhylid frog genus <i>Mantophryne</i> currently includes five described species (<i>M. axanthogaster</i>, <i>M. insignis</i>, <i>M. louisiadensis</i>, <i>M. menziesi</i> and <i>M. lateralis</i>), with the first four confined to small portions of the EPCT and the last distributed across the eastern half of New Guinea. The biogeographic history of these frogs remained incompletely resolved at the time of our study. We estimate that <i>Mantophryne</i> diverged from other microhylid genera approximately 14.4 million years ago (MYA) and began to speciate ca. 8.5 MYA. We recover eight distinct lineages within frogs assigned to <i>M. lateralis</i>, which started to diverge ca. 5.5 MYA. Dispersal of <i>Mantophryne</i> out of the EPCT occurred in the late Pliocene, around the time the Central Highlands expanded eastward to connect with the EPCT. Six pairs of sister lineages arose during a time of significant climate reorganisation in the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene when it is possible that areas to the north of the Central Highlands experienced increased precipitation, while areas south of the Central Highlands experienced lower rainfall, resulting in contraction of rainforests and expansion of savannahs. We did not identify any significant differences in habitus between lineages, other than <i>M. louisiadensis</i> which is much larger than all other <i>Mantophryne,</i> and has exceptionally high sexual-size dimorphism. While an interrogation of the putative cryptic species complex within the <i>M. lateralis</i> clade is beyond the scope of our study, we find that a combination of tectonic rearrangement and climatic history are likely responsible for most of the diversity within the genus that we see today.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 ","pages":"e73291"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13148145/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecology and EvolutionPub Date : 2026-05-05eCollection Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1002/ece3.73612
Hao Li, Wenqian Sun, Wen Xiong, Tao Ju, Wenhui Wang, Li Tang, Zhengxiang Wang, Xin Gao, Lei Pan, Xianghong Dong, Yu Peng
{"title":"Spatial Distribution of Topmouth Gudgeonis <i>Pseudorasbora parva</i> Under Climate Change by Ensemble Models.","authors":"Hao Li, Wenqian Sun, Wen Xiong, Tao Ju, Wenhui Wang, Li Tang, Zhengxiang Wang, Xin Gao, Lei Pan, Xianghong Dong, Yu Peng","doi":"10.1002/ece3.73612","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73612","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Climate change may exacerbate biological invasion by expanding the distribution of invasive species. <i>Pseudorasbora parva</i> (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846) is a prevalent invasive fish species. It has posed significant threats to biodiversity and ecosystems in over 40 countries across Asia, Europe, and Africa. To avoid or mitigate its threats, it is necessary to evaluate its invasion risk. Species distribution models (SDMs), using occurrence data and bioclimatic factors, serve as critical tools for evaluating biological invasion risks. ANN, FDA, GAM, GBM, MARS, and RF are prominent individual algorithms. Ensemble models are generally considered better than individual algorithms as they can effectively reduce uncertainties. However, no study has yet used ensemble models to forecast the global distribution of <i>P. parva</i> under future climate change. Therefore, the aim of this study was to use ensemble SDMs, combined by above-mentioned six individual algorithms, to predict the global potential suitable habitats and influencing factors of <i>P. parva</i> under current and future climate change. Global occurrence data for <i>P. parva</i> were collected from online biodiversity platforms and literature databases. Bioclimatic variables were from WorldClim and ENVIREM. The results showed as follows: (1) The ensemble model demonstrated excellent performance with an AUC of 0.993; (2) The two bioclimatic factors exerting the most significant influence on <i>P. parva</i> distribution were the maximum temperature of the coldest month and isothermality, contributing 51.362% and 18.279% respectively; (3) The distribution of <i>P. parva</i> in the current period, as generated by the ensemble model, revealed that the primary invasion areas are concentrated at latitude 22°-55° N; (4) Future projections under various climate scenarios indicated an overall range expansion, with high-latitude or high-altitude regions becoming increasingly favorable. These findings suggest that the future global expansion trend of <i>P. parva</i> should not be ignored and effective management policies for its invasion should be provided.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 ","pages":"e73612"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13143565/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835102","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecology and EvolutionPub Date : 2026-05-05eCollection Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1002/ece3.73627
Hung-Chia Chang, Si-Min Lin
{"title":"Population-Level Laterality of Ambush Posture in the Chinese Green Tree Pit Viper (<i>Trimeresurus stejnegeri</i>) in Northern Taiwan.","authors":"Hung-Chia Chang, Si-Min Lin","doi":"10.1002/ece3.73627","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73627","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Behavioral lateralization, a consistent directional asymmetry in behavior, has been documented across many vertebrates, yet population-level evidence in snakes remains limited and debated. We examined ambush-posture laterality in the Chinese green tree pit viper (<i>Trimeresurus stejnegeri</i>), a nocturnal sit-and-wait predator, using a large dataset compiled from nocturnal field surveys (2014-2025) and verified citizen-science records from iNaturalist (2013-2025). Ambush-posture direction was classified from photographs using a standardized, anatomically referenced procedure based on head-aligned reference lines, and ambiguous cases were excluded unless observer classifications were concordant. We tested for population-level bias among sites using chi-squared tests and binomial logistic regression, and evaluated effects of age class and perching height. Across 283 observations from three localities, snakes at Yangmingshan exhibited a significant rightward bias in ambush posture (36 of 55 individuals = 65.5%; <i>χ</i> <sup>2</sup> = 5.25, df = 1, <i>p</i> = 0.022), whereas no population-level bias was detected at the other two localities. Neither age class nor perching height significantly affected laterality. These results provide the first evidence for site-specific population-level ambush-posture laterality in a snake and suggest that local ecological or demographic contexts, potentially linked to prey community composition and availability, may modulate the expression of laterality. Future work across additional populations and taxa, together with performance-based tests comparing capture success between left- versus right-curved strikes, will be essential for evaluating the adaptive significance of this pattern.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 ","pages":"e73627"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13143564/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835124","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecology and EvolutionPub Date : 2026-05-05eCollection Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1002/ece3.73295
Jinxin Wei, Bangze Li, Rong Zou, Weiping Wu, Fei Tan, Li Ding, Tao Ding
{"title":"Potential Geographic Distribution of the Rare and Endangered Plant <i>Sauvagesia rhodoleuca</i> in China Under Climate Change Scenarios.","authors":"Jinxin Wei, Bangze Li, Rong Zou, Weiping Wu, Fei Tan, Li Ding, Tao Ding","doi":"10.1002/ece3.73295","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73295","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Sauvagesia rhodoleuca</i>, a monospecific endemic to China, belongs to the Ochnaceae. It holds significant academic value in studying the evolution and phylogeny of this family's flora, and its rhizomes have medicinal properties. Due to human activities and habitat destruction, the wild population of this species has sharply declined, and it has been listed as a national second-class protected plant. It is now only sporadically distributed in mid-low mountain forests of Guangxi and Guangdong at an altitude of 400-1000 m. To reveal its potential distribution and response to climate change, this study optimized parameters of the MaxEnt model using 29 distribution points and 38 environmental variables. The ENMeval package was used to simulate suitable area distributions under current and future (2050s, 2070s) SSP126, SSP245, and SSP585 scenarios. The results showed that the optimized MaxEnt model had AUC values > 0.988, indicating high prediction accuracy. Bio14, T_BS, T_CLAY, and Bio8 were identified as the main environmental drivers, with hydrothermal conditions dominating the distribution pattern. Under current climate conditions, the total suitable habitat area was estimated at 146.81 × 10<sup>4</sup> km<sup>2</sup>, concentrated in southern China. Projections under future scenarios (2050s and 2070s) across SSP126, SSP245, and SSP585 scenarios indicated significant range expansion, with the most pronounced increase (63.81% expansion) observed under the high-emission SSP585 scenario in the 2070s. The distribution centroid showed a consistent northward shift, with new suitable habitats emerging primarily in Fujian, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang. This study provides a scientific basis for wild resource conservation and cultivation introduction of <i>S. rhodoleuca</i>, recommending prioritized conservation of high-suitability areas like Dayao Mountain National Nature Reserve of Guangxi and cultivation introduction planning in new areas like Hunan and Jiangxi, while considering environmental requirements for medicinal component accumulation.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 ","pages":"e73295"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13143516/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecology and EvolutionPub Date : 2026-05-05eCollection Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1002/ece3.73629
Bashiru Adams, Jian Chen, Esmaeil Amiri
{"title":"Body Size Trade-Offs Underpin Reproductive Success and Thermal Stress Tolerance in an Invasive Pest, the Small Hive Beetle.","authors":"Bashiru Adams, Jian Chen, Esmaeil Amiri","doi":"10.1002/ece3.73629","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73629","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Body size is an important feature of organisms that correlates strongly with fitness, as it directly or indirectly influences nearly all biological phenomena. The body size of an organism is, in turn, shaped by many biological and physical factors that may not only directly affect the individual but also influence offspring through maternal investment or provisioning and transgenerational mechanisms. Body size differences have widely been observed in adult small hive beetles (<i>Aethina tumida</i> Murray, SHBs), an invasive pest of honey bee colonies; however, little is known about the evolutionary and ecological implications of these variations. We hypothesized that parental body size influences reproductive performance, progeny fitness, and stress tolerance in SHBs. To test this, we paired different adult sizes and sexes of SHBs in rearing containers and compared their reproductive abilities and offspring fitness. We also exposed the progeny beetles to extreme temperatures and measured their thermal tolerance. A clear trade-off emerged: larger beetles generated more offspring with lower fitness, while smaller adults produced fewer but higher-fitness offspring. Additionally, larger SHB females showed greater tolerance to extreme temperatures, while small males were the most vulnerable. This study reveals that parental body size in SHB plays a pivotal role in shaping offspring reproductive traits and thermal stress tolerance. These findings highlight a potential mechanism by which SHB adapts and thrives across diverse and changing environments. Management strategies that exploit these life-history trade-offs could help shift populations toward weaker generations, thereby enhancing long-term control effort.</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 ","pages":"e73629"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13143514/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ecology and EvolutionPub Date : 2026-05-05eCollection Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1002/ece3.73646
{"title":"Correction to \"Identifying Priority Habitat for Conservation of the Australian Bustard Under Climate Change Scenarios\".","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/ece3.73646","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73646","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1002/ece3.72619.].</p>","PeriodicalId":11467,"journal":{"name":"Ecology and Evolution","volume":"16 ","pages":"e73646"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13144758/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}