Luke T Kelly, Ary A Hoffmann, Craig R Nitschke, Juli G Pausas
{"title":"Can plants keep up with fire regime changes through evolution?","authors":"Luke T Kelly, Ary A Hoffmann, Craig R Nitschke, Juli G Pausas","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.04.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.04.009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Patterns of fire are rapidly changing across the globe and causing mismatches between plants and their environment. These mismatches have ecological and evolutionary consequences, but the latter are often overlooked. A critical question is whether plant populations can evolve quickly enough to keep up with changing fire regimes. Fire-related traits, such as canopy seed storage with fire-stimulated seed release, vary within species and can enhance fitness and be heritable - the preconditions for adaptive evolution. Here, we develop a framework that recognizes mismatches between traits and fire based on variation within and among conspecific populations and that opens new ways of forecasting environmental changes and conserving plants. Advances in genomics enable evolutionary potential to be estimated even in wild, long-lived plants.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":"663-672"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144143064","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marcus V Cianciaruso, Mario Almeida-Neto, Luis M Bini
{"title":"A call for flexpert ecologists.","authors":"Marcus V Cianciaruso, Mario Almeida-Neto, Luis M Bini","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.06.006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.06.006","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144529716","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ronald A Jenner, Nicholas R Casewell, Eivind A B Undheim
{"title":"What is animal venom? Rethinking a manipulative weapon.","authors":"Ronald A Jenner, Nicholas R Casewell, Eivind A B Undheim","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.05.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.05.009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The scientific study of animal venoms covers a broad phylogenetic domain. We argue that the true extent of this domain has been obscured by researchers having overlooked the biological essence of venom. Venoms manipulate the physiological functioning of recipients to produce extended phenotypes that are beneficial to the venom producer and detrimental to its victim. The ability to produce extended phenotypes in living victims, such as prey paralysis, distinguishes venom from saliva. Understanding venom from this perspective substantially broadens the phylogenetic domain of venom to include taxa that use toxic secretions to feed on plants and manipulate sexual partners, and it paves the way for unifying the field of venomics with the fields that study invertebrate-plant interactions and sexual conflict.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144340428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"What we (don't) know about costs in animal contests.","authors":"Paulo Enrique Cardoso Peixoto, Glauco Machado","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.05.008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.05.008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Animal contests are central to understanding the evolution of aggressive behaviors and the strategic decisions that shape survival and reproductive success across species. A key aspect of contests is the role of individual costs in determining the outcome. However, despite its obvious meaning, a clear definition of contest costs is lacking. We argue that contest costs have both short- and long-term effects that affect how aggressive behaviors evolve and show that empirical studies rarely connect these two types of cost. To address this gap, we propose methodological approaches that integrate both cost perspectives. As a result, new research integrating short- and long-term contest costs can substantially advance our understanding of strategic decision-making evolution in animal contests.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144660358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Denying that we may be experiencing the start of the Sixth Mass Extinction paves the way for it to happen.","authors":"Robert H Cowie, Philippe Bouchet, Benoît Fontaine","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.06.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.06.001","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144333886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pablo Villalva, Jeppe Aagaard Kristensen, Signe Normand
{"title":"A process-based understanding of ecosystem buffering against stressors: response to Kong et al.","authors":"Pablo Villalva, Jeppe Aagaard Kristensen, Signe Normand","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.06.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.06.003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144326969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Idan Talmon, Sasha Pekarsky, Yoav Bartan, Nikki Thie, Wayne M Getz, Pauline L Kamath, Rauri C K Bowie, Ran Nathan
{"title":"Using wild-animal tracking for detecting and managing disease outbreaks.","authors":"Idan Talmon, Sasha Pekarsky, Yoav Bartan, Nikki Thie, Wayne M Getz, Pauline L Kamath, Rauri C K Bowie, Ran Nathan","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.05.004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.05.004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Zoonotic diseases increasingly threaten human and wildlife populations, driving a global rise in mass-mortality outbreaks, including the ongoing avian influenza panzootic in wildlife and zoonotic spillovers such as the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in humans. We introduce a new general framework for detecting and managing pathogen outbreaks using animal movement and sensory biologging data to enhance early outbreak detection, provide near-real-time updates on sentinel host health and mortality, and reveal infection-induced behavioral changes. Integrating past and near-real-time biologging with disease surveillance data also enables prospective assessments of spatiotemporal outbreak dynamics, informs management decisions, helps to mitigate spillover risks, and supports both disease control and wildlife conservation.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144294887","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jennifer A Rudgers, Catherine A Gehring, D Lee Taylor, M Dylan Taylor, Y Anny Chung
{"title":"Integration of plant-soil feedbacks with resilience theory for climate change.","authors":"Jennifer A Rudgers, Catherine A Gehring, D Lee Taylor, M Dylan Taylor, Y Anny Chung","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.05.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.05.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The resilience of ecosystems to climate disruption requires internal feedbacks that support the stability of ecosystem structure and function. Such feedbacks may include sustained interactions between plants and soil [plant-soil feedback (PSF)]. Theoretically, PSF could either boost or degrade ecosystem resilience. Three criteria must be met to attribute resilience to PSF: (i) The presence or amount of PSF must be manipulated; (ii) the ecosystem must face climate disruption after PSF is manipulated; and (iii) PSF must alter the resistance or recovery of ecosystem structure or function to disruption. Several case studies suggest that PSF may support (or degrade) resilience, but no study has yet met all criteria. Doing so could yield novel insights into how aboveground-belowground interactions shape ecosystem resilience to climate change.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144294973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gregor Kalinkat, Andreas Jechow, Sibylle Schroer, Franz Hölker
{"title":"Nocturnal pandas: conservation umbrellas protecting nocturnal biodiversity.","authors":"Gregor Kalinkat, Andreas Jechow, Sibylle Schroer, Franz Hölker","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.05.006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.05.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Light pollution is an emerging ecological threat. To mitigate its negative consequences, creative inter- and transdisciplinary solutions and societal interactions are needed. To this end, we introduce nocturnal umbrella species representative of light-sensitive biodiversity whose protection will safeguard vital ecosystem services and a wide range of co-occurring species.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144294974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vivienne P Groner, Jacob Cook, C David L Orme, Priyanga Amarasekare, Edward Comyn-Platt, Taran Rallings, Jaideep Joshi, Robert M Ewers
{"title":"Harmonizing nature's timescales in ecosystem models.","authors":"Vivienne P Groner, Jacob Cook, C David L Orme, Priyanga Amarasekare, Edward Comyn-Platt, Taran Rallings, Jaideep Joshi, Robert M Ewers","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.03.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.03.011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Modeling complex, nonlinear ecosystem processes across different timescales presents a significant challenge. We identify two key issues: selecting a representative timestep that captures interconnected processes across various timescales, and simulating these processes in an appropriate sequence. By synthesizing existing ecosystem frameworks, we find shared compromises between biological realism and computational performance. For the representative timestep, these include 'selective elimination of timescales', 'biting the bullet', 'each in their own time', and 'capture the unseen'. For processing order, we identify hierarchical, logical, iterative, and random approaches. Similar challenges exist in other disciplines, and we show how transferring methods from multiple fields, along with smarter computing, can improve timescale integration. Overcoming these challenges requires innovative transdisciplinary solutions, and we outline directions for future research.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":"575-585"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144016861","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}