Catherine M Bodinof Jachowski, Laura A Schoenle, Valentina J Alaasam, Heather Govenor, Sydney F Hope
{"title":"Work and life in dynamic equilibrium.","authors":"Catherine M Bodinof Jachowski, Laura A Schoenle, Valentina J Alaasam, Heather Govenor, Sydney F Hope","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.11.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.11.012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We reframe the idea of balancing career and non-career interests for ecologists specifically. We introduce the concept of a dynamic work-life equilibrium (WLE) and draw parallels between ecological processes and processes affecting our continuously fluctuating sense of balance, with an aim at encouraging self-reflection and improving WLE mentoring in ecological disciplines.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":"96-98"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142819310","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}
Elisa Van Cleemput, Peter B Adler, Katharine Nash Suding, Alanna Jane Rebelo, Benjamin Poulter, Laura E Dee
{"title":"Scaling-up ecological understanding with remote sensing and causal inference.","authors":"Elisa Van Cleemput, Peter B Adler, Katharine Nash Suding, Alanna Jane Rebelo, Benjamin Poulter, Laura E Dee","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.09.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.09.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Decades of empirical ecological research have focused on understanding ecological dynamics at local scales. Remote sensing products can help to scale-up ecological understanding to support management actions that need to be implemented across large spatial extents. This new avenue for remote sensing applications requires careful consideration of sources of potential bias that can lead to spurious causal relationships. We propose that causal inference techniques can help to mitigate biases arising from confounding variables and measurement errors that are inherent in remote sensing products. Adopting these statistical techniques will require interdisciplinary collaborations between local ecologists, remote sensing specialists, and experts in causal inference. The insights from integrating 'big' observational data from remote sensing with causal inference could be essential for bridging biodiversity science and conservation.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":"122-135"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142606269","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}
Kadri Runnel, Leho Tedersoo, Franz-Sebastian Krah, Meike Piepenbring, J F Scheepens, Henner Hollert, Sarah Johann, Nele Meyer, Claus Bässler
{"title":"Toward harnessing biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships in fungi.","authors":"Kadri Runnel, Leho Tedersoo, Franz-Sebastian Krah, Meike Piepenbring, J F Scheepens, Henner Hollert, Sarah Johann, Nele Meyer, Claus Bässler","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.10.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.10.004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fungi are crucial for terrestrial ecosystems, yet the role of fungal diversity in ecosystem functions remains unclear. We synthesize fungal biodiversity and ecosystem function (BEF) relationships, focusing on plant biomass production, carbon storage, decomposition, and pathogen or parasite resistance. The observed BEF relationships for these ecosystem functions vary in strength and direction, complicating generalizations. Strong positive relationships are generally observed when multiple ecosystem functions are addressed simultaneously. Often, fungal community composition outperforms species richness in predicting ecosystem functions. For more comprehensive fungal BEF research, we recommend studying natural communities, considering the simultaneous functions of a broader array of fungal guilds across spatiotemporal scales, and integrating community assembly concepts into BEF research. For this, we propose a conceptual framework and testable hypotheses.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":"180-190"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142629005","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":"Global-scale geo-evolutionary feedbacks: a tale by oxygen.","authors":"Xin-Yi Chu, Hong-Yu Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.11.015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.11.015","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":"111-112"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142808046","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}
Charles C Davis, Jackson Kehoe, Anna C Knaap, Christopher D M Atkins
{"title":"Science × art: spotlighting unconventional collaborations.","authors":"Charles C Davis, Jackson Kehoe, Anna C Knaap, Christopher D M Atkins","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.12.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.12.004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Science × art collaborations can effectively convey scientific insights to a wide audience. Throughout history, art has interpreted the natural world, offering vast, underexplored sources of biodiversity data. These artistic efforts also hold potential as valuable tools for understanding biodiversity.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":"104-108"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142932782","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}
Ruth Fawthrop, José Cerca, George Pacheco, Glenn-Peter Sætre, Elizabeth S C Scordato, Mark Ravinet, Melissah Rowe
{"title":"Understanding human-commensalism through an ecological and evolutionary framework.","authors":"Ruth Fawthrop, José Cerca, George Pacheco, Glenn-Peter Sætre, Elizabeth S C Scordato, Mark Ravinet, Melissah Rowe","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.10.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.10.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Human-commensalism has been intuitively characterised as an interspecific interaction whereby non-human individuals benefit from tight associations with anthropogenic environments. However, a clear definition of human-commensalism, rooted within an ecological and evolutionary framework, has yet to be proposed. Here, we define human-commensalism as a population-level dependence on anthropogenic resources, associated with genetic differentiation from the ancestral, non-commensal form. Such a definition helps us to understand the origins of human-commensalism and the pace and form of adaptation to anthropogenic niches, and may enable the prediction of future evolution in an increasingly human-modified world. Our discussion encourages greater consideration of the spatial and temporal complexity in anthropogenic niches, promoting a nuanced consideration of human-commensal populations when formulating research questions.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":"159-169"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142629006","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}
S Helene Richter, Barbara A Caspers, Melanie Dammhahn, Sylvia Kaiser
{"title":"Animal research revisited - the case of behavioural studies.","authors":"S Helene Richter, Barbara A Caspers, Melanie Dammhahn, Sylvia Kaiser","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.11.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.11.014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Animal research is a matter of intense public debate, with some people supporting and some opposing it. Drawing from examples of behavioural biology, we argue that such an 'all-or-nothing' debate falls short. We highlight the potential of better science communication and tailored ethics assessments to foster a more nuanced view.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":"99-103"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142792543","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}
Sylvaine Giakoumi, Anthony J Richardson, Aggeliki Doxa, Stefano Moro, Marco Andrello, Jeffrey O Hanson, Virgilio Hermoso, Tessa Mazor, Jennifer McGowan, Heini Kujala, Elizabeth Law, Jorge G Álvarez-Romero, Rafael A Magris, Elena Gissi, Nur Arafeh-Dalmau, Anna Metaxas, Elina A Virtanen, Natalie C Ban, Robert M Runya, Daniel C Dunn, Simonetta Fraschetti, Ibon Galparsoro, Robert J Smith, Francois Bastardie, Vanessa Stelzenmüller, Hugh P Possingham, Stelios Katsanevakis
{"title":"Advances in systematic conservation planning to meet global biodiversity goals.","authors":"Sylvaine Giakoumi, Anthony J Richardson, Aggeliki Doxa, Stefano Moro, Marco Andrello, Jeffrey O Hanson, Virgilio Hermoso, Tessa Mazor, Jennifer McGowan, Heini Kujala, Elizabeth Law, Jorge G Álvarez-Romero, Rafael A Magris, Elena Gissi, Nur Arafeh-Dalmau, Anna Metaxas, Elina A Virtanen, Natalie C Ban, Robert M Runya, Daniel C Dunn, Simonetta Fraschetti, Ibon Galparsoro, Robert J Smith, Francois Bastardie, Vanessa Stelzenmüller, Hugh P Possingham, Stelios Katsanevakis","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.12.002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2024.12.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Systematic conservation planning (SCP) involves the cost-effective placement and application of management actions to achieve biodiversity conservation objectives. Given the political momentum for greater global nature protection, restoration, and improved management of natural resources articulated in the targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework, assessing the state-of-the-art of SCP is timely. Recent advances in SCP include faster and more exact algorithms and software, inclusion of ecosystem services and multiple facets of biodiversity (e.g., genetic diversity, functional diversity), climate-smart approaches, prioritizing multiple actions, and increased SCP accessibility through online tools. To promote the adoption of SCP by decision-makers, we provide recommendations for bridging the gap between SCP science and practice, such as standardizing the communication of planning uncertainty and capacity-building training courses.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143068124","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}
Kanji M Tomita, Philip J Manlick, Kobayashi Makoto, Saori Fujii, Fujio Hyodo, Tadashi Miyashita, Tomonori Tsunoda
{"title":"The underappreciated roles of aboveground vertebrates on belowground communities.","authors":"Kanji M Tomita, Philip J Manlick, Kobayashi Makoto, Saori Fujii, Fujio Hyodo, Tadashi Miyashita, Tomonori Tsunoda","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.12.011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2024.12.011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In recent decades, evidence of interactions between aboveground and belowground (i.e., soil) subsystems has accumulated. The effects of aboveground vertebrates on belowground communities have traditionally focused on plant-mediated pathways, but we show that aboveground vertebrates impact belowground communities and ecological functions without plant-mediated pathways via both consumptive and non-consumptive processes. We then show that mobile, aboveground vertebrates have significant but often unrealized potential to structure soil communities from local to macroecological scales by linking aboveground and belowground food webs across habitats and ecosystems. Collectively, this synthesis of aboveground vertebrate effects on belowground communities integrates multiple ecological disciplines to advance a more comprehensive understanding of aboveground-belowground linkages across space and time.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143012341","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}
Anne J Romero, Anastasia Kolesnikova, Thomas H G Ezard, Michael Charles, Rafal M Gutaker, Colin P Osborne, Mark A Chapman
{"title":"'Domesticability': were some species predisposed for domestication?","authors":"Anne J Romero, Anastasia Kolesnikova, Thomas H G Ezard, Michael Charles, Rafal M Gutaker, Colin P Osborne, Mark A Chapman","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.12.007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2024.12.007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Crop domestication arises from a coevolutionary process between plants and humans, resulting in predictable and improved resources for humans. Of the thousands of edible species, many were collected or cultivated for food, but only a few became domesticated and even fewer supply the bulk of the plant-based calories consumed by humans. Why so few species became fully domesticated is not understood. Here we propose three aspects of plant genomes and phenotypes that could have promoted the domestication of only a few wild species, namely differences in plasticity, trait linkage, and mutation rates. We can use contemporary biological knowledge to identify factors underlying why only some species are amenable to domestication. Such studies will facilitate future domestication and improvement efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142984899","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}