ecology essay

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Collection  10 March 2022

Top 100 in Ecology

This collection highlights our most downloaded* ecology papers published in 2021. Featuring authors from aroud the world, these papers showcase valuable research from an international community.

*Data obtained from SN Insights which is based on Digital Science's Dimensions.

The first true millipede—1306 legs long

• Paul E. Marek
• Bruno A. Buzatto
• Juanita Rodriguez

Lethal coalitionary attacks of chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes troglodytes ) on gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla ) in the wild

• Lara M. Southern
• Tobias Deschner
• Simone Pika

Defining priority areas for blue whale conservation and investigating overlap with vessel traffic in Chilean Patagonia, using a fast-fitting movement model

• Luis Bedriñana-Romano
• Rodrigo Hucke-Gaete
• Daniel M. Palacios

Earliest evidence of herd-living and age segregation amongst dinosaurs

• Adriana C. Mancuso
• Vincent Fernandez

Extreme miniaturization of a new amniote vertebrate and insights into the evolution of genital size in chameleons

• Jörn Köhler
• Miguel Vences

Excess protein enabled dog domestication during severe Ice Age winters

• Maria Lahtinen
• David Clinnick
• Suvi Viranta

Honey bee hives decrease wild bee abundance, species richness, and fruit count on farms regardless of wildflower strips

• G. M. Angelella
• C. T. McCullough
• M. E. O’Rourke

Tracking late Pleistocene Neandertals on the Iberian coast

• Eduardo Mayoral
• Ignacio Díaz-Martínez
• Ricardo Díaz-Delgado

Exposure to foreign gut microbiota can facilitate rapid dietary shifts

• A. M. Fisher

Self-care tooling innovation in a disabled kea ( Nestor notabilis )

• Amalia P. M. Bastos
• Kata Horváth
• Alex H. Taylor

Discovery of a colossal slickhead (Alepocephaliformes: Alepocephalidae): an active-swimming top predator in the deep waters of Suruga Bay, Japan

• Yoshihiro Fujiwara
• Masaru Kawato
• Shinji Tsuchida

Microplastics in fish and fishmeal: an emerging environmental challenge?

• Christina J. Thiele
• Malcolm D. Hudson
• Giovanna Sidaoui-Haddad

An Italian dinosaur Lagerstätte reveals the tempo and mode of hadrosauriform body size evolution

• Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza
• Matteo Fabbri
• Federico Fanti

Seagrasses provide a novel ecosystem service by trapping marine plastics

• Anna Sanchez-Vidal
• Miquel Canals

Mistaken identity may explain why male sea snakes ( Aipysurus laevis , Elapidae, Hydrophiinae) “attack” scuba divers

• Tim P. Lynch
• Ross A. Alford
• Richard Shine

Explainable identification and mapping of trees using UAV RGB image and deep learning

• Masanori Onishi
• Takeshi Ise

The giant panda is cryptic

• Ossi Nokelainen
• Nicholas E. Scott-Samuel

Pivot burrowing of scarab beetle ( Trypoxylus dichotomus ) larva

• Haruhiko Adachi
• Makoto Ozawa
• Shigeru Kondo

Redefining the oceanic distribution of Atlantic salmon

• Audun H. Rikardsen
• David Righton
• Kim Aarestrup

Chest beats as an honest signal of body size in male mountain gorillas ( Gorilla beringei beringei )

• Edward Wright
• Sven Grawunder
• Martha M. Robbins

Powered flight in hatchling pterosaurs: evidence from wing form and bone strength

• Darren Naish
• Mark P. Witton
• Elizabeth Martin-Silverstone

Two wild female bonobos adopted infants from a different social group at Wamba

• Nahoko Tokuyama
• Kazuya Toda
• Shintaro Ishizuka

Multiple pygmy blue whale acoustic populations in the Indian Ocean: whale song identifies a possible new population

• Emmanuelle C. Leroy
• Jean-Yves Royer
• Tracey L. Rogers

Action potentials induce biomagnetic fields in carnivorous Venus flytrap plants

• Anne Fabricant
• Geoffrey Z. Iwata
• Dmitry Budker

North Pacific warming shifts the juvenile range of a marine apex predator

• Kisei R. Tanaka
• Kyle S. Van Houtan
• Salvador J. Jorgensen

Spatial and temporal pattern of wildfires in California from 2000 to 2019

• Tirtha Banerjee

Effects of climate change and land cover on the distributions of a critical tree family in the Philippines

• Sean E. H. Pang
• Jose Don T. De Alban
• Edward L. Webb

African soil properties and nutrients mapped at 30 m spatial resolution using two-scale ensemble machine learning

• Tomislav Hengl
• Matthew A. E. Miller
• Jonathan Crouch

Russian forest sequesters substantially more carbon than previously reported

• Dmitry Schepaschenko
• Elena Moltchanova
• Florian Kraxner

Isotope data from amino acids indicate Darwin’s ground sloth was not an herbivore

• Julia V. Tejada
• John J. Flynn
• Brian N. Popp

Late Pleistocene human paleoecology in the highland savanna ecosystem of mainland Southeast Asia

• Kantapon Suraprasit
• Rasmi Shoocongdej
• Hervé Bocherens

Early Pleistocene faunivorous hominins were not kleptoparasitic, and this impacted the evolution of human anatomy and socio-ecology

• Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo
• Enrique Baquedano
• Diego González-Aguilera

An ecological niche shift for Neanderthal populations in Western Europe 70,000 years ago

• William E. Banks
• Marie-Hélène Moncel
• Frédéric Santos

Surface slicks are pelagic nurseries for diverse ocean fauna

• Jonathan L. Whitney
• Jamison M. Gove
• Gregory P. Asner

Field measurements of a massive Porites coral at Goolboodi (Orpheus Island), Great Barrier Reef

• Nathan Cook
• Vicki Saylor

Ongoing ecological and evolutionary consequences by the presence of transgenes in a wild cotton population

• Valeria Vázquez-Barrios
• Karina Boege

Novel and disappearing climates in the global surface ocean from 1800 to 2100

• Katie E. Lotterhos
• Áki J. Láruson
• Li-Qing Jiang

Partial shading by solar panels delays bloom, increases floral abundance during the late-season for pollinators in a dryland, agrivoltaic ecosystem

• Maggie Graham
• Serkan Ates
• Chad W. Higgins

The early hunting dog from Dmanisi with comments on the social behaviour in Canidae and hominins

• Saverio Bartolini-Lucenti
• Joan Madurell-Malapeira
• Lorenzo Rook

Comprehensive comparative morphology and developmental staging of final instar larvae toward metamorphosis in the insect order Odonata

• Genta Okude
• Takema Fukatsu
• Ryo Futahashi

G enome-wide data implicate terminal fusion automixis in king cobra facultative parthenogenesis

• Daren C. Card
• Freek J. Vonk
• Warren Booth

New evidence from exceptionally “well-preserved” specimens sheds light on the structure of the ammonite brachial crown

• C. P. A. Smith
• N. H. Landman

Population decline in a ground-nesting solitary squash bee ( Eucera pruinosa ) following exposure to a neonicotinoid insecticide treated crop ( Cucurbita pepo )

• D. Susan Willis Chan
• Nigel E. Raine

Tropical deforestation induces thresholds of reproductive viability and habitat suitability in Earth’s largest eagles

• Everton B. P. Miranda
• Carlos A. Peres
• Colleen T. Downs

Biodiversity and ecosystem functions depend on environmental conditions and resources rather than the geodiversity of a tropical biodiversity hotspot

• Christine I. B. Wallis
• Yvonne C. Tiede
• Jörg Bendix

Summer weather conditions influence winter survival of honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) in the northeastern United States

• Martina Calovi
• Christina M. Grozinger
• Sarah C. Goslee

Evidence that spillover from Marine Protected Areas benefits the spiny lobster ( Panulirus interruptus ) fishery in southern California

• Hunter S. Lenihan
• Jordan P. Gallagher
• Daniel C. Reed

Metal concentrations in coastal sharks from The Bahamas with a focus on the Caribbean Reef shark

• Oliver N. Shipley
• Cheng-Shiuan Lee
• Austin J. Gallagher

First tracks of newborn straight-tusked elephants ( Palaeoloxodon antiquus )

• Carlos Neto de Carvalho
• Zain Belaústegui
• Clive Finlayson

An integrative analysis uncovers a new, pseudo-cryptic species of Amazonian marmoset (Primates: Callitrichidae: Mico ) from the arc of deforestation

• Rodrigo Costa-Araújo
• José S. Silva-Jr.
• Tomas Hrbek

eDNA sampled from stream networks correlates with camera trap detection rates of terrestrial mammals

• Arnaud Lyet
• Loïc Pellissier
• Robin Naidoo

Large-scale variations in the dynamics of Amazon forest canopy gaps from airborne lidar data and opportunities for tree mortality estimates

• Ricardo Dalagnol
• Fabien H. Wagner
• Luiz E. O. C. Aragão

Tipping point realized in cod fishery

• Christian Möllmann
• Xochitl Cormon
• Martin Quaas

Temporal activity patterns suggesting niche partitioning of sympatric carnivores in Borneo, Malaysia

• Miyabi Nakabayashi
• Tomoko Kanamori

No evidence of physiological declines with age in an extremely long-lived fish

• Derek J. Sauer
• Britt J. Heidinger
• Mark E. Clark

International fisheries threaten globally endangered sharks in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean: the case of the Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 reefer vessel seized within the Galápagos Marine Reserve

• Elisa Bonaccorso
• Nicté Ordóñez-Garza
• Juan M. Guayasamin

Indirect effects of invasive rat removal result in recovery of island rocky intertidal community structure

• Carolyn M. Kurle
• Kelly M. Zilliacus
• Donald A. Croll

Assessing the carbon capture potential of a reforestation project

• David Lefebvre
• Adrian G. Williams

The evolutionary history of manatees told by their mitogenomes

• Érica Martinha Silva de Souza
• Lucas Freitas
• Mariana Freitas Nery

Microplastics accumulate fungal pathogens in terrestrial ecosystems

• Gerasimos Gkoutselis
• Stephan Rohrbach
• Gerhard Rambold

Advances in automatic identification of flying insects using optical sensors and machine learning

• Carsten Kirkeby
• Klas Rydhmer
• Kaare Græsbøll

Aboveground plant-to-plant communication reduces root nodule symbiosis and soil nutrient concentrations

• Yuta Takahashi
• Kaori Shiojiri
• Akira Yamawo

The rhizosphere microbiome plays a role in the resistance to soil-borne pathogens and nutrient uptake of strawberry cultivars under field conditions

• Cristina Lazcano
• Kelly Ivors

Highest risk abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear

• Eric Gilman
• Michael Musyl
• Brandon Kuczenski

Future thermal regimes for epaulette sharks ( Hemiscyllium ocellatum ): growth and metabolic performance cease to be optimal

• Carolyn R. Wheeler
• Jodie L. Rummer
• John W. Mandelman

Earliest evidence of marine habitat use by mammals

• Anton F.-J. Wroblewski
• Bonnie E. Gulas-Wroblewski

Constraining the chronology and ecology of Late Acheulean and Middle Palaeolithic occupations at the margins of the monsoon

• James Blinkhorn
• Hema Achyuthan
• Jana Ilgner

Neonicotinoids disrupt memory, circadian behaviour and sleep

• Kiah Tasman
• Sergio Hidalgo
• James J. L. Hodge

Evaluation metrics and validation of presence-only species distribution models based on distributional maps with varying coverage

• Kamil Konowalik
• Agata Nosol

Ecosystem response persists after a prolonged marine heatwave

• Robert M. Suryan
• Mayumi L. Arimitsu
• Stephani G. Zador

Rhizobia use a pathogenic-like effector to hijack leguminous nodulation signalling

• Safirah Tasa Nerves Ratu
• Albin Teulet
• Shin Okazaki

Camera trap placement for evaluating species richness, abundance, and activity

• Kamakshi S. Tanwar
• Yadvendradev V. Jhala

Assessing biophysical and socio-economic impacts of climate change on regional avian biodiversity

• Simon Kapitza
• Pham Van Ha
• Brendan A. Wintle

Smell of green leaf volatiles attracts white storks to freshly cut meadows

• Martin Wikelski
• Michael Quetting
• Jonathan Williams

Dinosaur senescence: a hadrosauroid with age-related diseases brings a new perspective of “old” dinosaurs

• Justyna Słowiak
• Tomasz Szczygielski
• Dawid Surmik

Positive effects of COVID-19 lockdown on river water quality: evidence from River Damodar, India

• Baisakhi Chakraborty
• Biswajit Bera
• Pravat Kumar Shit

Snow algae blooms are beneficial for microinvertebrates assemblages (Tardigrada and Rotifera) on seasonal snow patches in Japan

• Nozomu Takeuchi
• Krzysztof Zawierucha

Coastal wetlands can be saved from sea level rise by recreating past tidal regimes

• Mahmood Sadat-Noori
• Caleb Rankin
• William Glamore

Identifying unknown Indian wolves by their distinctive howls: its potential as a non-invasive survey method

• Sougata Sadhukhan
• Holly Root-Gutteridge
• Bilal Habib

Optimal fishing effort benefits fisheries and conservation

• Emma V. Sheehan
• Martin J. Attrill

The spreading of the invasive sacred ibis in Italy

• Marco Cucco
• Gianfranco Alessandria
• Irene Pellegrino

Exceptional fossil assemblages confirm the existence of complex Early Triassic ecosystems during the early Spathian

• Christopher P. A. Smith
• Thomas Laville
• Arnaud Brayard

Allelopathic effect of Artemisia argyi on the germination and growth of various weeds

Organophosphate poisoning of Hyacinth Macaws in the Southern Pantanal, Brazil

• Eliane C. Vicente
• Neiva M. R. Guedes

The critical role of natural history museums in advancing eDNA for biodiversity studies: a case study with Amazonian fishes

• C. David de Santana
• Lynne R. Parenti

Novel approach to enhance coastal habitat and biotope mapping with drone aerial imagery analysis

• João Gama Monteiro
• Jesús L. Jiménez
• João Canning-Clode

High resolution biologging of breaching by the world’s second largest shark species

• Jessica L. Rudd
• Owen M. Exeter
• Lucy A. Hawkes

The largest hoplophonine and a complex new hypothesis of nimravid evolution

• Paul Zachary Barrett

Dangerous demographics in post-bleach corals reveal boom-bust versus protracted declines

• Juliano Morais
• Renato A. Morais
• David R. Bellwood

Welwitschia : Phylogeography of a living fossil, diversified within a desert refuge

• Norbert Jürgens
• Imke Oncken
• Barbara Rudolph

Response of bacterial and fungal communities to high petroleum pollution in different soils

• Polina Galitskaya
• Liliya Biktasheva
• Svetlana Selivanovskaya

Integrating multiple chemical tracers to elucidate the diet and habitat of Cookiecutter Sharks

• Aaron B. Carlisle
• Elizabeth Andruszkiewicz Allan
• John O’Sullivan

Environmental stressors, complex interactions and marine benthic communities’ responses

• Charlotte Carrier-Belleau
• David Drolet
• Philippe Archambault

eDNA metabarcoding for biodiversity assessment, generalist predators as sampling assistants

• Louise Nørgaard
• Carsten Riis Olesen
• Laura Iacolina

Distance sampling surveys reveal 17 million vertebrates directly killed by the 2020’s wildfires in the Pantanal, Brazil

• Walfrido Moraes Tomas
• Christian Niel Berlinck
• Ronaldo Morato

Description of five new species of the Madagascan flagship plant genus Ravenala (Strelitziaceae)

• Thomas Haevermans
• Annette Hladik
• Patrick Blanc

A symbiotic aphid selfishly manipulates attending ants via dopamine in honeydew

• Tatsumi Kudo
• Hitoshi Aonuma
• Eisuke Hasegawa

Ixodiphagus hookeri wasps (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) in two sympatric tick species Ixodes ricinus and Haemaphysalis concinna (Ixodida: Ixodidae) in the Slovak Karst (Slovakia): ecological and biological considerations

• Alicja Buczek
• Weronika Buczek
• Michał Stanko

Genomic signatures of the evolution of defence against its natural enemies in the poisonous and medicinal plant Datura stramonium (Solanaceae)

• I. M. De-la-Cruz
• J. Núñez-Farfán

Timely poacher detection and localization using sentinel animal movement

• Henrik J. de Knegt
• Jasper A. J. Eikelboom
• Herbert H. T. Prins

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