A historically unprecedented mountain pine beetle (MPB) outbreak affected western Montana during the past decade. We examine radial growth rates of visually healthy and MPB-infected adult ponderosa pine and compare growth rates, intrinsic water-use efficiency, and drought responses at two sites. Basal area increment (BAI) values within populations and between sites were similar until the last 20–30 years, at which point the visually healthy populations had consistently lower BAI values.

When considering the carbon reservoir of the Arctic tundra and its future fate, it is important to include estimates of leaf-level physiological responses of tundra species and how they may change under future predicted conditions. Here, we present the first ecologically meaningful estimates of respiration to consider the known inhibition of respiration caused by light from the well-studied, long-term global change experiment at Toolik Lake, Alaska. Our results suggest that different functional strategies under the individual treatments may allow for the continued encroachment and expansion of woody shrubs into the Arctic tundra as temperatures warm in this region, and this has significant implications for both biodiversity and carbon storage.

A multi-generational study investigating phenotypic trajectories of selection at elevated [CO₂] in two different temperature regimes revealed an increased overall aboveground biomass and higher reproductive output as a specific response of plants selected in high [CO₂] environments. This accentuates the importance of phenotypic divergence across multiple generations in relation to our understanding of future ecosystem functioning.

This work shows that the species-time area and phylogenetic-time area relationship frameworks are generalizable to diverse tropical tree communities. It also shows strong relationships between the species-area relationship (SAR) and species-time relationship (STR) scaling exponents and the phylogenetic-area relationship (PAR) and phylogenetic-time relationship (PTR) scaling exponents and suggests that it is possible to predict the temporal accumulation of species or phylogenetic diversity (e.g., STR or PTR) from the initial SAR or PAR of the two forests studied.

Using the first fossil-calibrated phylogeny of all living scleractinian reef corals, in conjunction with IUCN data on extinction vulnerabilities, we model how loss of species due to various threats can affect the future phylogenetic diversity of corals. Results reveal considerable variation in predicted loss of phylogenetic diversity across different threat categories that would be useful for setting conservation priorities.

Gene transcription is a highly regulated step in the expression of a phenotype that has been implicated in the development of local adaptation. We assayed candidate gene transcription in wild juvenile rainbow trout and correlated transcription with temperature data and abundance of bacteria in the sampled streams. Co-inertia analysis demonstrated significant associations between metabolic gene transcription and thermal regime and cytokine gene transcription with relative abundances of bacteria. Our results indicate that local adaptation of Babine Lake rainbow trout is mediated by gene transcription.

We model conflicts over group membership between established residents (insiders) and solitary floaters (outsiders) in a patch structured population. Our results show that whether or not groups form is mainly determined by demographic processes: If high per-group fecundity (relative to resident mortality) leads to a high degree of habitat saturation, territory defense becomes too costly, and groups form because insiders give in to the intruder pressure imposed on them by outsiders.

The Qinghai toad-headed agamid demonstrates a clear male-biased dispersal pattern. Social structure and associated cost-benefit dynamics may contribute to the observed pattern.

In wild house mice, a selfish genetic element called the t haplotype showed 90% drive and caused a 40% reduction in litter size through prenatal mortality in heterozygote crosses. Heterozygous females reduced the occurrence of such genetically incompatible fertilizations by preferring wild-type males in a free-living population, and through a fertilization bias in favor of + sperm in monogamous matings with heterozygote males in the laboratory. The mechanism underlying the apparent ability to discriminate between + and t is consistent with recognition of the unique MHC haplotype that we found to be linked to the t.

Ocean currents influence the genetic structure of an intertidal mollusc in southeastern Australia – implications for predicting the movement of passive dispersers across a marine biogeographic barrier.

Taxonome is a software package for indexing and linking data using taxon names, and for resolving synonyms. This addresses a common problem for researchers working with data on many species.

The effect of parasite on host life-history traits was studied under different host nutrient regimes using Daphnia magna-microparasite system. We demonstrated that the impact of nutrient starvation and parasite infection on consumers depends not only on the stoichiometric demands of host but also those of the parasite.

To characterize model properties or interpret data, it can be important to distinguish between different ways to define fitness. We discuss a recent experiment to show how the interpretation can change if an alternative definition is used.

In terrestrial ecosystems, plant roots are colonized by various clades of mycorrhizal and endophytic fungi. Focused on the root systems of an oak-dominated temperate forest in Japan, we used 454 pyrosequencing to explore how phylogenetically diverse fungi constitute an ecological community of multiple ecotypes. This study revealed that root-associated fungal communities of oak-dominated temperate forests were dominated not only by ectomycorrhizal fungi but also by diverse root endophytes and that potential ecological interactions between the two ecotypes may be important to understand the complex assembly processes of belowground fungal communities.

The size of a population is one of the most basic and critical pieces of information for conservation and management but population size is difficult to measure for many species. Methods exist to estimate population size using genotypes from noninvasive samples, but these methods treat genotypes as simple markers that identify individuals. A set of genotypes contains more information than this and simulation shows that taking advantage of the information that genotypes provide about relationships between individuals can improve estimates of population size.

We tested the response of Manduca sexta (Sphingidae) lines selected for large or small body size and short development time to hypoxia (10 kPa) and hyperoxia (25, 33, and 40 kPa). Individuals from the big-fast line exhibited greater negative responses to hyperoxia with greater reductions in juvenile and adult mass, growth rate and survival than the other two lines. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that simultaneous acquisition of large body sizes and short development times leads to reduced and more variable capacities for coping with stressful conditions.

Corals form mutualistic symbioses with photosynthetic dinoflagellates belonging to the genus Symbiodinium. In this study, we show that the history of ocean thermal stress influences the community of Symbiodinium in corals, but this influence is host specific. Our results shed light on the differential response of corals to a changing ocean environment.

Tree root distribution and activity are important determinants of belowground competition, particularly across edaphic conditions. We tested a nondestructive approach to determine a tree crop (Theobroma cacao) coarse root structure using ground-penetrating radar and root activity via soil water acquisition using isotopic matching of δ¹⁸O plant and soil signatures. To further answer root ecology questions in various tree-based landscapes, this study successfully demonstrates a new technique for in situ root studies that moves beyond invasive point sampling to nondestructive detection of root structure and function.

Microsatellite markers (N = 5) were developed for analysis of genetic variation in 15 populations of the columnar cactus Stenocereus stellatus used or managed under traditional agriculture practices in central Mexico. Coupled with the absence of significant bottlenecks, this suggests genetic diversity in managed populations is promoted through long-distance gene exchange. Cultivation of S. stellatus in close proximity to wild populations has led to complex patterns of genetic variation across the landscape that reflects the interaction of natural and cultural processes.

Climate change scenarios predict sea surface temperature isotherms in the N-Atlantic to shift up to 600 km northwards by the end of the 21st century. Based on Ecological Niche Models, we predict the impact of climate change over the coming two centuries on the distribution of three foundational, macroalgal species that occur along N-Atlantic shores: Fucus serratus, Fucus vesiculosus and Ascophyllum nodosum. Model predictions suggest that Arctic shores will become suitable for all three species but that the species will lose suitable habitat in the southern temperate provinces which can trigger an unpredictable shift in the N-Atlantic intertidal ecosystem.

Climate change is one of the most critical environmental challenges of the 21st century and several lines of evidence suggest that climate change may benefit nonnative plants more than native plants. With a field warming experiment at two sites in southeastern Utah, we assessed how phenology, biomass, and reproduction of an invasive grass Bromus tectorum responded to 4 years of warming and with a follow-up greenhouse experiment, tested whether changes we saw under field experimental conditions influenced offspring performance.

Population genetic patterns of the Endangered spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi, across a human-dominated landscape, the Rivas Isthmus in southwestern Nicaragua.

Severe ecological consequences have been documented following the rapid invasion of vendace (Coregonus albula) in a major northern European subarctic ecosystem. We showed that repeated translocation of vendace in 1964–1966 most likely founded the invasion and that the secondary expansion follows a stepping stone pattern. The results also reveal rapid genetic divergence among the colonist populations. Multiple introductions and substantial genetic variation in combination with the boom-and-bust population development of the species thus likely counteracted the founder effects as well as fueled the rapid establishment and expansion of this species within the Inari-Pasvik watercourse.

Feeding functional responses have been measured on the Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) feeding on Artemia, Chironomids larvae and rice. We found that contrary to theoretical predictions for filter feeders, intake rates did not increase linearly with increasing food density. These findings allows us to predict an immediate negative effect of any decrease in prey density upon flamingo foraging performance.