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By quantifying metabolic interactions between individual cells in synthetic microbial communities, the authors show that interactions are extremely localized, and that the spatial scale of interactions influences community dynamics.
Evolution experiments with Saccharomyces cerevisiae in changing and constant environments show that antagonistic pleiotropy can conceal molecular adaptations in changing environments.
Incorporating evolutionary dynamics into a population model, the authors show that, even though changing ecological conditions are not enough to induce an immediate regime shift in the system, selection-induced evolutionary responses acting on a phenotypic trait may eventually cause a regime shift by pushing it beyond a tipping point after a substantial delay.
Analysing communities of soil bacteria under differing nutrient concentrations, the authors show that extensive growth with high levels of nutrients results in stronger interactions among species, leading to declines in biodiversity and stability.
The genetic mechanisms underlying the benefits of sex are unclear. Experimental evolution in sexual and asexual diploid populations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae shows that overdominant mutations are beneficial in asexual populations but stay at lower frequencies in sexual populations due to segregation load.
Applying vertebral form–function relationships derived from extant animals to the synapsid fossil record indicates evolution of vertebral regions is decoupled from their functional exploitation.
Combining field data from 83 sites on five continents, together with microcosm experiments, the authors show that nutrient cycling, decomposition, plant production and other ecosystem functions are positively associated with a higher diversity of a wide range of soil organisms.
Morphometrics and comparative phylogenetics show coevolution of the beak and the skull of Darwin’s finches and Hawaiian honeycreepers, suggesting that adaptive radiation in these groups occurred under tight cranial integration.
Phylogenomic analysis including representatives of all metazoan phyla shows gene duplication followed by differential gene loss throughout the animal tree of life.
Quantifying bacterial load in plant leaves, the authors show that insect herbivory can cause compositional shifts in bacterial community structure, primarily by enhancing the growth of putative phytopathogens. Across a native host population, insect–bacteria co-infection load is highly clustered and associated with lower plant fitness.
Exposing experimental lines of microalgae to random fluctuations in salinity, the authors show that environmental autocorrelation strongly influences population growth and extinction risk, with accurate predictions only possible when the impact of past environments is taken into account.
Combining Earth observation data and dynamic global vegetation models, the authors show that anthropogenic land use and land cover change has caused a reduction in the contribution to the terrestrial carbon sink for tropical forests but an increase for boreal forests between 1992 and 2015.
The civil war in Mozambique led to the collapse of large-mammal populations and the spread of the invasive plant Mimosa pigra. Experimental exclosures and DNA metabarcoding are used to show how trophic rewilding since the end of the war has reduced the invasive population.
Predicting ecological niche space and ecosystem function from morphological traits is challenging. Here, the authors show that avian trophic diversity can be reduced to four dimensions, based on nine key morphological traits, which reflects convergence of trait combinations.
Left–right symmetry in vertebrates is established during development by different mechanisms, including motile cilia. Here, the authors show asymmetric expression of a Nodal paralogue in the left–right organizer in two reptilian embryos, which do not have motile cilia.