Articles

Measurements of plant–pollinator interactions and crop yields for 32 crops in 120 study systems show that 28–61% of crop systems globally are pollinator limited and that realistic increases in pollinator visitation could close yield gaps.

A longitudinal analysis of microbial community assembly dynamics reveals that communities cultured in metabolically complex media are more different from each other than those cultured in simpler media. Using consumer-resource model simulations, the authors demonstrate that the breakdown of complex metabolites by specialist taxa may promote cross-feeding between community members and allow for the assembly of more diverse communities.

A chromosome-level genome assembly for the Ninu (greater bilby) and genome sequences for the extinct Yallara (lesser bilby), together with resequenced genomes, shed light on the demographic history of Ninu and inform conservation plans for this culturally and ecologically important marsupial.

A comparative analysis of community metabolomics and herbivore-induced damage in tropical, subtropical and subalpine tree communities shows that both phytochemical diversity and herbivory were higher in tropical communities, providing support to the latitudinal biotic interactions hypothesis.

How biodiversity responds to habitat fragmentation per se is debated. Here the authors combine metacommunity simulations with reanalysis of empirical metacommunities to show that the amount of habitat loss modulates the response of biodiversity to fragmentation.

Analysis of 297 whole-genome sequences of six introduced European rabbit populations, domestic rabbits and wild rabbits from the native range shows wild and domestic ancestry in introduced rabbit populations and purging of alleles for domesticated traits when rabbits colonized novel natural environments.

The authors investigate epifaunal tiering and ecological succession within the oldest preserved animal communities, those of the Ediacaran Avalon assemblage (574–560 Ma), identifying four community types that form irrespective of succession and finding that tiering is prevalent in three community types.

Using a deep learning method that extracts morphological features from images of marine fossils, the authors explore morphological disparity dynamics over a time series of 4 million years, spanning the Permian–Triassic mass extinction event.

This study develops a somatic molecular clock based on the accumulation of fixed somatic genetic variation that segregates among clonally produced organisms and applies it to the eelgrass Zostera marina.

Machine learning analyses and playback experiments in wild African elephants suggest that individuals address conspecifics with name-like calls that do not rely on imitation of the receiver.

A meta-analysis of 335 studies reveals that microbial inoculants have overall positive effects on the biomass of soil microbial communities. These effects were weakened by environmental stress and strengthened by the use of fertilizers and native inoculants.

Most diversity–synchrony–stability studies are conducted on a single trophic level. A multitrophic assessment of algae–herbivore assemblages across five long-term tropical and temperate marine system datasets demonstrates the varied and complex nature of diversity–synchrony–stability relationships.

The authors build recombination maps of marine, freshwater and hybrid sticklebacks at a scale of 3.8 kb, examining differences in recombination rates and evolutionary implications in populations undergoing adaptive divergence. They find evidence of recombination suppression in hybrids and reduced fitness of recombinants in a natural hybrid zone.

A 15-year experiment at rocky intertidal sites on the northwestern US coast documents kelp, barnacle and mussel abundances before, during and after a multi-year marine heatwave and an outbreak of sea star wasting disease, including changes to communities that did not recover after return to baseline conditions.

Niche contiguity occurs when only current climatic conditions are used to estimate the niche of a species, ignoring potential niche expansion under climate change. An assessment of 24,944 species shows that nearly half exhibit niche contiguity, which can lead to overestimates of biodiversity loss under climate change.

Analysing strontium isotope ratios for individuals of 18 bovid and equid species dating to the Last Glacial Period (115–11.7 ka), the authors find that 16 of these species lack definitive evidence of migration, even those species that are long-distance migrants today.

An analysis of fish and macroinvertebrate communities in European rivers over 32 years shows that inland ship traffic is associated with declining taxonomic richness, diversity and trait richness and with increased taxonomic evenness.

A survey of sharks and rays on coral reefs within 66 marine protected areas across 36 countries showcases that the conservation benefits of full MPA protection to sharks almost double when accompanied by effective fisheries management.

Long-term high-resolution data on social relationships, space use and microhabitat in a wild population of mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), accompanied by sampling of the gut microbiota, show that distinct sets of microorganisms dominate social and environmental transmission routes of microbiota. Microorganisms with low oxygen tolerance are more reliant on social transmission.

Isotope analysis of human and faunal remains dated to the Later Stone Age reveals a substantial plant-based component to hunter-gatherer diets at the site of Taforalt, several millennia prior to the development of agriculture in the Levant, renewing the question of why agriculture did not develop contemporaneously in North Africa.