Ecology articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Wild Asian elephants have been and continue to be captured to supplement captive populations. Here, Lahdenperä et al. use records from Myanmar timber elephants to show that wild-caught elephants have increased mortality compared to captive-born elephants for many years after capture.

    • Mirkka Lahdenperä
    • , Khyne U. Mar
    •  & Virpi Lummaa

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Red-snow algae are red-pigmented unicellular algae that appear seasonally on the surface of thawing snow worldwide. Here, Segawa et al. analyse nuclear ITS2 sequences from snow algae from the Arctic and Antarctica, identifying dominant phylotypes present in both poles as well as endemic organisms.

    • Takahiro Segawa
    • , Ryo Matsuzaki
    •  & Hiroshi Mori

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The means by which planktonic cyanobacteria were able to persist through the Archean despite high fluxes of UV radiation are unclear. Here, the authors show that Fe(III)-Si rich precipitates in the Archean photic zone could have provided early planktonic cyanobacteria an effective shield against UV-C radiation.

    • Aleksandra M. Mloszewska
    • , Devon B. Cole
    •  & Kurt. O Konhauser

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Chain-forming diatoms are key organisms in the biotic transfer of CO2 from the atmosphere to the ocean interior. Here, the authors show that turbulence stimulates and links small-scale and large scale processes from CO2 assimilation at a diatom cell level to nitrogen cycling in fast-sinking diatom aggregates.

    • Johanna Bergkvist
    • , Isabell Klawonn
    •  & Helle Ploug

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Drought conditions can alter the composition of soil microbial communities, but the effects of drought on network properties have not been tested. Here, de Vries and colleagues show that co-occurrence networks are destabilised under drought for bacteria but not fungi.

    • Franciska T. de Vries
    • , Rob I. Griffiths
    •  & Richard D. Bardgett

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Future permafrost thaw may be underestimated unless effects of wildfire are considered. Here the authors show that wildfires in boreal permafrost peatlands influence soil temperature and seasonal thaw depth for several decades, and increase the rate of complete permafrost thaw along permafrost edges.

    • Carolyn M. Gibson
    • , Laura E. Chasmer
    •  & David Olefeldt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Degradation—the loss of carbon stored in intact woodland—is very difficult to measure over large areas. Here, the authors show that carbon emissions from degradation in African woodlands greatly exceed those from deforestation, but are happening alongside widespread increases in biomass in remote areas.

    • Iain M. McNicol
    • , Casey M. Ryan
    •  & Edward T. A. Mitchard

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Genetic variation from coexisting species influences interspecific interactions in a community. Here, the authors develop a framework for identifying quantitative trait loci (QTLs) underlying community dynamics and validate the tool using data from co-culturing of two bacterial species.

    • Libo Jiang
    • , Xiaoqing He
    •  & Rongling Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Biodiversity change can impact ecosystem functioning, though this is primarily studied at lower trophic levels. Here, Schuldt et al. find that biodiversity components other than tree species richness are particularly important, and higher trophic level diversity plays a role in multifunctionality.

    • Andreas Schuldt
    • , Thorsten Assmann
    •  & Helge Bruelheide

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Islands may impose a distinct set of selective pressures, leading to the repeated evolution of certain traits. Here, Sayol et al. compare brain sizes of more than 1900 bird species in a phylogenetic context, finding a consistent trend for in situ evolution of increased brain size in island birds.

    • Ferran Sayol
    • , Philip A. Downing
    •  & Daniel Sol

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Network stability is a central topic in theoretical ecology, with most work focusing on mutualistic or food web networks. Here, the authors explore the stability of microbial networks based on the consumption and exchange of resources, showing that asymmetry in crossfeeding relationships can destabilize networks.

    • Stacey Butler
    •  & James P. O’Dwyer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Macrobioerosion, the boring of rock and other hard substrates by living organisms, is used as a marker of marine paleo-environments. Here, Bolotov et al. describe a rock-boring mussel and its associated community from freshwater in Myanmar, demonstrating that macrobioerosion is a wider phenomenon.

    • Ivan N. Bolotov
    • , Olga V. Aksenova
    •  & Oleg S. Pokrovsky

  • Article
    | Open Access

    An ongoing conservation question is if we can maintain functional diversity by optimizing for preservation of phylogenetic diversity. Here, Mazel et al. show that functional diversity increases with phylogenetic diversity in some clades but not others, and thus could be a risky conservation strategy.

    • Florent Mazel
    • , Matthew W. Pennell
    •  & William D. Pearse

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Power et al. catalogue the microbial biodiversity and physicochemistry of around 1000 hotsprings across New Zealand, providing insights into the ecological conditions that drive community assembly in these ecosystems.

    • Jean F. Power
    • , Carlo R. Carere
    •  & Matthew B. Stott

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Eemian period (120 ka) is considered a past analogue for future climatic warming, yet data from the high latitudes remains sparse. Here, the authors show that in Northern Europe, the Eemian saw dramatic climatic shifts, linked to changes in Earth’s orbit and North Atlantic oceanic circulation.

    • J. Sakari Salonen
    • , Karin F. Helmens
    •  & Miska Luoto

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The disease dynamics of bovine tuberculosis have been of interest given the pathogen’s effect on wild animal and livestock health. Here, the authors show that a brief cessation of testing for bovine tuberculosis in 2001 altered the population synchrony of the disease dynamics across regions of Great Britain.

    • Aristides Moustakas
    • , Matthew R. Evans
    •  & Yannis Markonis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The recovery of North American forests is likely to impact their capacity as a carbon sink. Here, Zhu et al. show a growth in aboveground biomass in various climate change scenarios, with these forests expected to sequester no more than 22% more carbon than current levels by the 2080s.

    • Kai Zhu
    • , Jian Zhang
    •  & Yiqi Luo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Quantifying the vulnerability of tidal marsh ecosystems to relative sea-level rise (RSLR) is essential if the threat is to be mitigated. Here, the authors analyze the response of Great Britain’s tidal marshes to RSLR during the Holocene and predict an almost inevitable loss of this ecosystem by 2100 under rapid RSLR scenarios.

    • Benjamin P. Horton
    • , Ian Shennan
    •  & Timothy A. Shaw

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The evolution of cooperation depends on social structure, which may evolve in response. Here, Akçay models coevolution between cooperation and social network formation strategies, showing that coevolutionary feedbacks lead cooperation to collapse unless constrained by costs of social connections.

    • Erol Akçay

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The structure of ecological networks can vary dramatically, yet there may be common features across networks from different ecosystem types. Here, Bramon Mora et al. use network alignment to demonstrate that there is a common backbone of interactions underlying empirical food webs.

    • Bernat Bramon Mora
    • , Dominique Gravel
    •  & Daniel B. Stouffer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The evidence for and implications of biodiversity change remain widely debated. Jarzyna and Jetz demonstrate a strong and varying scale dependence of avian taxonomic and functional diversity, highlighting the importance of scale when assessing biodiversity change.

    • Marta A. Jarzyna
    •  & Walter Jetz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Burkholderia bacteria protect the offspring of Lagria beetles against pathogens. Here, Flórez et al. identify an antifungal polyketide that is likely encoded by a horizontally acquired gene cluster on the genome of a dominant, uncultured Burkholderia symbiont of Lagria villosa.

    • Laura V. Flórez
    • , Kirstin Scherlach
    •  & Martin Kaltenpoth

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Rainforest conversion to plantations driven by global demand for agricultural products generates high environmental costs. Here, the authors show that the high oil palm plantation production efficiency is associated with decreased carbon storage and slower organic matter cycling that affect ecosystem services.

    • Thomas Guillaume
    • , Martyna M. Kotowska
    •  & Yakov Kuzyakov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Diatoms account for 40% of marine primary production and their sensitivity to ocean acidification could have ecosystem-wide consequences. Here, the authors developed and applied a stress test, demonstrating that resilience of diatoms increases significantly in ocean acidification conditions.

    • Jacob J. Valenzuela
    • , Adrián López García de Lomana
    •  & Nitin S. Baliga

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Woody plant encroachment has important implications for habitat conservation and global carbon budgets, but its drivers require quantification. Here, Venter et al. report that encroachment is predominantly driven by human activities, changing weather conditions, fire, and herbivory.

    • Z. S. Venter
    • , M. D. Cramer
    •  & H.-J. Hawkins

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Recent measurements in the Amazon rainforest indicate missing sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Here the authors show that soil microorganisms are a strong, unaccounted source of highly reactive sesquiterpenes, a class of VOCs that can regulate ozone chemistry within the forest canopy.

    • E. Bourtsoukidis
    • , T. Behrendt
    •  & J. Williams

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The management of fire season has been proposed as a climate mitigation tool but the scope and scale of this action is unclear. Here the authors use global emissions datasets to assess emissions mitigation opportunities for savanna fires, highlighting significant reduction potential in 37 countries.

    • Geoffrey J. Lipsett-Moore
    • , Nicholas H. Wolff
    •  & Edward T. Game

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Acromyrmex ants cultivate fungus gardens that can be parasitized by Escovopsis sp., leading to colony collapse. Here, Heine et al. identify two secondary metabolites produced by Escovopsis that accumulate in Acromyrmex tissue, reduce behavioural defenses and suppress symbiotic Pseudonocardia bacteria.

    • Daniel Heine
    • , Neil A. Holmes
    •  & Barrie Wilkinson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A substantial portion of model uncertainty arises from model parameters and structures. Here, the authors show that alternative model structures with data-driven parameters project greater uncertainty in soil carbon responses to climate change than the conventional soil carbon model.

    • Zheng Shi
    • , Sean Crowell
    •  & Berrien Moore III

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The role of adaptive foraging in the threat of invasive pollinators to plant-pollinator systems is difficult to characterise. Here, Valdavinos et al. use network modelling to show the importance of foraging efficiency, diet overlap, plant species visitation, and degree of specialism in native pollinators.

    • Fernanda S. Valdovinos
    • , Eric L. Berlow
    •  & Neo D. Martinez

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Introduced species may displace ecologically similar native species, but mechanisms are still to be established. Here, Catford et al. provide theoretical evidence of how human-mediated species invasions may overcome competition-colonisation tradeoffs, leading to the local extinction of native species.

    • Jane A. Catford
    • , Michael Bode
    •  & David Tilman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A Paleoproterozoic carbon isotope anomaly is likely linked to burial of oceanic cyanobacteria, but it is not clear how burial occurred. Here, the authors find that, under Paleoproterozoic pCO2 conditions, planktonic cyanobacteria increase exopolysaccharide production and mineralization, leading to aggregation and faster sinking.

    • Nina A. Kamennaya
    • , Marcin Zemla
    •  & Christer Jansson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nearly all bird species build nests; however, there is extensive variation in both how and where their nests are built. Here, Fang and colleagues reconstruct the evolution of nest structure, nest site and nest attachment across all extant bird families.

    • Yi-Ting Fang
    • , Mao-Ning Tuanmu
    •  & Chih-Ming Hung

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Multiple hypotheses have been proposed for the declining biodiversity gradient between the tropics and poles. Here, the authors compile and analyze geographic data for all ant species and large-scale phylogenies, suggesting that diversification time drives the latitudinal diversity gradient in ants.

    • Evan P. Economo
    • , Nitish Narula
    •  & Benoit Guénard

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Microbiota composition fluctuates in response to changes in environmental and lifestyle factors. Here, Hicks et al. show that the faecal microbiota of wild gorillas and chimpanzees is temporally dynamic, with shifts that correlate with seasonal rainfall patterns and periods of high and low frugivory.

    • Allison L. Hicks
    • , Kerry Jo Lee
    •  & Brent L. Williams

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A better mechanistic understanding of how marine diatoms adapt to global warming is pertinent to project changes in global ocean primary production. Here, Schaum et al. show substantial phenotypic and genomic changes in Thalassiosira pseudonana during a 300-generation selection experiment in stable and fluctuating environments.

    • C.-Elisa Schaum
    • , A. Buckling
    •  & G. Yvon-Durocher

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pathogens exert strong selection on hosts and thus may promote parallel evolution. Here, the authors find that hosts experimentally coevolving with a virus have parallel changes in population size, phenotype, and genomic regions, but accelerated divergence in genome sequence likely due to population size fluctuation.

    • Jens Frickel
    • , Philine G. D. Feulner
    •  & Lutz Becks

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The red-shouldered soapberry bug, Jadera haematoloma, is a potential model system for developmental plasticity. Here, the authors show that the reaction norm for wing polyphenism has evolved in a recently derived ecotype and identify insulin signaling as a candidate pathway underlying this adaptive change.

    • Meghan M. Fawcett
    • , Mary C. Parks
    •  & David R. Angelini

Browse broader subjects

Browse narrower subjects

Browse Ecology across other nature.com journals