Ecology articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    What a microbial strain is and how many strains make up a natural bacterial population remain elusive concepts. Here, Viver et al. analyse Salinibacter ruber isolates and metagenomes from two solar salterns, revealing gaps within the species sequence space that they use to define and quantify sub-species categories, such as genomovars and strains, that co-exist in a saltern pond.

    • Tomeu Viver
    • , Roth E. Conrad
    •  & Ramon Rossello-Mora

  • Article
    | Open Access

    This study shows that conserving approximately half of global land area through protection or sustainable management could provide 90% of ten of nature’s contributions to people and could meet representation targets for 26,709 species of mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. This finding supports recent commitments to conserve at least 30% of global lands and waters by 2030.

    • Rachel A. Neugarten
    • , Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer
    •  & Amanda D. Rodewald

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In a first global analysis, researchers find that sandy shores are severely squeezed between human infrastructure and the rising sea, as on average, the first road or building is currently situated at just 390 meters distance from the shoreline.

    • Eva M. Lansu
    • , Valérie C. Reijers
    •  & Tjisse van der Heide

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Using a global synthesis of size spectra data from pelagic food webs, this study finds that size structure is not driven by temperature as often suggested, but by the nutrient status of the system. This means that modest phytoplankton declines projected for key fishing grounds at mid-latitudes will amplify into substantial reductions in the supportable biomass of fish.

    • Angus Atkinson
    • , Axel G. Rossberg
    •  & Constantin Frangoulis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Climate change is redistributing species poleward, threatening widespread socio-ecological disruption as key tipping-points are exceeded. This study examines space-time dynamics of kelp ecosystem collapse over a 15-year period along the warming coastline of eastern Tasmania and shows that an early-warning signal of kelp ecosystem collapse is recognisable well-in-advance.

    • Scott D. Ling
    •  & John P. Keane

  • Article
    | Open Access

    DNA sequencing methods for characterizing microbial communities are well developed for bacteria, archaea and fungi, but less so for eukaryotic parasites and commensals. Here, the authors present an optimized and validated metabarcoding protocol for host-associated eukaryotic communities.

    • Leah A. Owens
    • , Sagan Friant
    •  & Tony L. Goldberg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Agricultural soil C dynamics under climate change are difficult to predict. Here, the authors report that experimental warming increases soil organic C stocks in conservation agriculture but not in conventional agriculture, which appears driven by soil microbial responses to no tillage and C inputs from the crops.

    • Jing Tian
    • , Jennifer A. J. Dungait
    •  & Jizhong Zhou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The evolution of cicadas is unclear due to a lack of understanding of transitional features. Here, the authors assess adult and nymph mid-Cretaceous cicadas, to elucidate their morphological evolution and identify evidence of the origins of cicada sound-generation and subterranean lifestyle.

    • Hui Jiang
    • , Jacek Szwedo
    •  & Bo Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Although intraspecific dominance hierarchies are common, large scale interspecific dominance hierarchies are unknown. Using data from hundreds of avian species, the authors find that species that are more familiar with each other engage in less aggression and the aggression is resolved more directly.

    • Gavin M. Leighton
    • , Jonathan P. Drury
    •  & Eliot T. Miller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, Rühlemann et al. analyze the gut microbiome of wild-living African great apes (Gorillas, Bonobos, Chimpanzees) in comparison to that of humans, identifying host specific patterns and shared evolutionary conserved traits disrupted in humans.

    • M. C. Rühlemann
    • , C. Bang
    •  & A. Franke

  • Editorial
    | Open Access

    Climate change is exacerbating challenges both for global food production and from its environmental impacts. Sustainable and socially responsible solutions for future world-wide food security are urgently needed.

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tree species may be vulnerable to multiple global change factors. Here, the authors find that more than 17 thousand tree species are exposed to increasing anthropogenic threats, including many species classified as data-deficient in the IUCN Red List.

    • Coline C. F. Boonman
    • , Josep M. Serra-Diaz
    •  & Jens-Christian Svenning

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Little is known about the genetic basis of many natural behaviours and how they contribute to speciation. Here the authors address this by identifying genes linked to migration of a songbird, investigating how these gene are regulated, and connecting them to potential barriers between species.

    • Matthew I. M. Louder
    • , Hannah Justen
    •  & Kira E. Delmore

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Aedes aegypti transmit several arboviruses and control of the mosquito populations could be beneficial. Here the authors show that deletion of leucine aminopeptidase1 (LAP1) results in mitochondrial defects and abnormal autophagy in sperm, reducing fertility and fecundity of females. LAP1−/− males show no obvious defects in longevity and mating fitness.

    • Xiaomei Sun
    • , Xueli Wang
    •  & Zhen Zou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    This study investigates the dynamic associations among microbes in the world’s tropical and subtropical oceans. It reveals that potential interactions vary with ocean depth and location, with most surface associations not persisting in deeper waters. The results contribute to understanding the ocean microbiome in the context of global change.

    • Ina M. Deutschmann
    • , Erwan Delage
    •  & Ramiro Logares

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Soils combat climate change by storing carbon but lose considerable amounts of carbon into downstream waters. Here a general process for how microbes transform carbon across soil-to-stream to impact its persistence in the natural environment is demonstrated.

    • Erika C. Freeman
    • , Erik J. S. Emilson
    •  & Andrew J. Tanentzap

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The growth in global milk demand has been accompanied by an increase in waste milk disposal. Here, the authors transform waste milk through humification and incorporate the product into attapulgite creating a nano-fertiliser that benefits for plants growing in pots.

    • Yanping Zhu
    • , Yuxuan Cao
    •  & Dongqing Cai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Body colour may be an important factor in insect phenology. Here, the authors show that colour lightness of dragonfly assemblages from the UK, collected between May and October from 1990-2020, varies in response to seasonal changes in solar radiation, suggesting a link between colour-based thermoregulation and insect phenology.

    • Roberto Novella-Fernandez
    • , Roland Brandl
    •  & Christian Hof

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Forest restoration in LMICs can contribute to global C mitigation targets. Here, the authors assess the economic feasibility of forest restoration methods in Panama, i.e. natural regeneration, native species plantings, and enrichment planting, showing that not all methods are economically viable.

    • Katherine Sinacore
    • , Edwin H. García
    •  & Jefferson S. Hall

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Heeren et al study the evolutionary genomics of leishmaniasis in Peru and Bolivia to show that parasite hybridization increases the prevalence, diversity and spread of viruses that have been previously associated with disease severity and treatment failure.

    • Senne Heeren
    • , Ilse Maes
    •  & Frederik Van den Broeck

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Forest responses can have major effects on tree architecture and community structure near the edges of forest fragments. Here, using terrestrial LiDAR scanning data from long-term forest plots, the authors find a net negative effect of fragmentation on Amazonian Forest aboveground biomass.

    • Matheus Henrique Nunes
    • , Marcel Caritá Vaz
    •  & Eduardo Eiji Maeda

  • Article
    | Open Access

    This study uses in situ respirometry assays and transplant experiments with salmonid fish to disentangle the effects of chronic and acute thermal exposure. They show that chronic exposure to warming can attenuate salmonid thermal sensitivity, highlighting the need to incorporate the potential for thermal acclimation or adaptation when forecasting global warming consequences.

    • Alexia M. González-Ferreras
    • , Jose Barquín
    •  & Eoin J. O’Gorman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The diversity and impact of viruses in remote marine environments are less well understood. In this study, the authors analyse an -omics dataset to gain insights into the genomics and potential role of endemic viruses infecting ecologically important microbes inhabiting the ocean cavity beneath the Ross Ice Shelf.

    • Javier Lopez-Simon
    • , Marina Vila-Nistal
    •  & Manuel Martinez-Garcia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Free-ranging domestic cats have major ecological impacts globally. Here, Lepczyk et al. compile records of the species consumed by cats, identifying thousands of species consumed, including hundreds of species that are of conservation concern.

    • Christopher A. Lepczyk
    • , Jean E. Fantle-Lepczyk
    •  & John C. Z. Woinarski

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanisms generating montane biodiversity remain incompletely understood. Here, the authors study the passerine avifauna of Indo-Pacific island mountains, finding that Eurasian-origin species colonized directly from other mountains, while Australo-Papuan-origin species made upslope range shifts from the lowlands.

    • Andrew Hart Reeve
    • , Jonathan David Kennedy
    •  & Knud Andreas Jønsson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Crop rotation helps preventing pathogen infestations compared to monocultures, which may be partly due to root-associated microbes. Here, the authors show that rhizosphere microbiomes in monocultures are less able to suppress fungal pathogens compared to crop rotations, and that inoculating certain microbes can mitigate it.

    • Yanyan Zhou
    • , Zhen Yang
    •  & Xiaogang Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ecosystem services provided by dung beetles are an underappreciated component of terrestrial ecosystems. Here, the authors report a standardized distributed experiment which shows that dung removal rate, a key ecosystem process in pastures, is greater under high beetle functional diversity regardless of grazing intensity.

    • Jorge Ari Noriega
    • , Joaquín Hortal
    •  & Ana M. C. Santos

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A characteristic of costal-pelagic fishes is their large population size fluctuations, yet the drivers remain elusive. Here, the authors analyze a 45-year timeseries of nitrogen stable isotopes measured in larvae of Northern Anchovy and find that high energy transfer efficiency from the base of the food web up to young larvae confers high survival and recruitment to the adult population.

    • Rasmus Swalethorp
    • , Michael R. Landry
    •  & Andrew R. Thompson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Forecasting ecology can support proactive decision-making in the face of uncertain environmental conditions. Using case studies on whale entanglement and sea turtle bycatch, this study showcases the capacity for existing management tools to transition to a forecast configuration and provide skilful forecasts up to 12 months in advance.

    • Stephanie Brodie
    • , Mercedes Pozo Buil
    •  & Michael G. Jacox

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Twice a year, billions of nocturnal avian migrants traverse landscapes that are changing through natural and anthropogenic forces. Here, the authors identify light pollution as an influential predictor of bird migration stopover density across the USA.

    • Kyle G. Horton
    • , Jeffrey J. Buler
    •  & Geoffrey M. Henebry

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Microplastic uptake by animals is often assumed to reflect the level of contamination in the environment. Here, the authors compile a global inventory of individual microplastic body burden in benthic marine invertebrates and find that feeding mode and geographic location are more important predictors than environmental microplastic loading.

    • Adam Porter
    • , Jasmin A. Godbold
    •  & Tamara S. Galloway

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Factors behind interspecific variation in masting are unclear. Here, the authors show that, in 517 species of terrestrial perennial plants, masting is more frequent in species that have high stem tissue density, suggesting that stronger stress resistance may buffer against missed reproductive opportunities.

    • Valentin Journé
    • , Andrew Hacket-Pain
    •  & Michał Bogdziewicz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The microbiome is thought to be important for its host’s wellbeing, but it varies much among individuals. We offer a solution to this conundrum, showing that factors like the form of microbes’ contribution to hosts’ fitness and host population size may be preventing natural selection from operating effectively.

    • Itay Daybog
    •  & Oren Kolodny

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Abrupt regime shifts could in theory be predicted from early warning signals. Here, the authors show that true critical transitions are challenging to classify in lake planktonic systems, due to mismatches between trophic levels, and reveal uneven performance of early warning signal detection methods.

    • Duncan A. O’Brien
    • , Smita Deb
    •  & Christopher F. Clements

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