Ecology articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors describe a pathogenic fungus from a 400-million-year-old fossil plant from the Devonian Rhynie Chert in Scotland. They use advanced imaging methods to determine that the fungus belongs to the sac fungi, the most diverse group of Fungi today.

    • Christine Strullu-Derrien
    • , Tomasz Goral
    •  & David L. Hawksworth

  • Article
    | Open Access

    This study relates 88,000 elevation range sizes of vascular plants in 44 mountains to short-term and long-term temperature variation. The authors finding of decreasing elevation range sizes with greater diurnal temperature range supports a novel biodiversity hypothesis and indicates increased extinction risk of continental species.

    • Arnaud Gallou
    • , Alistair S. Jump
    •  & John-Arvid Grytnes

  • Article
    | Open Access

    This study compiled a comprehensive global database on live terrestrial vertebrate trade and used it to investigate traded alien species. The authors identify 7,780 species involved in trade globally and show that countries with greater trading power, higher incomes and larger human populations import more alien species, which emerge as hotspots for establishment richness of aliens.

    • Yiming Li
    • , Tim M. Blackburn
    •  & Siqi Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Airborne microplastics (MPs) are observed over the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. MPs morphology is the primary factor influencing the hemispheric transport to these remote areas that may suffer increased pollution from urbanized, land-based sources.

    • Qiqing Chen
    • , Guitao Shi
    •  & Denise M. Mitrano

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A species’ response to anthropogenic climate change may depend on its adaptations to past climate changes. Here, the authors use whole-genome resequencing and genetic-environment association to identify genes important for local adaptation and project adaptation under future climate scenarios across bank vole populations in Britain.

    • Silvia Marková
    • , Hayley C. Lanier
    •  & Petr Kotlík

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ecosystem productivity generally declines under drought. Here, the authors show that spring droughts are linked to increases in gross primary productivity in energy-limited ecosystems in the Northern Hemisphere, and that terrestrial biosphere models tend not to capture this.

    • David L. Miller
    • , Sebastian Wolf
    •  & Trevor F. Keenan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In this study, the authors use a dataset of stable isotope compositions of otoliths from Atlantic bluefin tuna to infer the thermal sensitivity of metabolic performance in their first year of life. They then assess the likely trajectories of tuna production until end century under differing emission scenarios in their two main spawning grounds, the western Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea.

    • Clive N. Trueman
    • , Iraide Artetxe-Arrate
    •  & Igaratza Fraile

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Extinction of megafauna is a defining trend of the last 50,000 years. Here, the authors use genomic data to infer population histories of 139 extant megafauna, suggesting that their population decline is better explained by Homo sapiens expansion than by climate change.

    • Juraj Bergman
    • , Rasmus Ø. Pedersen
    •  & Jens-Christian Svenning

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Elasmobranchs (sharks, rays and skates) are among the most threatened marine vertebrates, yet their global functional diversity remains largely unknown. This study uses a trait dataset of over 1,000 species to assess elasmobranch functional diversity and compare it against other previously studied biodiversity facets to identify global conservation priorities.

    • Catalina Pimiento
    • , Camille Albouy
    •  & Fabien Leprieur

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Even in the absence of apparent genetic and environmental differences, substantial behavioral individuality emerges. This study demonstrates that such seemingly stochastic variation in a clonal fish species translates into predictable differences in life-history measures and ultimately fitness.

    • Ulrike Scherer
    • , Sean M. Ehlman
    •  & Max Wolf

  • Article
    | Open Access

    This study uses high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) to identify phage–host relationships in soil. By coupling Hi-C with DNA and RNA sequencing, the authors demonstrate the impact of soil drying on phage–host interactions and the downstream effects on abundances and interspecies interactions within bacterial communities.

    • Ruonan Wu
    • , Michelle R. Davison
    •  & Kirsten S. Hofmockel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Global spatiotemporal patterns of plant diversification are unclear. Here, the authors use a genus-level phylogeny and global distribution data for 14,244 flowering plant genera, finding a negative correlation between spatial patterns of diversification and genus diversity.

    • Dimitar Dimitrov
    • , Xiaoting Xu
    •  & Zhiheng Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many microorganisms are auxotrophic, that is, unable to synthesize the compounds they require for growth. Here, Ramoneda et al. predict amino acid biosynthetic capabilities of over 26,000 bacterial genomes using a metabolic pathway model validated with empirical data, and identify ecological contexts in which auxotrophy can be a successful strategy.

    • Josep Ramoneda
    • , Thomas B. N. Jensen
    •  & Noah Fierer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The deep ocean is increasingly subjected to human-induced environmental change, but little is known about species-specific responses to stressors, including those from deep sea mining. This study shows that elevated temperatures and simulated sediment plumes cause physiological stress in a cosmopolitan deep-sea jellyfish, confirming the detrimental impact of seabed mining.

    • Vanessa I. Stenvers
    • , Helena Hauss
    •  & Henk-Jan T. Hoving

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Scleractinian corals are important in both shallow and deep ecosystems. Here, the authors use global spatial distribution data with a phylogenetic approach to examine directionality and speed of colonization during depth diversification, finding an offshore-onshore pattern of evolution and that depth dispersion is associated with phenotypic innovations.

    • Ana N. Campoy
    • , Marcelo M. Rivadeneira
    •  & Chris Venditti

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacterial functional diversity does not necessarily correlate with taxonomic diversity because average genome size may vary by community. Here, Wang et al. investigate bacterial communities along a natural pH gradient in forest soils, and find that average genome size and functional diversity decrease, whereas taxonomic diversity increases, as soil pH rises from acid to neutral.

    • Cong Wang
    • , Qing-Yi Yu
    •  & Cheng Gao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tree height and forest structure may both determine forest responses to drought. Here, the authors analyse highresolution airborne LIDAR data on <1 million trees during the 2012-2016 California drought and find that presence of both tall trees and structurally complex stands reduces tree mortality under drought.

    • Qin Ma
    • , Yanjun Su
    •  & Qinghua Guo

  • Perspective
    | Open Access

    Endangered polar ecosystems play critical roles in the Earth’s climate system and comprise many different habitats with unique organisms. Here, the authors propose a community road map to use multi-omics data from polar organisms for conservation, ecosystem services and societal gain.

    • M. S. Clark
    • , J. I. Hoffman
    •  & T. Mock

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The potential of crop diversification to reduce pesticide use has not been quantified at large scales. Here, the authors use a national network of 1334 cropping system to identify the effect of increasing temporal crop diversity on pesticide use for 16 common crops.

    • Maé Guinet
    • , Guillaume Adeux
    •  & Nicolas Munier-Jolain

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A 670,000-year vegetation and climate history from Lake Junín, Peru, showed that the last interglacial was the warmest while the current interglacial had uniquely high fire frequencies that were caused by humans; fundamentally altering the ecosystem.

    • J. Schiferl
    • , M. Kingston
    •  & M. B. Bush

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Arctic is dotted with lakes, including thermokarst lakes highly threatened by climate change. Here, the authors investigate 35 years of lake drainage events and related vegetation trends across the Arctic, finding differences between thermokarst and non-thermokarst lake drainage events.

    • Yating Chen
    • , Xiao Cheng
    •  & Chengxin Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Non-ammonia oxidising Thaumarachaeota lineages are common in acidic soils, but their evolution is unclear. Here, the authors assemble 15 genomes from deeply rooted Thaumarachaeota in topsoils and subsoils, investigating evolutionary divergence in the family Gagatemarchaeaceae.

    • Paul O. Sheridan
    • , Yiyu Meng
    •  & Cécile Gubry-Rangin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Coastal upwelling regions are among the most productive marine ecosystems but may be threatened by amplified ocean acidification. Here the authors show from community to molecular levels that phytoplankton in an upwelling region respond to short-term acidification exposure with iron uptake pathways and strategies that reduce cellular iron demand.

    • Robert H. Lampe
    • , Tyler H. Coale
    •  & Andrew E. Allen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ecosystems must be able to bounce back from perturbations to persist without species extinctions. This study uses theoretical modelling to show the importance of reactivity—how species respond in the short term to perturbations—for assessing the health of complex ecosystems, revealing that it can be a better predictor of extinction risk than stability.

    • Yuguang Yang
    • , Katharine Z. Coyte
    •  & Aming Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Energetic tradeoffs help determine where individual traits confer a competitive advantage. Here, the authors grow ten Eucalyptus species at four common gardens along a rainfall gradient and show that 50 traits mostly vary as predicted, and that species in their native ranges generally outperform others in height growth.

    • Duncan D. Smith
    • , Mark A. Adams
    •  & Thomas J. Givnish

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ecogeographic rules link spatial patterns in phenotype and environment, potentially reflecting adaptation. This study identifies nine genes associated with body mass variation in song sparrow populations, supporting Bergmann’s Rule and highlighting the role of natural selection in local adaptation.

    • Katherine Carbeck
    • , Peter Arcese
    •  & Jennifer Walsh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Channel networks are key to coastal wetland functioning. Here, the authors show how vegetation enhances network branching, and hypothesize that this may enhance the storm surge buffering capacity of wetlands and their resilience under sea-level rise.

    • Roeland C. van de Vijsel
    • , Jim van Belzen
    •  & Johan van de Koppel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Expanding protected areas to meet conservation goals requires careful consideration of potential trade-offs. Here, by simulating conservation scenarios for Canada, the authors report that 30×30 outcomes for biodiversity depend more on how protection is coordinated at different spatial scales than on which biodiversity metrics are prioritized.

    • Isaac Eckert
    • , Andrea Brown
    •  & Laura J. Pollock

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Little is known about how the evolution of gut microbiota is impacted by their surrounding community. Here, the authors examine the evolutionary ecology of the human gut microbiome, modelling resource competition to show that local evolutionary history can impact the structure and function of host microbiota.

    • Benjamin H. Good
    •  & Layton B. Rosenfeld

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The contribution of adaptive radiation to species and phenotypic diversity within major clades is not clear. Here, the authors use morphological and phylogenetic data for 1226 species of frogs, finding that less than half of families resemble adaptive radiation, but that adaptive radiation contributed to 75% of diversity.

    • Gen Morinaga
    • , John J. Wiens
    •  & Daniel S. Moen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photosymbioses enable efficient nutrient recycling between heterotrophic and phototrophic organisms. This study shows that nutrient cycling in a cnidarian-algal symbiosis is regulated through resource competition between symbiotic partners. Mutualistic interactions can therefore emerge from mutual exploitation in nutrient–exchange symbioses.

    • Nils Rädecker
    • , Stéphane Escrig
    •  & Anders Meibom

  • Article
    | Open Access

    This study found that cnidarian animals including corals, anemones and jellyfish share a common mechanism to regulate their association with symbiotic algae. Despite evolving independently, these animals all use the same carbon-nitrogen negative feedback loop for algae control, shedding light on the repeated evolution of these marine symbiotic relationships.

    • Guoxin Cui
    • , Jianing Mi
    •  & Manuel Aranda

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Parental care in birds includes diverse behaviours but the variation in care from each parent across the breeding cycle and between species is unclear. Here, the authors study 1533 bird species, finding different patterns across breeding stages, and that species with strong sexual selection or paternity uncertainty tend to show female-biased care.

    • Daiping Wang
    • , Wenyuan Zhang
    •  & Xiang-Yi Li Richter

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Species that are evolutionary distinct and have geographically narrow or isolated distributions may be in particular need of conservation. Here, the authors identify global patterns of tree phylogenetic endemism and their linkages with climate and land use, and estimate future trends.

    • Wen-Yong Guo
    • , Josep M. Serra-Diaz
    •  & Jens-Christian Svenning

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors report two fossil lampreys, jawless vertebrates, from the Middle-Late Jurassic fossil Lagerstätte Yanliao Biota of North China. These large lampreys have an extensively toothed feeding apparatus resembling the Southern Hemisphere pouched lamprey, suggesting an ancestral predatory habit and southern origin of living lampreys.

    • Feixiang Wu
    • , Philippe Janvier
    •  & Chi Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How trees respond to increasing atmospheric dryness has important implications for forest growth. Here, the authors use a network of tree-ring records to quantify the multidecadal impact of vapour pressure deficit trends on boreal forests in Canada.

    • Ariane Mirabel
    • , Martin P. Girardin
    •  & Peter B. Reich

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Climate change and land use change may have independent or interactive effects on species’ distributions. Here, the authors show that changes in bird, lepidopteran and plant ranges across Great Britain are often explained by individual or additive effects of land conversion and temperature change.

    • Andrew J. Suggitt
    • , Christopher J. Wheatley
    •  & Alistair G. Auffret

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Identification of areas with risk factors for spillover of viruses from animals to humans could assist with early detection of emerging infectious diseases. In this study, the authors characterise potential risks for spillover of SARS-like viruses from bats to humans and identify geographical regions in which multiple risk factors cluster together.

    • Renata L. Muylaert
    • , David A. Wilkinson
    •  & David T. S. Hayman

Browse broader subjects

Browse narrower subjects

Browse Ecology across other nature.com journals