Ecology

Trait matching without traits: using correspondence analysis to investigate the latent structure of interaction networks

1. Lisa Nicvert
2. Hervé Fritz
3. Stéphane Dray

Reviewed by Peer Community in Ecology

Strip cropping in organic agriculture results in 15% higher ground beetle richness and 30% higher activity density than monocultures

1. Luuk Croijmans
2. Fogelina Cuperus
3. Dirk F van Apeldoorn
4. Felix JJA Bianchi
5. Walter AH Rossing
6. Erik H Poelman

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents important findings on increased ground beetle diversity in strip cropping compared with crop monocultures. Solid methods are used to analyze data from multiple sites with heterogeneous systems of mixed crops, allowing broad conclusions, albeit at the expense of lacking taxonomic specificity. The work will be of interest to all those applying plant diversity treatments to improve the diversity of associated animals in agricultural fields.

Reviewed by eLife

Effect of spatial overdispersion on confidence intervals for population density estimated by spatial capture–recapture

1. Murray G. Efford
2. David Fletcher

Reviewed by Peer Community in Ecology

Loss of olfaction reduces caterpillar performance and increases susceptibility to a natural enemy

1. Qi Wang
2. Yufei Jia
3. Hans M Smid
4. Berhane T Weldegergis
5. Liana O Greenberg
6. Maarten Jongsma
7. Marcel Dicke
8. Alexander Haverkamp

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important manuscript investigates the role of olfactory cues in Pieris brassicae larvae, focusing on their interactions with the host plant Brassica oleracea and the parasitoid wasp Cotesia glomerata. The authors' demonstration that impaired olfactory perception reduces caterpillar performance and increases susceptibility to parasitism is convincing. These findings highlight the ecological significance of olfaction in mediating feeding behavior and predator avoidance in herbivorous insects.

Reviewed by eLife

Assessing plant phenological changes based on drivers of spring phenology

1. Yong Jiang
2. Stephen J Mayor
3. Xiuli Chu
4. Xiaoqi Ye
5. Rongzhou Man
6. Jing Tao
7. Qing-Lai Dang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study introduces a novel and broadly applicable metric-phenological lag-to partition the effects of spring warming from other abiotic constraints on plant phenology. While the dataset is extensive and the analytical framework is valuable conceptually, the manuscript lacks clarity in its aims and justification for the new metric, and key results are underdeveloped or poorly visualized. The strength of evidence is moderate to solid, but revisions are needed to clarify the study's contribution and improve interpretability.

Reviewed by eLife

Birds migrate longitudinally in response to the resultant Asian monsoons of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau uplift

1. Wenyuan Zhang
2. Zhongru Gu
3. Yangkang Chen
4. Ran Zhang
5. Xiangjiang Zhan

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important and creative study finds that the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau-via its resultant monsoon system rather than solely its high elevation-has shifted avian migratory directions from a latitudinal to a longitudinal orientation. However, the main claims are incomplete and only partially supported, as the reliance on eBird data-which lacks the resolution to capture population-specific teleconnections-combined with a limited tracking dataset covering only seven species leaves key aspects of the argument underdetermined, and the critical assumption of niche conservatism is not sufficiently foregrounded in the manuscript. More clearly communicating these limitations would significantly enhance the interpretability of the results, ensuring that the major conclusions are presented in the context of these essential caveats.

Reviewed by eLife

On the quest for novelty in ecology

1. Gianluigi Ottaviani
2. Alejandro Martínez
3. Matteo Petit Bon
4. Stefano Mammola

Reviewed by Peer Community in Ecology

Effects of blood meal source and seasonality on reproductive traits of Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae)

1. Kevin Alen Rucci
2. Gabriel Barco
3. Andrea Onorato
4. Mauricio Beranek
5. Mariana Pueta
6. Adrián Díaz

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful study provides the first assessment of potentially interactive effects of seasonality and blood source on mosquito fitness, together in one study. During revision, the manuscript has been substantively improved, providing additional solid data to support the robustness of observations. Overall, this interesting study will advance our current understanding of mosquito biology.

Reviewed by eLife

An experimental test of the influence of microbial manipulation on sugar kelp ( Saccharina latissima ) supports the the core influences host function hypothesis

1. Jungsoo Park
2. Evan Kohn
3. Siobhan Schenk
4. Katherine Davis
5. Jennifer Clark
6. Laura Wegener Parfrey

Reviewed by preLights

Bird population trend analyses for a monitoring scheme with a highly structured sampling design

1. Mirjam R Rieger
2. Christoph Grüneberg
3. Michael Oberhaus
4. Sven Trautmann
5. Madalin Parepa
6. Nils Anthes

Reviewed by Peer Community in Ecology