Ecology

Automating an insect biodiversity metric using distributed optical sensors: an evaluation across Kansas, USA cropping systems

1. Klas Rydhmer
2. James O Eckberg
3. Jonathan G Lundgren
4. Samuel Jansson
5. Laurence Still
6. John E Quinn
7. Ralph Washington
8. Jesper Lemmich
9. Thomas Nikolajsen
10. Nikolaj Sheller
11. Alex M Michels
12. Michael M Bredeson
13. Steven T Rosenzweig
14. Emily N Bick

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors propose a new methodology to survey insects, using new sensors and analytical capabilities that could be valuable for addressing urgent conservation challenges. While the results of the optical sensors appear to be comparable to those obtained with classical survey methodologies, current analyses are considered incomplete.

Reviewed by eLife

Habitat fragmentation mediates the mechanisms underlying long-term climate-driven thermophilization in birds

1. Juan Liu
2. Morgan W Tingley
3. Qiang Wu
4. Peng Ren
5. Tinghao Jin
6. Ping Ding
7. Xingfeng Si

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This fundamental study substantially advances our understanding of how habitat fragmentation and climate change jointly influence bird community thermophilization in a fragmented island system. The authors provide convincing evidence using appropriate and validated methodologies to examine how island area and isolation affect the colonization of warm-adapted species and the extinction of cold-adapted species. This study is of high interest to ecologists and conservation biologists, as it provides insight into how ecosystems and communities respond to climate change.

Reviewed by eLife

General mechanisms for a top-down origin of the predator-prey power law

1. Onofrio Mazzarisi
2. Matthieu Barbier
3. Matteo Smerlak

Reviewed by Peer Community in Ecology

Range geographies, not functional traits, explain convergent range and phenology shifts under climate change

1. Catherine Sirois-Delisle
2. Susan CC Gordon
3. Jeremy T Kerr

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This article presents valuable findings on the impact of climate change on odonates, integrating phenological and range shifts to broaden our understanding of biodiversity change. The study leverages extensive natural history data, offering a combined analysis of temporal trends in phenology and distribution and their potential drivers. The support for the findings is solid, though additional clarification regarding the methods and alternative sensitivity analyses could make the conclusions stronger.

Reviewed by eLife

Neuropeptide Bursicon and its receptor-mediated the transition from summer-form to winter-form of Cacopsylla chinensis

1. Zhixian Zhang
2. Jianying Li
3. Yilin Wang
4. Zhen Li
5. Xiaoxia Liu
6. Songdou Zhang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study reports that the neurohormone, bursicon, and its receptor, play a role in the seasonal polyphenism of the bug Cacopsylla chinensis. Low temperature activates the bursicon signaling pathway during the transition from the summer to the winter form, affecting cuticle pigment and thickness as well as chitin content. The solid experiments reveal how bursicon signaling, which is modulated by the microRNA miR-6012, regulates features of polyphenism related to the exoskeleton, although it is less clear what the upstream regulatory events are.

Reviewed by eLife

Negative impact of mild arid conditions in natural rodent populations revealed using markers of physiological condition in natura

1. Hamilcar Keilani
2. Nico Avenant
3. Pierre Caminade
4. Neville Pillay
5. Guila Ganem

Reviewed by Peer Community In Zoology

Desmodium Volatiles in “Push-Pull” Agriculture and Protection Against the Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda

1. Daria M Odermatt
2. Frank Chidawanyika
3. Daniel M Mutyambai
4. Bernhard Schmid
5. Luiz A Domeignoz-Horta
6. Amanuel Tamiru
7. Meredith C Schuman

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Research on push-pull systems often focuses on controlled environments, limiting our understanding of their effectiveness under real-world conditions. This important study has validated how push-pull systems work in natural settings. However, the manuscript remains incomplete, since the findings have only been partially supported, as acknowledged by the authors.

Reviewed by eLife

Full factorial construction of synthetic microbial communities

1. Juan Diaz-Colunga
2. Pablo Catalan
3. Magdalena San Roman
4. Andrea Arrabal
5. Alvaro Sanchez

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript introduces a new low-cost and accessible method for assembling combinatorially complete microbial consortia using basic laboratory equipment, which is a valuable contribution to the field of microbial ecology and biotechnology. The evidence presented is convincing, demonstrating the method's effectiveness through empirical testing on both synthetic colorants and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains.

Reviewed by eLife, Arcadia Science

Wilting Wildflowers and Bummed-Out Bees: Climate Change Threatens U.S. State Symbols

1. Xuezhen Ge
2. Ya Zou
3. Heather A Hager
4. Jonathan A Newman

Reviewed by PREreview

Foxtrot migration and dynamic over-wintering range of an Arctic raptor

1. Ivan Pokrovsky
2. Teja Curk
3. Andreas Dietz
4. Ivan Fufachev
5. Olga Kulikova
6. Sebastian Rößler
7. Martin Wikelski

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This fundamental work describes an understudied bird migration pattern using data from an Arctic raptor. With an extensive dataset and comprehensive analyses, the observed pattern is convincing. This study will be of interest to researchers exploring the ecological drivers of bird migration.

Reviewed by eLife