Ecology

Using informative priors to account for identifiability issues in occupancy models with identification errors

1. Célian Monchy
2. Marie-Pierre Etienne
3. Olivier Gimenez

Reviewed by Peer Community in Ecology

Partitioning changes in ecosystem productivity by effects of species interactions in biodiversity experiments

1. Jing Tao
2. Charles A Nock
3. Eric B Searle
4. Shongming Huang
5. Rongzhou Man
6. Hua Yang
7. Grégoire T Freschet
8. Cyrille Violle
9. Ji Zheng

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors propose that positive biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships found in experiments have been exaggerated because commonly used statistical analyses are flawed. To remedy this, a new type of analysis based on a concept of "partial density monoculture yield" is proposed. However, the presented concept and analysis methods are not reproducibly described (how can partial density monoculture yield experimentally be assessed?), do not appear to be complete, and are inadequate for hypothesis testing. The reviewers found that the authors misinterpret current research in the field and made limited efforts to understand or address the reviewer comments about this study.

Reviewed by eLife

Defensive symbionts provide high protection against natural enemies at low cost to hosts: a meta-analysis

1. Cássia Siqueira Cesar
2. Eduardo SA Santos
3. Rodrigo Cogni

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study makes a valuable advance in our understanding of defensive symbionts in insects. It uses a meta-analysis to quantify the magnitude of change in host fitness components when symbionts are present in hosts exposed to natural enemies. The evidence supporting the study conclusions is solid, with analyses confirming common assumptions that symbionts generally provide defence at low cost to hosts.

Reviewed by eLife

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

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

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