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We used a standard sampling protocol to measure elevational patterns of species richness and abundance of eusocial paper wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in Costa Rica. The sample transect of six sites spanned approximately 2000 m in elevation from lowland to montane forest. Species accumulation curves and species richness estimates both document a low elevation peak in paper wasp species richness at 50 and 300 m asl, with a decline in species richness at higher elevations. Comparison of species composition among elevations revealed strong species turnover from a rich lowland fauna to a depauperate, but distinct, montane fauna. We also observed a general trend toward a greater abundance of paper wasps at higher elevations, a pattern not usually observed in eusocial insects. Army ant species that prey on paper wasps declined in abundance with elevation across the sample transect, a pattern that has been observed at other sites. We discuss the possibility that elevational changes in predation pressure affect variation in paper wasp abundance and species richness. Eusocial paper wasp species employ one of two modes of colony founding, independent and swarm founding. We found that the total abundance of individual swarm-founding wasps was higher at all elevations than the abundance of independent-founding wasps, supporting previous suggestions that Neotropical swarm founders are more successful ecologically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological and evolutionary research increasingly uses quantitative synthesis of primary research studies (meta-analysis) for answering fundamental questions, informing environmental policy and summarizing results for decision makers., Knowing how meta-analysis works is important for researchers so that their research can have broader impact. Meta-analytic thinking encourages scientists to see single primary research studies as substantial contributions to a larger picture., To facilitate inclusion in a meta-analysis, relevant primary research studies must be found and basic information about the methods and results must be thoroughly, clearly and transparently reported. While many published papers provide this information, it is common for essential data to be omitted, leading to study exclusion from meta-analyses., We provide guidelines for correctly reporting basic data needed from primary studies in ecology and evolutionary biology so that they can be included in meta-analyses, together with examples that show how data should be reported to enable calculation and analysis of effect sizes, and how data should be made accessible., These guidelines are important for reporting research results in general, whether or not results are included in subsequent meta-analyses, because they are necessary for the interpretation and assessment of study outcomes. Increased implementation of these guidelines by authors, editors and publishers, and reinforcement by funders, will foster higher quality and more inclusive syntheses, further the goals of transparency and reproducibility in science, and improve the quality and value of primary research studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's views on the type of research papers published on the study of ecology. He discusses how most of these publications are read by few and receive less attention from scientific community. Most biological and medical scientists publish their work to communicate knowledge and others to gain prestige. Those who want to survive in the competition, send materials to journals of science and nature.

The author reflects on the changing emphasis and direction of applied ecology. He relates an editorial from 2005 in the "Journal of Applied Ecology" which proposed that the "Journal" should target papers with strong links between ecological management, policy, and ecological concepts and theories. He outlines the key attributes of the "Journal of Applied Ecology" that authors and reviewers use to decide what papers are published and characteristics of a "Journal of Applied Ecology" paper.

An introduction is presented in which the author discusses the contents within the issue including as series of essays on various scholarly article from an earlier generation of ecologists which made a significant impact on the featured ecologists in the essays.

The article lists papers of ecological interest which includes "Cytogenetics and biological studies in Geranium Robertianum," by T. W. Böcher, "The application of aerial photography to ecology as exemplified by the natural vegetation of Ceylon," by V. J. Chapman, and "An ecological study of the Arthropoda of an oak-hickory forest with reference to stratification," by W. W. Dowdy.

Lack of diversity on editorial boards might generate disparities in editorial and peer review that contribute to gender and geographic disparities in scholarly publishing., We use a comprehensive data set of the peer review process for all papers submitted to the journal Functional Ecology from January 2004 to June 2014 to examine how gender, seniority and geographic location of editors and reviewers influence reviewer recruitment and scores given to papers by reviewers., The gender ratio of editors for Functional Ecology was majority male, but the proportion of female editors increased over time. The gender ratio of selected reviewers was also highly majority male, but the proportion of women selected as reviewers increased over the 10 years largely because the number of women on the editorial board increased and female editors invited more female reviewers than did male editors. Male editors selected <25% female reviewers even in the year they selected the most women, but female editors consistently selected ˜30-35% female reviewers. Editors also over-selected reviewers from their own geographic locality., Women invited to review were less likely to respond to review invitations, but more likely to accept if they responded. Women invited to review responded to the invitation similarly regardless of whether the editor inviting them was male or female, but men invited to review were both less likely to respond and more likely to decline if the editor was female., Review scores given to papers did not differ between male and female reviewers, and final decisions (proportion of papers rejected) did not differ between male and female editors., The proportion of women among selected reviewers decreased with editor seniority when the editor was male but increased with editor seniority when the editor was female. Thus, the gender ratio of selected reviewers differed little between early-career male and female editors but differed a lot between late-career (more senior) male and female editors. Individuals invited to review were less likely to agree to review if the editor was more senior., Editor gender, seniority and geographic location affect who is invited to review for Functional Ecology, and how invitees respond to review invitations, but not the final outcome of the peer review process. To increase diversity of reviewer populations, journals should increase gender, age and geographic diversity of their editorial boards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing availability of digital technology in biology classrooms has facilitated an on-going transition from traditional lectures to the use of multimedia tools such as videos and interactive software. While most existing educational multimedia focus on illustrating textbook concepts, few address the process of science by linking those concepts with the researchers and their studies as reported and received in the primary literature. With the support of a 2015 ESA Centennial grant, we teamed up with students and university-affiliated artists to create four original animated videos of classic ecology papers of the last century. The videos were showcased at the 2015 Centennial Meeting Sunday Plenary and continue to be available for free viewing and sharing at http://ecomotionstudios.com/. Since their debut, the videos have received over 8000 views, have been employed as educational tools in undergraduate classrooms, and have been promoted as outreach tools by science media outlets including on the homepage for the journal, The American Naturalist. Here, we argue that the potential for artistry, narrative structure, and connection to the research process make animation an invaluable and underutilized medium for sharing primary literature with students and public audiences. We envision the future of ecology as one where decreasing video production costs and the opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration available at universities lead to increased production of visual media to supplement education and broadly communicate primary ecological research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an explanation from the author of the journal "Functional Ecology," discussing the history and the reason for its similarity with the journal "Biological Reviews". The author mentions that some confusion led to the considerable degree of similarity between the two papers. "Functional Ecology," which is prepared keeping in mind a specific set of readers, is a shorter edition of "Biological Reviews," that presents a detailed description of animal isotopic ecology.

Bias, or any set of factors that influence the general expression of merit, is common in science and is an inevitable by-product of an imperfect but otherwise reasonably objective human pursuit to understand the world we inhabit. In this paper, we explore the conceptual significance of a relatively tractable form of bias, namely publication and dissemination bias. A specific definition is developed, a working model of classification for publication bias is proposed, and an assessment of what we can measure is described. Finally, we offer expectations for ecologists with respect to the significance of bias in the publication process within our discipline. We argue that without explicit consideration of both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of publication bias in ecology, we limit our capacity to fairly assess and best use the science that we as a community produce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial distribution and density of scientists can have important implications for key aspects of scientific processes, such as innovation, networking, rates of knowledge exchange and success in large competitive grants. In this paper, we examine the research output of different research organizations and universities in Australia, with the aim of identifying hotspots of ecological research and how these hotspots have changed over the last 20 years. We used publications from 10 reputable peer-reviewed international journals as a measure of research output. We identified a number of ecology hotspot clusters. Some clusters have developed significantly over the last 20 years, while others have declined in output over time. The University of Sydney, University of Queensland, James Cook University and Melbourne University had the largest output levels among universities. Results also showed large increases in output over the last 5-year period (2006-2010), possibly because of the impending introduction of the Excellence in Research for Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including ecology in an anthropogenic biosphere and the integration of scale and complexity in marine ecology.

Copyright of Biotropica is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to shape research and education is a highly topical issue. The recent release of ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre‐trained Transformer) by OpenAI on November 30, 2022 has opened up new possibilities for the use of chatbot services in ecological research and education. In this perspective article, we address associated contemporary topics including the use of chatbot services in ecology education and academic writing, the application of AI in ecology, the potential environmental impact, and ethical considerations of using such services. Several logistical, ethical and environmental factors were identified that should be considered in the context of ecological research. We argue that ChatGPT can help reduce the workload of researchers, generate new insights and ideas, and serve as a personal instructor and assistant for students. While we show how AI chatbots have the potential to be useful assets for ecologists, several challenges arose. AI in ecological research includes the limited ability of AI algorithms to capture complexity and nuance, the dependence of AI models on data quality, and ethical concerns about the use of AI in research. The construction and operation of such services also have potential environmental impacts but may also provide environmental benefits in comparison with other conventional approaches, all of which should be evaluated. Despite these limitations and challenges, we consider that the use of AI can be a valuable tool in ecological research and could enhance the speed and efficiency of research by automating certain tasks (e.g. data collection and management) and analyzing large amounts of data. However, we emphasize the importance of taking a responsible, sustainable and transparent approach to using chatbot services and AI in ecological research and education, while remaining mindful of the potential impact on the environment, society, and ethical concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the author discusses several articles within the issue in topics including change in scientific publishing, complexity of ecological studies and scientific practices.

A lists of several papers received on ecological interest including Characteristics of natural areas and factors in development by Stanley A. Cain, Mycorrhiza and soil ecology by J.L. Harley, and Post-glacial forest sequence of north-central Ohio by Loren D. Potter.

Information about the general meeting of the British Ecological Society on January 8, 1957 is presented. Series of papers that assess the ecological-general problems in plants and animals were discussed by W. B. Turrill, D. H. Valentine and C. D. Darlington. The society extends its gratitude to Darlington and his members at the Department of Botany in Oxford University for their hospitality.

Information about the general meeting of the British Ecological Society held on January 7, 1957 is presented. It highlights the discussion of the research papers of J. Warren Wilson, M. E. Solomon and T. O. Pritchard. E. W. Jones suggests to assess the persistence and aggressiveness of vegetative reproduction possessed by tetraploid.

Copyright of People & Nature is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This review clarifies important points on habitat selection by the Swamp Rat Rattus lutreolus (Rodentia: Muridae), a species that has been the subject of much research in Australia and has provided a useful model for understanding ecological and biological processes. It also provides an opportunity to cite important earlier research, not readily available through electronic search engines, thus bringing it into current literature to avoid its disappearance into Internet obscurity. We comment on some papers in the literature to correct errors detected and to emphasize the importance of due care in all aspects of a research project, including its reporting. We show that both floristic and structural components have been reported as important to an understanding of habitat and microhabitat selection by R. lutreolus and conclude that it is vegetation density that is of paramount importance. Female R. lutreolus are clearly dominant in driving microhabitat selection, occupying the ‘best’ or densest habitats with male R. lutreolus occupying the next best and Pseudomys or other species, where present occupying the remainder. This demonstrates the important role that intraspecific and interspecific competition play in determining habitat selection. Direct predation and the perception of predation risk may also play a role in habitat selection, again perceived to be pushing individuals towards denser vegetation, representing ‘better cover’. Whether these effects operate as bottom-up or top-down needs careful consideration. Climatic variables, such as ENSO-affecting productivity, and related variables such as temperature and humidity may also play important roles in habitat selection, as can disturbance effects such as wildfire. The relative importance of all of these potential determining factors may vary from place to place, particularly when climatic clines are involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Freshwater ecosystems have long been affected by numerous types of human interventions that have a negative impact on their water quality and ecological state. Fortunately, in most western countries the input of sewage to freshwater systems has been reduced, but hydromorphological alterations, eutrophication-related turbidity and loss of biodiversity remain major problems in many parts of the world. Such impacts prevent the achievement of a high or good ecological state, as defined by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) or other standards. 2. This paper synthesizes and links the findings presented in the seven papers of this special profile, focusing on the effects of anthropogenic stressors on freshwater ecosystems and on how to maintain and restore ecological quality. The papers cover a broad range of research areas and methods, but are all centred on the relationship between dispersal barriers, the connectivity of waterways and the restoration of rivers and lakes. 3. The construction of dams and reservoirs disturbs the natural functioning of many streams and rivers and shore-line development around lakes may reduce habitat complexity. New methods demonstrate how reservoirs may have a severe impact on the distribution and connectivity of fish populations, and new techniques illustrate the potential of using graph theory and connectivity models to illustrate the ecological implications. Hydromorphologically degraded rivers and streams can be restored by addition of wood debris, but ‘passive’ restoration via natural wood recruitment may be preferable. The most cost-effective way to restore streams may also include information campaigns to farmers on best management practices. Removal of zooplanktivorous fish often has marked positive effects on trophic structure in lakes, but there is a tendency to return to turbid conditions after 8–10 years or less unless fish removal is repeated. 4. Synthesis and applications. Development of new methods, as well as derivation of more general conclusions from reviewing the effects of previous restoration efforts, are crucial to achieve progress in applied freshwater research. The papers contained in this Special Profile contribute on both counts, as well as illustrating the importance of well-designed research projects and monitoring programmes to record the effects of the interventions. Such efforts are vital if we are to improve our knowledge of freshwater systems and to elaborate the best and most cost-effective recommendations. They may also help in achieving a good ecological state or potential in water bodies by 2015, as demanded by the European WFD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-disciplinary research between ecologists and statisticians has led to significant advances in many different aspects of biodiversity modelling - including species distribution modelling, multivariate analysis and the measurement of diversity., We introduce a Special Feature of seven papers showcasing recent interdisciplinary collaboration between ecologists and statisticians. Each paper arose as an outcome of an Eco-Stats meeting held at UNSW Australia during July 2013. The meeting and this Special Feature highlight the considerable potential from interdisciplinary collaboration between ecologists and statisticians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent article, we described a conceptual and analytical model to identify the key host species for parasite transmission in multi-host communities and used data from 11 gastro-intestinal parasites infecting up to five small mammal host species as an illustrative example of how the framework could be applied. A limitation of these empirical data was uncertainty in the identification of parasite species using egg/oocyst morphology, which could overestimate parasite sharing between host species. Here, we show that the key results of the original analysis, namely that (1) parasites naturally infect multiple host species, but typically rely on a small subset of infected host species for long-term maintenance, (2) that different mechanisms underlie how particular host species dominate transmission and (3) that these different mechanisms influence the predicted efficiency of disease control measures, are robust to analysis of a smaller subset of host-parasite combinations that we have greatest confidence in identifying. We further comment briefly on the need for accurate parasite identification, ideally using molecular techniques to quantify cross-species transmission and differentiate covert host specificity from true host generalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that examined the various methods used by ecologists in measuring the relative amount of light needed by different kinds of plants. It cites several methods including photographic, potassium iodide and sulphuric acid method as well as oxalic acid method which have been adopted by different ecologists. It also points out the possibilities and limitations of each method used for ecological purposes. The author contends that photographic method is the best and more accurate method in determining the measurement of light.

Hutchinson's n‐dimensional hypervolume concept for the interpretation of niches as geometric shapes has provided a foundation for research across different fields of ecology and evolution. There is now an expanding set of applications for hypervolume concepts, as well as a growing set of statistical methods available to operationalize this concept with data. The concept has been applied to environmental, resource, functional trait, and morphometric axes and to different scales, i.e. from individuals, species, to communities and clades. Further, these shapes have been variously interpreted as niches, ecological or evolutionary strategy spaces, or proxies for community structure. This paper highlights these applications’ shared mathematical framework, surveys uses of the hypervolume concept across fields, discusses key limitations and assumptions of hypervolume concepts in general, provides a critical guide to available statistical estimation methods, and delineates the situations where hypervolume concepts can be useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends contributions from the philosophy of ecological systems theory to frame new learnings in the practice of apithological inquiry. These learning insights are combined in levels of logical categories of types to inform the generative structuring of the observations of complex systems. Sets of choices in composition, coherence, constrictions and contributions are outlined. Observational errors comprising forms of naïve realism, entity reification, gross simplification, values projection and normative assertions are contextualized. The alternatives of ontological humility, epistemological openness, methodological appropriateness, axiological reflexivity and metonymic responsibility are proposed. The learning choices outlined are reflective of the practice by which an apithological aesthetic informs the appreciation of complex systems. From this analysis, five observational protocols are derived as requirements for the praxis of apithological inquiry. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term ecological studies (LTES) are critical for understanding and managing landscapes. To identify important research gaps, facilitate collaborations and communicate results, several countries have established long-term ecological research networks. A few initiatives to create such a network in Australia have been undertaken, but relatively few published data exist on the current state of LTES in Australia. In this paper, we present the results of an online survey of terrestrial LTES projects sent to academic, government and non-governmental organization-based researchers across Australia. We asked questions pertaining to the focus, scope, support and outcomes of LTES spanning 7 years or longer. Based on the information reported from 85 Australian LTES, we: (i) identify the biomes, processes and species that are under-represented in the current body of research; (ii) discuss important contributing factors to the successful development and survival of these projects; and (iii) make recommendations to help increase the productivity and influence of LTES across research, management and policy sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we address the question whether and through which mechanisms herbivores can induce spatial patterning in savanna vegetation, and how the role of herbivory as a determinant of vegetation patterning changes with herbivore density and the pre-existing pattern of vegetation. We thereto developed a spatially explicit simulation model, including growth of grasses and trees, vertical zonation of browseable biomass, and spatially explicit foraging by grazers and browsers. We show that herbivores can induce vegetation patterning when two key assumptions are fulfilled. First, herbivores have to increase the attractiveness of a site while foraging so that they will revisit this site, e.g. through an increased availability or quality of forage. Second, foraging should be spatially explicit, e.g. when foraging at a site influences vegetation at larger spatial scales or when vegetation at larger spatial scales influences the selection and utilisation of a site. The interaction between these two assumptions proved to be crucial for herbivores to produce spatial vegetation patterns, but then only at low to intermediate herbivore densities. High herbivore densities result in homogenisation of vegetation. Furthermore, our model shows that the pre-existing spatial pattern in vegetation influences the process of vegetation patterning through herbivory. However, this influence decreases when the heterogeneity and dominant scale of the initial vegetation decreases. Hence, the level of adherence of the herbivores to forage in pre-existing patches increases when these pre-existing patches increase in size and when the level of vegetation heterogeneity increases. The findings presented in this paper, and critical experimentation of their ecological validity, will increase our understanding of vegetation patterning in savanna ecosystems, and the role of plant–herbivore interactions therein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem: A series of long-term field experiments is described, with particular reference to monitoring and quality control. This paper addresses problems in data-management of particular importance for long-term studies, including data manipulation, archiving, quality assessment, and flexible retrieval for analysis. Method: The problems were addressed using a purpose-built database system, using commercial software and running under Microsoft Windows. Conclusion: The database system brings many advantages compared to available software, including significantly improved quality checking and access. The query system allows for easy access to data sets thus improving the efficiency of analysis. Quality assessments of the initial dataset demonstrated that the database system can also provide general insight into types and magnitudes of error in data-sets. Finally, the system can be generalised to include data from a number of different projects, thus simplifying data manipulation for meta-analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem management often proceeds within the context of sub-optimal relationships between ecologists and ecosystem managers, and management outcomes could be improved with greater collaboration between members of these disciplines. This paper identifies an ecosystem management problem resulting from the interaction between timber harvesting and browsing wallabies, and this case study is used to exemplify how ecological data and expertise can contribute to the process of ecosystem management. It is argued that appropriate use of existing ecological data, establishment of strategic new research and the implementation of management actions as experimental hypothesis tests can facilitate achievement of management objectives, but greater collaboration between ecologists and managers is required before this can occur. Reasons for sub-optimal relationships are outlined, and the potential for structural change within large State-run ecosystem management agencies to improve interactions between managers and ecologists is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information about a list of books related to the topic of ecological research. Some of these books are, "Kangaroo Harvesting and the Conservation of Arid and Semi-arid Lands" edited by D. Lumney and G. Grigg, "Wildlife in Towns" by R. Freethy, "Beyond the Woodfuel Crisis: People, Land and Trees in Africa" edited by D. Lumney and G. Grigg, "Legumes of Africa: A Check List" by J. M. Lock, "A Guide to Museum Pest Control" edited by L.A. Zyccherman and J.R. Schrock and "Ecology of Reptiles" by H.F. Heatwole and J. Taylor.

New analytical tools applied to long-term data demonstrate that ecological communities are highly dynamic over time. We developed an r package, library('codyn'), to help ecologists easily implement these metrics and gain broader insights into ecological community dynamics., library('codyn') provides temporal diversity indices and community stability metrics. All functions are designed to be easily implemented over multiple replicates., Temporal diversity indices include species turnover, mean rank shifts and rate of community change over time. Community stability metrics calculate overall stability and patterns of species covariance and synchrony over time, and include a null-modelling method to test significance., Finally, library('codyn') contains vignettes that describe methods and reproduce figures from published papers to help users contextualize and apply functions to their own data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the scheme for abstracting publications on the British Empire Vegetation. The proposed plan is to invite authors of papers and books dealing with vegetation and ecology to send to the Secretary of the Committee abstracts of their publications. It is noted that the abstracts will be collected and edited by a number of collaborators, and will then be published by arrangement with the British Ecological Society in the form of supplements to "The Journal of Ecology."

The article responds to comments on a paper about the integration of history and ecology for conservation. Nonhistorians have called for cooperation between historians and conservation scientists. A difference between historical and ecological research is presented, in which there is a search for generalization or general narratives in history and the search for generalizability in ecology. One criticism presented was the call for the integration of historical concepts into ecological research.

Ecological niche modelling (ENM) Components are a set of reusable workflow components specialized for performing ENM tasks within the Taverna workflow management system. Each component encapsulates specific functionality and can be combined with other components to facilitate the creation of larger and more complex workflows. One key distinguishing feature of ENM Components is that most tasks are performed remotely by calling web services, simplifying software setup and maintenance on the client side and allowing more powerful computing resources to be exploited. This paper presents the current set of ENM Components in the context of the Taverna family of tools for creating, publishing and sharing workflows. An example is included showing how the components can be used in a preliminary investigation of the effects of mixing different spatial resolutions in ENM experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A personal narrative of ecologist Dr. Steve Young is presented wherein Young shares how his interest in ecology began, the places he has traveled for his research programs, and the insights he has learned during his ecological studies.

The article announces the winners of Ecological Society of America's (ESA) 2016 Murray F. Buell and E. Lucy Braun Student Awards to students Michael J. M. McTavish and Julienne E. NeSmith for outstanding student research presentations at the 101st Annual Meeting of the Society.

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Presence-only data are widely used for species distribution modelling, and point process regression models are a flexible tool that has considerable potential for this problem, when data arise as point events., In this paper, we review point process models, some of their advantages and some common methods of fitting them to presence-only data., Advantages include (and are not limited to) clarification of what the response variable is that is modelled; a framework for choosing the number and location of quadrature points (commonly referred to as pseudo-absences or 'background points') objectively; clarity of model assumptions and tools for checking them; models to handle spatial dependence between points when it is present; and ways forward regarding difficult issues such as accounting for sampling bias., Point process models are related to some common approaches to presence-only species distribution modelling, which means that a variety of different software tools can be used to fit these models, including maxent or generalised linear modelling software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shipley, Vile & Garnier ( Science 2006; 314: 812) proposed a maximum entropy approach to studying how species relative abundance is mediated by their traits, 'community assembly via trait selection' ( CATS)., In this paper, we build on recent equivalences between the maximum entropy formalism and Poisson regression to show that CATS is equivalent to a generalized linear model for abundance, with species traits as predictor variables., Main advantages gained by access to the machinery of generalized linear models can be summarized as advantages in interpretation, model checking, extensions and inference., A more difficult issue, however, is the development of valid methods of inference for single-site data, as species correlation in abundance is not accounted for in CATS (whether specified as a regression or via maximum entropy). This issue can be circumvented for multisite data using design-based inference., These points are illustrated by example - our plant abundances were found to violate the implicit Poisson assumption of CATS, but a negative binomial regression had much improved fit, and our model was extended to multisite data in order to directly model the environment-trait interaction. Violations of the Poisson assumption were strong and accounting for them qualitatively changed results, presumably because larger counts had undue influence when overdispersion had not been accounted for. We advise that future CATS analysts routinely check for overdispersion and account for it if present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species distribution models (SDMs) represent important analytical and predictive tools for ecologists. Until now, these models have either assumed (i) that species' occurrence probabilities are uncorrelated or (ii) that species respond linearly to preselected environmental variables. These two assumptions currently prevent ecologists from modelling assemblages with realistic co-occurrence and species richness properties., This paper introduces a stochastic feedforward neural network, called 'mistnet', which makes neither assumption. Thus, unlike most SDMs, mistnet can account for non-independent co-occurrence patterns driven by unobserved environmental heterogeneity. And unlike several recently proposed joint SDMs, the model can also learn nonlinear functions relating species' occurrence probabilities to environmental predictors., Mistnet makes more accurate predictions about the North American bird communities found along Breeding Bird Survey transects than several alternative methods tested. In particular, typical assemblages held out of sample for validation were each tens of thousands of times more likely under the mistnet model than under independent combinations of single-species predictions., Apart from improved accuracy, mistnet shows two other important benefits for ecological research and management. First: by analysing co-occurrence data, mistnet can identify unmeasured - and perhaps unanticipated - environmental variables that drive species turnover. For example, the model identified a strong grassland/forest gradient, even though only temperature and precipitation were given as model inputs. Second: mistnet is able to take advantage of outside information to guide its predictions towards more realistic assemblages. For example, mistnet automatically adjusts its expectations to include more forest-associated species in response to a stray observation of a forest-dwelling warbler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meta-analysis has become a standard way of summarizing empirical studies in many fields, including ecology and evolution. In ecology and evolution, meta-analyses comparing two groups (usually experimental and control groups) have almost exclusively focused on comparing the means, using standardized metrics such as Cohen's / Hedges' d or the response ratio., However, an experimental treatment may not only affect the mean but also the variance. Investigating differences in the variance between two groups may be informative, especially when a treatment influences the variance in addition to or instead of the mean., In this paper, we propose the effect size statistic ln CVR (the natural logarithm of the ratio between the coefficients of variation, CV, from two groups), which enables us to meta-analytically compare differences between the variability of two groups. We illustrate the use of lnCVR with examples from ecology and evolution., Further, as an alternative approach to the use of lnCVR, we propose the combined use of ln s (the log standard deviation) and [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]