iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

🏙️ New #BAAE article: Why do alien plants thrive in urban wastelands? Across 100 plots in Guiyang, China, alien spread rose with rigid native trait integration & tighter soil nutrient limits, while flexible alien traits drove their own success.🌿 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. A map of the study area showing geographical distribution of sample plots with the gradients of soil environmental constraint index (SEI).

Fig. 4. The interactive effects of the strength of trait integration in the difference between native and alien species and soil environmental constraint index on alien species proliferation with (a) and without (b) including intraspecific trait variation.

022

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

🌡️ New #BAAE article: Can summer heat waves kill invasive jumping worms? Testing Amynthas earthworms at 35 to 43°C, adults died faster than embryos in cocoons, with 99% mortality within 40 to 80 minutes at 40°C plus. 🔥 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba...

Fig. 1. Proportional distribution of embryonic developmental stages (Stages 1–5) and viability across temperature–time combinations, including the 22 °C control. Data are shown separately for Amynthas agrestis and A. tokioensis and for substrate treatments (soil and water). Each bar represents the proportion of embryos (n = 15 per replicate) classified into developmental stages at the end of the exposure interval.

Fig. 2. Observed embryo viability status across temperature–time combinations. Bars show the number of dead, alive, and Stage 1 embryos (out of 15 per replicate) for each temperature–time treatment, separated by species (Amynthas agrestis, A. tokioensis) and substrate (soil, water).

032

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

🌳🏙️ New #BAAE article: Does tree species origin matter for urban biodiversity? Comparing 320 trees in New Haven and Karlsruhe, tree size and stress symptoms predicted microhabitats better than origin. Red oaks hosted more eDNA diversity. 🦎 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Sample collection for leaves (a), sub-surface soil (b), and tree bark swabs in Karlsruhe. Leaves sample were collected using a telescopic pruning sheer whereas bark swabs were collected using paint brush dipped in a specific cell buffer solution and then mounted on a telescopic pole (Photo source: Ferdinand Betting).

Fig. 4. Left) Number of species per taxonomic group; Right): Relative number of species per taxonomic group. Samples are organized by city, tree species, and sampling location (park vs. street).

052

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

🦋🏔️ New article: How do arthropod traits shift with elevation? Across four groups in Italy's Vinschgau Valley, orthopterans and butterflies lose trait diversity higher up, while ants gain it. 🐜 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. The distribution of the traits body length, feeding type, wing development, and hibernation type of carabid beetles along Alpine elevation sites in Matsch/Mazia, South Tyrol (Italy). Numerical variables show mean CWM values of the variable per elevation and were tested with Kruskal Wallis rank-sum test (added in legend) followed by pairwise-Wilcoxon test. Categorical variables were also tested with Kruskal Wallis rank-sum test followed by pairwise Dunn test (significant results are shown with small letters). Credits for the icon: Eurac Research.

Fig. 6. Overlap of pairs of hypervolumes indicated by the Sørensen index (0–1, where 1 is maximal similarity and 0 is no similarity). (A) The graph shows three comparisons on the X-axis of adjacent elevations, and (B) shows three comparisons along elevation starting always from the lowest elevation (1000 m) to all other elevations. (C) The photograph shows the silhouette of the actual sampled elevation sites in the LT(S)ER area "Matsch/Mazia". Please note: the lower part of the 1000 m was artificially extended due to perspectival reasons, and the locations of the sampling plots on this silhouette (yellow squares) are symbolic and do not represent their real location.

0106

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

🦌🍄 New #BAAE article: Does animal size matter for carrion biodiversity? A Bavarian Forest study of 100 carcasses found small species like stoat and beaver often support higher diversity than large ones. 🪲 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Phylogenetic tree and log(biomass) of the ten different carrion species. (a) Phylogenetic tree of the ten carrion species including the symbols for each carrion species. Coloration of the animal names according to their size category (grey = small; purple = medium-sized; black = large). (b) log weight of the ten carrion species as measured before exposure to the field.

Fig. 2. Boxplot of the α-diversity of the five carrion visitor groups across carrion species. The boxplots show the estimated diversity (q0; species richness) associated with each carrion species. Estimated sample coverage (SC) values are given within each panel. Colors of carrion species symbols reflect body mass host categories (see Fig. 1) used consistently across panels. Letters indicate statistically significant differences in α-diversity (α = 0.05) based on pairwise post-hoc comparisons, and coloration patterns within the plot of one taxonomic group stress significant differences. Groups sharing a letter and a color do not differ significantly.

021

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

🌿📊 New #BAAE opinion paper: Is "more even" always "more healthy" in ecology? This piece argues evenness indices like Shannon's and Simpson's are too often read as signs of health, when the link to ecological function is often weak. 🧮 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Conceptual graphic of a textbook-style species evenness diagram. Both communities have the same species richness, but Community 1 has equal abundance across all species whereas Community 2 is dominated by a single species. Community 1 is therefore more even—and, in the standard ecological interpretation, more valuable.

032

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

🦜🌾 New article: How much habitat is left for threatened Cerrado birds? Climate based range estimates overestimate suitable habitat, and protected areas cover only 33% of remaining ranges for open area species. 🍃 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2026.05.007 @gfoesoc.bsky.social

021

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

🐦🌲 New #BAAE article: Do mixed beech conifer forests hurt blue tit breeding? Monitoring 63 plots in Bavaria found blue tits laid eggs earlier on beech than conifer trees, but breeding success stayed similar across all forest types. 🥚 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Map of the study area in the Spessart region in North-western Bavaria, Germany. Green points represent control plots, red and yellow points represent Douglas-fir-beech and silver fir-beech plots, respectively.

Fig. 2. Breeding success of blue tits in nest boxes in forest stand of different tree species composition (A) nest occupancy, B) laying date, (C) clutch size, (D) mean brood mass, and (E) hatching success across control, Douglas-fir, and silver fir forest treatments. Boxplots represent the observed values per nest box (i.e. one data point per brood), while overlaid red points and error bars indicate model-predicted means and 95% confidence intervals. Blue points in panels B-E show individual nest-box observations.

010

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

🍫🦟 New #BAAE article: Who really pollinates cacao flowers? New evidence backs biting midges as the dominant pollinators, showing higher flower activity and pollen attachment than other visitors. 🌸 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. A Explanatory illustration of behaviour enumeration. Behaviour categories one to six represent active behaviour; category seven represents inactive behaviour. Only categories one to three are considered pollination-compatible behaviours as they involve movement within the reproductive structures the cacao flower. B Behaviour of cacao flower visitors caught in Malaysia and C French Guiana. Insects were identified morphologically to family level, with Ceratopogonidae further identified to genus level and, for Malaysian specimens, to Barcode Index Number (BIN) based on COI sequencing. The total abundance per identification is indicated next to the bar. Malaysian specimens that could not be successfully sequenced are grouped in the morphological genus to which they were identified (Forcipomyia or Atrichopogon). Specimens from French Guiana were not sequenced due to low DNA quality after extractions.

Fig. 2. Pollen attachment and sex ratio of major cacao flower visitors. A Pollen attachment among the two dominant dipteran families observed in Malaysia: gall midges (Cecidomyiidae) and biting midges (Ceratopogonidae). Dark green bars indicate individuals with cacao pollen grains adhering to their bodies, whereas light green bars indicate individuals without attached pollen. Arrows mark attached pollen grains on the thorax of Forcipomyia spp. (right panels). B Sex ratio of ceratopogonid flower visitors (Forcipomyia and Atrichopogon) in French Guiana and Malaysia. All but one individual were females. Photos show representative female (top) and male (bottom) Forcipomyia spp.; arrows mark the males’ plumose and females’ pilose antennae.

022

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🦗🌾 New #BAAE article: How long do grassland arthropods need to recover after mowing? AI camera traps across 27 grasslands show recovery often takes 8 weeks, not days, depending on taxa and nearby unmown refuges. 🐝 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Top left: Close-up of the camera trap setup showing the airtight box holding the electronics underneath the luring surface and the transparent roof above holding the Oak-1 camera. Top right: Camera trap next to the fence of the climate station with a connected solar panel. Bottom: Luring surface of the camera trap as seen by the camera with a detected dipteran.

Fig. 2. Top: Pictures of two grassland plots in the Biodiversity Exploratories, bottom left: Position of the three Biodiversity Exploratories within Germany. Bottom right: picture of the camera trap placed next to the fence of the climate station.

044

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

🦋🌍 New #BAAE article: Climate and urbanisation shape the range expansion of the thermophilic butterfly Zizeeria knysna 🌿 Mild winters and warm years boosted suitability and abundance, with human-modified landscapes influencing expansion. ☀️ DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 2. Violin plots of presence and absence points, along with the variables used in the ensemble model of Zizeeria knysna, specifically for the Iberian Peninsula. F and Pr (>F) values are provided. *** = p < 0.0001.

012

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

💧🌱 New #BAAE article: Hydrology shapes wetland plant diversity from the seed stage 🌿 Flooding affected germination in species-specific ways, with seed traits driving which plants establish, key to wetland community assembly. 🌾 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Location of the eight waterbodies in southern Germany from which we collected the sediment samples. The study sites are located across the federal states of Baden-Württemberg (left) and Bavaria (right), which are marked on the map. Details about the study sites are presented in Table 1.

033

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

🦋🏙️ New #BAAE article: Citizen science reveals what supports urban butterflies in Leipzig Flower strips, shrubs & reduced mowing boosted butterfly diversity, showing how smarter urban management can benefit biodiversity. 🌼 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2026.03.009 @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. A characterization of observation sites (n = 130) monitored by Citizen Scientists during 2021 and 2022. The broad types of urban greenspaces cover a gradient of structural diversity, management intensity, and distance to city centre.

063

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

🌱🐞 New #BAAE article: Ecological intensification reshapes insect communities in organic crops 🌿 Cover crops and reduced tillage shifted predator, pollinator & herbivore abundance, showing crop-specific effects on multitrophic communities. 🌽🫘 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Mean (± 95 % CI) seasonal cumulative number of total Coleoptera (a), Hemiptera (b), and Hymenoptera (c) per trap in soybeans. Open circles represent plot-level values, filled circles represent treatment means, and error bars indicate 95 % confidence intervals. *Treatments sharing the same letter are not significantly different within each panel (negative binomial generalized linear model, Wald χ² test, P < 0.05).

032

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

🪱🌱 New #BAAE article: Acclimated earthworms help restore saline-alkali soils 🌿 Salt-tolerant Eisenia fetida improved soil structure and fertility, showing the potential of nature-based solutions for restoring degraded farmland. 🌾 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2026.04.001 @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Effects of different proportions of saline-alkali soil and treatment time on earthworm survival rate and average body weight. (A) The effects of different proportions of saline-alkali soil on earthworm survival rate and average body weight. (B) The effect of 70 % saline-alkali soil on earthworm survival rate and average body weight at different times. Survival rate (C) and weight change rate (D) of saline-alkali acclimated earthworms and ordinary earthworms in soda-saline-alkaline soil.

032

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

🪲🌡️ New #BAAE article: Temperature shapes reproduction in the introduced dung beetle Onthophagus vacca 🌿 Higher temperatures reduced emergence and offspring size, while high-elevation populations showed the strongest reproductive performance. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

020

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

🐝 New #BAAE article: Road verges support many pollinators, but not all 🌿 In southern Sweden, species traits shaped which bees & butterflies used roadside habitats, highlighting the need for biodiversity-friendly verge design. 🦋 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

052

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

🐝 New #BAAE article: Bumble bees adjust foraging after flowers are visited in red clover fields 🌿 Pollination success differed strongly among bee species, highlighting their unique roles in seed production. 🌱 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

031

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

🪲 New #BAAE article: What shapes bark beetle range expansion in Sweden? 🇸🇪 Colonization by Ips amitinus declined near the southern range edge and increased with spruce cover, highlighting the role of habitat quality in expanding species ranges. 🌿 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

021

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

🫒🦇 New #BAAE article: Birds & bats provide valuable pest control in Mediterranean olive groves 🌿 By reducing olive fruit fly infestations, vertebrate biocontrol could save the olive industry an estimated €642 million annually across Europe. 🐦 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

053

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

🌾 New #BAAE article: Hedgerows boost flying insect biomass in restored agricultural landscapes 🌿 Hedgerows supported higher insect biomass than flower strips or bare field edges, highlighting their value for insect recovery. 🐝 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

072

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

🏙️ New #BAAE article: Urban verticality shapes bird communities in Hungarian cities 🌿 Taller buildings favored larger birds, while sealed surfaces reduced insectivores—highlighting the need for greener, more complex cities. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

021

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

🛰️ New #BAAE article: UAVs improve fine-scale mapping of Natura 2000 habitats in Central Europe 🌍 Multispectral spring imagery delivered the highest accuracy, showing strong potential for biodiversity monitoring and conservation planning. 🌱 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

032

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

🦋New #BAAE article: Alien host plants alter butterfly wing signals & mating behavior in endangered Tongeia fischeri 🇯🇵 Butterflies reared on native plants were preferred by males, showing how invasive plants can indirectly affect reproduction. 🌸 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

032

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

🐝🌾 New #BAAE article: Landscape diversity shapes honey bee foraging across Germany Mass-flowering crops combined with diverse habitats prolonged foraging periods, highlighting the value of heterogeneous agricultural landscapes. 🌿 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

021

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

🏆🐝 Gewinnerin des #BAAE Best Student Paper Award 2025: Dr. Hanna Gardein 🌿 Ausgezeichnet für Originalität, konzeptionelle Stärke und methodische Stringenz — ein herausragender Beitrag zur Grundlagen- und angewandten Ökologie. Link zum Artikel: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

010

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

🌼 New #BAAE article: How often should meadow refuges rotate? 🌿 Rotating uncut grass after each cut boosts arthropod abundance, benefiting spiders & bees, but some taxa prefer yearly shifts. Smart rotation can maximize meadow biodiversity. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Illustration of the experimental design with two hypothetical meadows stemming from the two different mowing regimes (WYRR and BYRR). Invertebrate sampling occurred in 2021 and only in the uncut refuge areas.

Fig. 2. Depiction of the different methods used to sample the vegetation and arthropods in an uncut refuge.

0810

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

🪲 New #BAAE article: What drives green peach aphid outbreaks in European sugar beet? Warmer winters & early sowing boost Myzus persicae arrival and abundance, while landscape effects are scale-dependent. 🌡️ DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2025.11.005 @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. (A) Land cover and land use (LCLU) map of Belgium displaying the location of surveyed fields and reference weather stations from the WOW-BE platform (KMI, 2023) for three consecutive growing seasons (2021–2023). (B) Visualization of the spatial scales used for the calculation of landscape metrics. (C) Weather station assignment

Fig. 2. Cumulative abundance (CAb) and week of first observation (WFO) of (A) alate and (B) apterous M. persicae in sugar beet over three consecutive growing seasons. Each point represents an individual field observation, with color indicating the sowing week for the corresponding field.

031

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

🐝 New #BAAE article: Landscape context shapes pollen use of the specialist bee Osmia leaiana in Estonian alvar grasslands 🇪🇪 Semi-natural grasslands & Cichorioideae drive pollen composition, while cropland & forest reduce brood production. 🌿 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. a) Map of managed and abandoned study sites within Estonia. b) Cross-section of a trap nest block with chewed leaf material and pollen provisions. c) Nest block mounted on a juniper tree at one of the study sites.

Fig. 2. Pie charts illustrating the percent of total relative abundance of sequences across all samples represented by a) each plant family and b) each Asteraceae genus. Those with percentages ≥ 0.5 % of total relative abundance among all samples are shown individually, while all others are grouped into the “Other” category.

083

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

🌊 New #BAAE article: Shoreline restoration boosts food web recovery in Markermeer Creating shallow littoral habitats increased benthic production and carbon fluxes to pelagic zones, enhancing macroinvertebrate diversity in this restored lake. 🐟 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Conceptual view of the expected influence of the new littoral zones with recoupled habitats on primary producers, macroinvertebrate primary consumers and higher trophic levels in Lake Markermeer, The Netherlands. Primary production in the original lake in the pelagic zone (left food web) is mainly driven by pelagic phytoplankton. In the new littoral zones (right food web), additional contributions of benthic (macrophytes and periphyton) and terrestrial (shore plants) primary producers are expected, forming a broader base of consumers and higher trophic levels in a more complex food web. Food web based on Jin (2021).

Fig. 2. (a) Lake Markermeer in the Netherlands with the sampling locations of isotope and community data indicated. The rectangle shows the location of the Marker Wadden in Lake Markermeer further detailed in panel b. (b) The Marker Wadden archipelago with the isotope and community data sampling locations. Turquoise shading indicates water depths shallower than 1.5 m. (c) Light availability in the form of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) at different water depths in lake Markermeer. The approximate shore / littoral and sheltered limnetic areas are indicated with turquoise and pink shading, respectively, which illustrates that PAR at the sediment surface in the 4 m deep open water is very low.

061

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

🐞 New #BAAE article: Extensive grassland management boosts ground beetle diversity Fields host more 4–12 mm diurnal beetles, the ideal prey for breeding farmland birds, supporting biodiversity-friendly farming. 🐦 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2025.11.006 @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Abundance of a) diurnal and b) nocturnal ground beetles for the size classes <4 mm; 4–8 mm; 8–12 mm and >12 mm in extensively (EM, n = 112) and intensively managed (IM, n = 115) grasslands. Mean +-se.

Fig. 2. Rank abundance curves of extensively managed (EM) grasslands and intensively managed (IM) grasslands. Species names of the indicator species are shown.

032

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

🪲 New #BAAE article: Artificial light at night reshapes beetle development & chemistry 💡 High, continuous ALAN delays development and alters chemical profiles, while part-night or low light reduces impacts. 🌌 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Overview over the day and night light settings of the five treatment groups. All groups had the same settings during the day, starting with approximately 80 lx at 7 am and an increase every 15 min until 8 am (steps: 80.10 ± 3.40 lx, 161.35 ± 7.21 lx, 239.90 ± 11.50 lx, 316.65 ± 13.32 lx), followed by a daylight phase (392.41 ± 19.61 lx) and a step-wise decrease from 10 – 11 pm following the same levels as from 7 – 8 am in reversed order. During the night, the illuminance was < 0.01 lx in the dark group (D), while the other groups experienced artificial light a night of different durations (P = part-night, C = continuous) and intensities (L = low, H = high), with the following illuminances: LP 5.20 ± 0.29 lx (at 11 pm – 2 am and 5 – 7 am), HP 49.00 ± 2.53 lx (11 pm – 2 am, 5 – 7 am), LC 5.20 ± 0.29 lx during the whole night, HC 49.00 ± 2.53 lx, whole night. Illuminance values are means ± SD taken from n = 17–20 measurements at the height of the Petri dishes containing the insects.

031

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

🌾🐛 New #BAAE article: Hidden insect food webs thrive inside perennial grass shoots 🌿 Longer shoots host richer herbivore–parasitoid communities. Unmown refuges are key to protecting these overlooked specialists. 🕷️ DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2026.01.004 @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. The relationship between mean shoot length per grass species to species richness of the endophytic insects found in these shoots.

A The number of herbivore species, B the sum of herbivore and parasitoid species. The five points indicating no species at all indicate that no one insect species has been reared from the five annual grass species studied, despite intensive shoot sampling (see Table 1). The inquilines of P. australis are included (see Table 2, see also Fig. S2A and S2B for regressions without inquilines). Regression lines were fitted to the species richness found in the ten perennial grass species.

Fig. 2. Images illustrating the insect community of the shoot-inhabiting gall midge Giraudiella inclusa on Common Reed Phragmites australis.

A Phragmites australis reedbelt with the ricegrain-like galls of Giraudiella inclusa inside internodes.
B The gall midge Giraudiella inclusa: Oviposition, C Early Giraudiella gall development, D late Giraudiella gall development,
E the Giraudiella parasitoid Torymus arundinis ovipositing, F the gregarious Giraudiella parasitoid Aprostocetus calamarius,
G T. arundinis eggs on a dead 2nd instar host larva, H the conspicuously hairy, solitary T. arundinis larva, I midge skin filled with pupae of the gregarious Platygaster szelenii, J the solitary parasitoid Platygaster cf. quadrifarius (Tscharntke et al. 1991).

0127

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

🪲 New BAAE article: Metabarcoding of stored carabid beetles reveals declining prey diversity over the last decade. Temporal diet shifts highlight long-term invertebrate declines and the value of historical collections for monitoring. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 3. Percentage of reads attributed to carabid, prey and other for Nebria salina and Poecilus cupreus for samples from 2013 to 2019 and 2021. Colors distinguish between (a) prey reads (green), (b) carabid reads (blue) and (c) other reads (contaminants and not assigned – orange). Proportions are given as percentages of the total number per sample (after filtering the singletons).

Fig. 5. Prey diversity in the diet of Nebria salina (a) and Poecilus cupreus (b) through time. Each dot represents the diet of one carabid specimens, dots are jittered horizontally and vertically for more clarity. The curve corresponds to a linear regression with the grey area displaying the 95 % confidence interval.

0138

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

🦜 New BAAE article: In Mozambique, bird diversity peaks at intermediate farmland in savannas but declines in rainforests. Farmland expansion favors widespread species, threatening biodiversity. Biome-specific strategies are needed for conservation. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Figure 2. (A) Globally threatened species richness in quarter-degree grid cells in Mozambique. Threatened species include those listed as ‘Critically Endangered’, ‘Endangered’, or ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List (IUCN, 2024). (B) Proportion of open-habitat species in quarter-degree grid cells. Open-habitat species are those primarily associated with deserts, grasslands, open water, low shrubs, rocky habitats, seashores, urban areas, or the forest canopy (Tobias et al., 2022). (C) Proportion of large-range species in quarter-degree grid cells. Large-range species are defined as those with distribution ranges exceeding 15 million km² (Tobias et al., 2022).

041

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

🌱🪱 New BAAE article: Three pathways regulate soil micro-food webs under global change. Heavy metals cut nematodes by 76%, acid rain boosts them. Nematodes actively regulate ecosystem stress; soil acidification is a key driver. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

011

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

🌊New BAAE article: High-altitude watersheds are vulnerable to invasion. Nonnative species strongly drive declines in Local Contributions to Beta Diversity. Prioritize high-LCBD, low-richness-distinct, and low-FOri communities for conservation. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Analytical workflow from community data processing to LCBD and Boosted Regression Trees (BRTs) results.

Fig. 2. Maps for the U.S. showing the local contribution to beta diversity (sesLCBD). (a) Watersheds without nonnatives (sesLCBDhistorical); (b) with nonnatives in LCBD (sesLCBDpresent).

032

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

🦅🌍 New BAAE article: Hooded Vultures in East Africa occupy only 12% of the landscape. Climate, elevation, and land cover shape their distribution. Conservation beyond protected areas is urgent to safeguard this declining species. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2025.12.010 @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Thinned Hooded Vulture occurrence records January 2015 – June 2024, land cover, annual mean temperature and precipitation across the study area (East Africa).

Fig. 5. Hooded Vulture response to (a) Annual Mean Temperature, (b) Annual Precipitation, (c) Precipitation Seasonality (CV: Coefficient of Variation), (d) Precipitation of Driest Quarter, (e) Precipitation of Warmest Quarter, (f) Isothermality, (g) Temperature Seasonality (SD × 100: Standard Deviation), (h) Temperature Annual Range, and (i) Elevation by GLM, Maxent, RF and eSDMs.

013

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

🌸 New #BAAE article: Flowering shifts response to temperature. Early-flowering species advance ~7 days per 1°C increase & space-for-time substitutions work well for general patterns but species-specific caution is needed. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.007 @gfoesoc.bsky.social

The slope of the red line shows the shift in the onset of flowering as a function of temperature over the spatial gradient and the slope of the blue line shows the shift over the temporal gradient in Vienna. The gray area represents the 95 % confidence interval for both linear regressions, overlapping across the entire possible range. The linear regressions run nearly parallel to each other, illustrating the similarity between both methods. The dots combine mean temperature (x-axis) and flowering time (y-axis) within a year. The boxes represent the temperature ranges of the respective gardens and years.

031

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

☕🐦 New BAAE article: Birds and ants interact to control coffee berry borer in Colombian coffee farms. Shade coffee and crop diversification enhance natural pest control, showing biodiversity can boost pest management. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2025.11.002 @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Distribution of the study sites in the municipalities of Jardín and Andes in Colombia. Red dots represent the sun coffee system, the yellow triangles the coffee-plantain intercropping, and the green squares the shade coffee system.

Fig. 2. A) Experimental block. Exclusion treatments from left to right: ant and bird exclosure, bird exclosure, ant exclosure, and open control. B) Exclosure treatments: B1) Grease applied on coffee shrubs to exclude ants. B2) Exclosure treatments and control. B3) Setting up exclosure treatments.

041

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

🍎🐝 New BAAE article: In apples, pollen donor identity strongly affects fruit set, weight & seed quality. Choosing high-performing donors (beyond basic compatibility) can boost orchard productivity and fruit quality. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Estimated probability of fruit set for Pink Lady apples across different pollination treatments. Points represent model-predicted posterior means (±95% credible intervals). “Control” refers to open-pollinated flowers exposed to natural pollination, “Emasculation” to flowers with anthers removed to prevent self-pollen deposition, “Self-pollination” to hand-pollinated flowers using pollen from the same cultivar, and “Spontaneous” to flowers bagged throughout anthesis to test autonomous self-pollination. The other treatments represent the cultivar used to hand-pollinate the flowers. Fruit set was modelled as a binary response (1 = fruit set, 0 = no fruit set).

Fig. 2. Fruit weight and seed quality of Pink Lady apples. (A) Estimated fruit weight (g) and (B) estimated proportion of well-formed seeds for fruits that developed following different pollen-donor treatments: Control (open pollination), or hand-pollination with pollen from Fuji, Royal Gala, Granny Smith, or Kanzi. Dots represent individual fruit/seed measurements, while larger filled circles and error bars show model-predicted means ± 95% credible intervals from Bayesian mixed-effects models.

021

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

🌳🎶 New BAAE article: The CitySoundscapes pilot links urban soundscapes, bird diversity, and human well-being. Methods combining ecology, psychology & planning show how green space structure supports biodiversity and acoustic comfort. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Conceptual diagram of the relationships among the social-ecological dimensions of urban soundscapes. Urban soundscape characteristics likely are influenced by urban green space vegetation structure, which in turn influences biodiversity. Furthermore, urban soundscapes relate to dimensions of acoustic comfort and human wellbeing (restoration). Key for urban planning is to identify places of high biodiversity, acoustic comfort and restoration with positive effects on human wellbeing that can be equitably promoted in planning and sound-based policies. Graphic by Sophie Arzberger.

Fig. 2. Research sites in the inner city of Munich, Germany (as delineated by black line) where sound recordings took place (circles, squares, diamonds) as well as soundwalk routes took place (colored lines). Graphic by Sophie Arzberger.

073

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

🌾🐞 New #BAAE article: Conservation tillage boosts ground beetle abundance & richness. But drought and seed-predator dynamics complicate weed control—highlighting smarter strategies for climate-ready farming. 🌱🌦️ DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2025.11.001 @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Effect of tillage regime and distance from field margin on (a) overall ground beetle activity density and (b) Pterostichus melas activity density, with 95 % confidence intervals.

Effect of tillage regime on the number of ground beetle species by trap, with 95 % confidence intervals. Different letters indicate statistically significant differences according to post-hoc pairwise comparisons with Tukey adjustment.

022

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

🌳🪶 New BAAE article: Urban vegetation boosts bird diversity in Munich. Total vegetation cover, especially large trees, drives rare species, while distance to green spaces matters less. ≥10–20% cover benefits biodiversity and human well-being. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Map of the city of Munich in Southern Germany consisting of over 10,300 blocks including built-up area (white areas) and urban green spaces such as parks, cemeteries, green belt or conservation areas (green areas). Black areas represent 90 residential blocks selected for sampling. Data on block geometries and green spaces were provided by the Municipal Department of the City of Munich.

Fig. 2. Partial effects of the percentage of total vegetation cover (left), vegetation of 1–5 m height (middle) and vegetation of > 10 m height (right) on bird diversity (A–I), based on mixed effect models, and on abundance (J–L) based on generalized linear models. Hill numbers were used as diversity measures, with order q = 0 equaling species richness and orders q = 1 and q = 2 being interpreted as the effective number of common and abundant species, respectively. Thin lines without confidence bands indicate non–significant effects. The percentages of vegetation of 1–5 m height and vegetation > 10 m height were square-root transformed, but their effects are shown on the original scales.

031

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

🌏🦌 New #BAAE article: Mammal richness on small islands is driven more by people than area. Highlighting the need to protect low-disturbance islands and safeguard larger ones. 🌿 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2025.10.003 @gfoesoc.bsky.social

A framework of human-driven disturbance hypothesis illustrating the predicted relationships between species richness and island area and between species richness and available habitat area across different island groups in the context of human disturbances. (A) The distribution and diversity of species on small islands; (B) The relationship between species richness and island area on islands; (C) The distribution and diversity of species on large islands; (D) The relationship between species richness and available habitat area on islands.

Map of the 50 study islands in the Zhoushan Archipelago, China. The selected islands are labeled in green and ranked according to the decreasing areas from Island 1 to Island 50.

053

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

🐢🌊 New BAAE article: Temporal shifts in juvenile turtle stocks detected. Florida is a major source for Azores & Madeira, Cape Verde for Canary Islands. Genetic differences highlight need for long-term monitoring. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Fig. 1. Genetic composition of rookeries and Foraging grounds of loggerhead sea turtle in the Northeast Atlantic. The pie charts represent the haplotype composition (776 bp) at nesting sites, indicated by a hatchling turtle, and foraging grounds in Macaronesia and ABJN-EA. The haplotype frequencies of the Northeast Atlantic FG used for time comparisons (380 bp) are shown in the barplot (H = Historical, C = Current). The arrows indicate the main source of juveniles to each FG. NRU = Northern Recovery Unit, FL-CE = Florida Central East, FL-SE = Florida Southeast, FL-SW = Florida Southwest, FL-CW = Florida Central West, FL-NW = Florida Northwest, DRT = Dry Tortugas, MEX = Mexico, CAV = Cape Verde, MED = Mediterranean, ABJN-EA = Area Beyond National Jurisdiction in the North-East Atlantic.

Fig. 2. Juvenile sea turtle rookery contributions to foraging grounds. Foraging-ground-centric estimates (cMSA1) showing the mean and SD contributions from rookeries to Macaronesia foraging areas using 776-bp mtDNA fragment. ABJN-EA = Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction in the Eastern Atlantic.

041

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

🌳🪱 New #BAAE article: Urbanization reshapes soil biodiversity in green spaces 🏙️ Soil compaction & pore loss reduce nematode diversity, showing that physical soil changes matter as much as chemical ones for healthy urban ecosystems. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

053

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

🌲🦌 New #BAAE article: Roe deer show non-linear impacts on forest biodiversity in German Black Forest 🌿 Many taxa thrive at low–intermediate densities, supporting the intermediate-disturbance hypothesis and challenging the “deer threat” narrative. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Schematic of data collection methods applied on the research plots to assess faunal abundance and diversity, with numbers referencing the corresponding section in the Methods text: camera traps (2.2.1); pitfall traps, flight interception traps and trap nests (2.2.2), bird point counts (2.2.3) and bat loggers (2.2.4). Adapted from ConFoBi schematic in Storch et al., 2020.

Effect plots for the effects of roe deer on a subset of taxa showing significant responses. Gray areas display the 95 % confidence intervals. “Ab” indicates abundance, “Div” Shannon diversity. Roe deer abundance on the x-axis is the relative abundance index, i.e., average detections per trapnight.

041

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

🌼🐞 New #BAAE article: Coccinellid diversity drives pest control in Brazilian organic farms 🌿 Flowers & non-crop plants boost ladybird abundance, and high species complementarity enhances aphid predation. 🐛🌺 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

043

Basic and Applied Ecology @basicapplecol.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

🌊🐟 New #BAAE article: Introducing fwtraits, an R package unlocking freshwater ecological parameters from FWE! Easily access traits for fishes, inverts, plants & algae to power reproducible biodiversity analyses and identify critical habitats. 🌿📊 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.ba... @gfoesoc.bsky.social

Abbreviations
CMWCommunity Weighted MeansEPEcological parametersFWEw w w. freshwaterecology. info database

1114