Peer Community Journal

Biological invasions are a major component of global change and biodiversity loss. Rumina decollata, a Mediterranean land snail, has been introduced beyond its native range through human-mediated dispersal and is now widely distributed across much of Argentina. Here, we investigated the origin of Argentine populations using mitochondrial COI sequences from Argentine populations spanning a broad latitudinal and environmental gradient. All analysed populations clustered within the mitochondrial lineage previously identified as invasive worldwide. A single haplotype identical to sequences from Spain and Portugal dominated most Argentine populations, while two additional haplotypes matched lineages from Portugal and southern France, indicating multiple introduction events followed by extensive secondary spread. Despite low mitochondrial diversity, R. decollata has successfully colonised diverse environments, suggesting that reproductive traits such as self-fertilisation may have contributed to population persistence following introduction. In addition, body and sole colouration was variable and did not reliably diagnose the invasive clade. Our results highlight how repeated introductions and life-history traits interact to facilitate establishment and spread, even under strong demographic constraints.

Ringing-recoveries are an overarching element of population dynamic studies that allow estimating mortality causes and hence improve wildlife management. However, possible drawbacks of recovered rings reside in the fact that reporting probability is rarely known, but consistently lower than 100%. Thus, estimating harvest probabilities (mortality probability due to harvesting) of exploited species without knowledge of ring reporting probability by people exploiting these animals is not straightforward. We here provide the first ever reward-ring study carried out to evaluate European reporting probabilities, hence European harvest probabilities, in three species of ducks (Mallard Anas platyrhynchos, Eurasian Teal A. crecca and Common Pochard Aythya ferina). The 70 Euros reward on some rings was considered to yield a total return of the rings, allowing by comparison to evaluate the reporting probability of standard rings. After the initial year of ringing, annual reporting probability was very similar among the three species, at 0.63-0.66, suggesting two-thirds of the found rings are sent back to the ringing centre. This allowed computation of the annual harvest probability, which was up to 0.27 during the first months after ringing in fall but decreased to 0.04-0.10 during later years. Compared to North American results, the present estimates suggest birds are submitted to a heavy hunting mortality during the first months after ringing, but this pressure declines in later years, likely owing to counter selection of vulnerable/exposed individuals and/or learning by the birds.

Injuries are common in animals and represent a major threat to individual survival. They can result from inter- or intraspecific conflict, predation, or pugnacious prey. Despite their potential ecological and evolutionary importance, injury patterns remain poorly documented in animal populations. To test whether a species feeding ecology or habitat can predict injury patterns, we quantified injury rates and affected body regions among native ant species collected from different habitats in Bavaria, Germany. Specimens were sampled using pitfall traps, which proved to be an efficient method for injury assessment. Injury rates varied substantially among species and genera, ranging from 0% to 38%. Predatory ant species exhibited higher frequencies of leg injuries, whereas omnivorous species were more frequently injured at the antennae. The distribution of injuries likely reflects both foraging ecology and species-specific wound care behaviors, with a high frequency of trochanter injuries potentially indicating prior amputation events to cope with infected leg injuries, as observed in Lasius alienus. Our findings demonstrate that injury propensity and distribution are shaped by feeding habits and behavioral adaptations, providing comparative evidence that the costs and management of injuries vary systematically among ant species. Our study thus highlights injuries as a measurable axis of selection that may have contributed to the emergence of wound care and other forms of social immunity in ants.

In cryptic or difficult-to-detect bird species, the monitoring schemes based on generalist detection methods may introduce bias into abundance estimates and population indices. This the case of the Coturnix coturnix (Common quail), a migratory Palearctic galliform, in which the use of passive detection methods within breeding birds monitoring schemes may not be efficient owing to its complex socio-sexual system and migratory behavior. For the first time, C.coturnix detectability was simultaneously compared using standard passive, generalist multispecies survey methods from the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS) and a species-specific active survey employing female call playback. Surveys were conducted at 1,077 listening points within 107 transects over four breeding seasons (2022-2025) in open farmland landscapes dominated by cereal crops in Extremadura, south-western Spain. Detection counts differed substantially between methods: active surveys increased expected counts by 72% (95% CI: 59-85%) compared to passive surveys. The increase in C.coturnix detections elicited by playback showed a non-linear, density-dependent pattern, being highest at low passive abundances per listening point (maximum at 3-4 individuals) and stabilizing at intermediate abundances. This indicates that call playback is particularly effective at detecting individuals that would otherwise remain undetected. Our findings suggest that passive, multispecies surveys may underestimate C.coturnix abundance, especially in low-density populations. Integrating species-specific active methods into monitoring programs can improve detectability, generate more reliable population indices, and support evidence-based conservation and management strategies for this elusive species. LAY SUMMARYO_LIBird monitoring schemes guide conservation decisions across Europe, but generalist schemes based on passive methods may miss species that are hard to detect such as C.coturnix Common quail, a migratory farmland bird that hides in dense crops. In practice, only males spontaneously calling can be detected, hence passive methods could lead to underestimates of its abundance and even false absences in low-density areas. C_LIO_LIWe compared standard passive surveys with surveys that added a recorded female call (playback) to stimulate male responses. Across 1,077 listening points monitored over four breeding seasons in southwestern Spain, playback increased the number of birds detected by 72% compared with passive methods alone. C_LIO_LIThe improvement was strongest where C.coturnix numbers were low, showing that many individuals remain undetected without playback. Incorporating simple, species-specific methods into monitoring programs can produce more reliable population estimates and strengthen conservation and management decisions for this elusive species. C_LI

According to sexual selection theory, males should benefit more from mating with multiple partners than females do, as male investment into offspring production is typically lower. For females, empirical evidence indeed often shows diminishing returns or even costs of mating multiply. For males, the assumption often seems to be "the more, the better" - i.e., a steady increase of male reproductive success with mate number - but experimental tests of it are rare. Here we used a laboratory experiment with Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata), known for being promiscuous, to assess how pairing males weekly with 4 vs. 7 females affects both sexes reproductive performance (n = 32 polygynous males and 170 monogamous females). Increased polygyny delayed females reproductive onset by 9% and tripled their risk of reproductive failure. High-polygyny males fathered offspring with 49% more females and had 73% higher daily reproductive output. Yet, they needed 19% longer to initiate pregnancy, and only accumulated more offspring than low-polygyny males after two months. This study suggests that male mating performance is not unlimited. Especially when high extrinsic mortality selects for fast reproduction, less polygyny might be advantageous, and the strength of sexual selection perhaps more similar between the sexes than often assumed.

Alleles with opposing effects on fitness characters are said to exhibit selectional antagonistic pleiotropy (broadly construed so that effects are not necessarily confined to the same individual). A number of theoretical investigations considered the case where a pair of alleles at a locus influences two fitness components and derived the conditions giving rise to stable polymorphism under various assumptions about the mode of trait-interaction. Strikingly, many of these analyses concluded that the potential for maintaining polymorphism is strongly constrained by the joint influence of two factors: (1) the prevalence of weak selection coefficients over coefficients of large magnitude, and (2) the absence of beneficial dominance reversals (where the deleterious effects of each allele are partially or completely masked in the heterozygous genotype). Consequently, the conclusion that selective polymorphism is unlikely to be maintained by intralocus mechanisms of antagonistic pleiotropy has achieved widespread acceptance. Here we argue that such conclusions do not apply to any of the following models of antagonism: (i) additive trait-interaction, (ii) multiplicative trait-interaction, (iii) bivoltine selection, (iv) soft selection, (v) hard selection, and (vi) sexual antagonism. We demonstrate that the parameter space giving rise to stable allelic variation is quite large throughout, and moreover, the plenitude of suitable parameters neither depends on the strength of selection nor requires dominance reversal. Dominance coefficients associated with stringent conditions for stable polymorphism are shown to be atypical as compared to all feasible parameters, and best regarded as an outcome of adherence to a special relation: dominance with a constant magnitude and direction, which includes the case of additive allelic effects at a locus. Properties of single-locus equilibria (heterozygosity, allele frequency differentiation) are investigated, as well as the contribution of dominance schemes to the genetic variance in fitness characters in populations at multilocus linkage equilibrium. Author summaryAllelic variants at a locus with opposing effects on multiple fitness components (antagonistic fitness pleiotropy) have long been appreciated as a possible source of balancing selection. The prevalence of polymorphism owing to this form of natural selection, however, has been doubted on theoretical grounds due to the fact that standard assumptions of genetic models (namely, constant magnitudes for the dominance coefficients) are hardly conducive to the maintenance of polymorphism. The major exception to this conclusion lies with schemes that exhibit dominance reversal (where the direction of dominance for antagonistic alleles flips across fitness components). Here we conduct a geometric analysis of the space of polymorphism-promoting dominance parameters and conclude that the conditions for maintaining balanced alleles is unrestrictive, with non-reversals playing an underappreciated role.

Objectives: To determine the impact of discharge home on physical activity and sedentary behaviour following orthopaedic trauma. Design: Observational study. Setting: Acute hospital. Participants: Between October 2022 and January 2024, 31 adult orthopaedic trauma patients were recruited during hospital admission. Participants had either an isolated hip fracture or multi-trauma (i.e., a lower limb fracture, with an upper limb and/or spinal fracture). Interventions: Participants wore two activity monitors (activPAL3 and ActiGraphGT3x) during the final days of an acute hospital admission and the first five days at home. An interrupted time series analysis evaluated changes physical activity variables during the hospital to home transition. Participants were analysed individually using mixed-effects linear regression allowing the intercept to vary by participant. Main outcome measures: Primary outcome was daily steps; secondary outcomes included sedentary time and other activity measures. Results: Daily steps (mean +- SD) were higher at home (4552.4 +- 2639.5) compared to hospital (2597.8 +- 1450.8). Modelled results indicated a 27% increase in daily steps following hospital discharge (exp(beta946;): 1.27, 95% CI: 1.01,1.59, p=0.039) and a sustained improvement at home. No significant differences were observed between hip fracture and multi-trauma participants. Conclusion: Participants recovering from orthopaedic trauma showed a significant increase in daily step count upon discharge home from hospital, highlighting the positive impact of the home environment on activity levels. Further research is warranted to assess the effectiveness of interventions to improve activity levels in hospital (e.g., early intensive therapy) and at home (e.g., immediate home-based physiotherapy) in individuals following orthopaedic trauma.

The effects of the selection of livestock type (e.g., sheep or cattle) and grazing intensity on the soil seed bank of sand grasslands of conservation interest were studied. 25 grazed grassland sites classified into four grazing intensity categories were studied. The soil seed bank was analysed by seedling emergence; germinated seedlings were classified into morpho-functional, social behaviour type (SBT) and CSR strategy groups. The following hypotheses were tested: i) Diversity and density of soil seed banks are lower in sheep-grazed sites than in cattle-grazed ones. ii) The species composition, diversity, and density of the soil seed banks are more strongly affected by grazing intensity than by the livestock type. iii) Leaf traits, SBT and CSR strategy composition are highly affected both by livestock type and grazing intensity. The main effect of livestock type only affected seed bank density, while that of grazing intensity had a significant effect on most of the variables. Most of the studied variables were affected by the interaction of grazing intensity and livestock type. Total seed bank density was lower at all grazing intensity levels in sheep-grazed sites than in cattle-grazed ones, especially close to frequently visited places. We found that sheep grazing sustained a much lower total seed bank density and lower density of species of natural and semi-natural habitats regardless to the grazing intensity. Thus, livestock type must be carefully selected and high-intensity sheep grazing should be avoided in the long-run when managing sand grasslands. HighlightsO_LIThe soil seed banks of sheep and cattle grazed sand grassland were studied C_LIO_LIEffect of grazing intensity found the most important driver of seed bank diversity and density C_LIO_LIThe total soil seed bank density was higher in cattle than sheep grazed sites C_LIO_LIBoth intensity and livestock type must be considered in the grassland management planning C_LIO_LIHigh intensity sheep grazing should be avoided in sand grassland management C_LI

Current climate change leads to longer frequencies and reduced predictability of climatic parameters. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of considering multiple environmental factors, but experimental evidence on how species respond to their combined effect remains scarce. Here, we experimentally manipulated precipitation frequency and predictability and tested how they affect body size, growth, and survival using the common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) as a model species. Longer precipitation frequency negatively affected adult growth and male survival. Predictability influenced body size-dependent survival of yearlings and adults in certain frequency treatments. In yearlings, treatment-induced growth differences compensated for treatment-induced differences in size-dependent survival, resulting in no size differences during reproduction. In adults, treatment-induced differences in size-dependent survival were not compensated for, resulting in body size differences during reproduction among treatments. Consequently, precipitation frequency and predictability had a joint effect on life-history traits. Our results demonstrate that, even without water shortage, small differences in the frequency and predictability of precipitation affect population demography and life-history traits. This indicates that integrating the interactive action of different climatic parameters will be key to understanding and better anticipating future impacts of climate change on species.

Sleeping and feeding are crucial for survival of any animal. In case of large predators, knowing where these activities occur can help us understand their behavioural adaptations for coexisting with people and could help mitigating human-carnivore conflicts. Leopard (Panthera pardus) is an elusive and highly adaptable large felid that mostly lives outside protected areas and can survive also in close proximity to humans. However, most leopard research in Africa has been conducted in protected areas and we poorly understand leopards habitat selection while resting and hunting. To shed light on their coexistence with humans, we investigated habitat features influencing leopard selection of resting and kill sites on farmlands in central Namibia, using generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) under a use-availability study design and blinded field-sampling. Leopards primarily selected resting sites that were located in mountainous, steep, rugged terrain and sites with good concealment while kill sites were selected in mountainous habitats. Human infrastructure did not affect leopard resting and kill site selection. Thus, the capacity of leopards to perform essential life-supporting behaviours while coexisting with people appears to be primarily driven by their ability to remain concealed, rather than spatially avoiding humans.

The notion of "pollinator diversity" is central to most research and interpretations in animal pollination ecology. Nevertheless, when the term "diversity" is applied to pollinators its usage is often closer to the vernacular meaning (variety of kinds) than to concepts rooted in the "ecological diversity" tradition of community and statistical ecology. This paper attempts to fill a conspicuous knowledge gap in pollination ecology by presenting a comprehensive analysis of patterns of species abundance and diversity in a hyperdiverse insect pollinator assemblage from well-preserved Mediterranean montane habitats of southeastern Spain. Data on pollinator visitation to flowers of the community of entomophilous plants (288 species) were gathered over a 29-year period, and [~]95% of the pollinator individuals recorded were identified to species, totalling 46,401 individuals in 845 species. The shape of species abundance distributions (SADs) was virtually identical at regional (N = 56 sites) and local (one intensively studied site) scales, and SADs were best predicted by the log-series distribution. Pollinator diversity estimates corresponding to the first three Hill numbers (Species richness, Shannon diversity and Simpson diversity; 0D, 1D and 2D, respectively) were obtained for each plant species x site x year combinations ("sampling occasions", N = 472). Pollinator diversity measures varied widely among plant species; their frequency distributions were continuous, unimodal and strongly right-skewed; and variation was related to plant phylogeny, floral features (open vs. restrictive perianth, single flower vs. flower packet), and pollinator visitation to flowers and flowering patches. Pollinator diversity of individual plant species depended on habitat type, with those from dolomitic outcrops, rock cliffs and forest interior having the least diverse pollinators. 0D, 1D and 2D tended to vary independently of each other among habitats and years, revealing a complex spatio-temporal patterning of pollinator species richness and dominance. Estimated proportions of undetected pollinator diversity ("dark diversity") depended on insect order (highest for Diptera) and diversity measure (highest for 0D). Adoption of community ecology tools (SAD, sampling adequacy estimation, complementary diversity measures) to assess pollinator diversity will improve our ability to elucidate pollinator responses to natural and anthropogenic environmental change and permit hitherto unexplored questions in pollination ecology. "The ecologist sees in any measure of diversity an expression of the possibilities of constructing feedback systems or any sort of links, in a given assemblage of species" Margalef (1968, p. 19).

Mediterranean mountain grasslands are ecosystems of high ecological and economic value. They are shaped by the dry and warm climate and land use, such as grazing, although the combined effects of both drivers remain poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed shifts in functional composition in thirty-two plant communities in Mediterranean mountain grasslands of the Pindos Range (Greece) by measuring five plant functional traits related to resource acquisition in dominant plant species. We examined the adaptive value of each trait as well as community-level responses along a well-defined two-dimensional gradient of grazing intensity and aridity, using mixed models and functional diversity analyses, and tested whether individual species trait shifts are related to aridity and grazing intensity. At the community level, aridity decreased plant height and leaf area whereas grazing only affected traits associated with tissue recovery such as high specific leaf area (SLA) and low community-weighted mean leaf dry matter content (LDMC). As aridity increased, plant height functional dispersion decreased. This convergence pattern indicates a shift towards more similar growth forms under arid conditions. Species-specific analysis indicated various responses of traits to the interaction of aridity and grazing that could not be detected using only community-level patterns. Overall, our findings demonstrate that aridity and grazing act through separate functional axes at the community level, while their combined effects emerge through species-specific trait plasticity.

O_LIWith small-bodied species, it is difficult to directly track individual movements, leaving mark-recapture as the most feasible method for collecting movement data. Mark-recapture data are challenging to analyse because they are indirect: many individuals are never seen after release, and for recaptured individuals there is no information on the movements between release and recapture locations. This makes it difficult to apply many statistical approaches that have been developed for continuous movement data. Among the statistical methods targeted specifically to mark-recapture data, most are focused on the estimation of population sizes or vital parameters rather than the estimation of movement behaviours. C_LIO_LIWe present the R-package Jsmm that expands and implements the earlier published Joint Species Movement Modelling (JSMM) framework with Bayesian inference. Jsmm estimates parameters related to habitat selection (behaviour at edges between habitat types), diffusion (random component of movement), advection (directional component of movement) and reaction (mortality rate), and their dependence on spatial, temporal or spatiotemporal covariates. Jsmm implements both instantaneous capture process and cumulative capture process, enabling its applications to a broad range of studies. If applying Jsmm to data on multiple species, it can estimate how species-specific parameters depend on species traits and/or phylogenetic relationships. C_LIO_LIWe use real and simulated case studies to demonstrate the workflow of Jsmm: (1) defining the model through importing the spatial domain, the spatiotemporal covariates, and the capture-recapture data; (2) fitting the model with Bayesian inference and evaluating model fit through posterior predictive checks; and (3) using the fitted model for inference and/or prediction. The simulated example validates the technical implementation by showing that the estimated parameters match with the assumed values. The real data example on moth light-trapping illustrates the practical utility of the package. C_LIO_LIThe R-package Jsmm offers a flexible resource for analysing capture-recapture data in a model-based framework that explicitly accounts for the spatiotemporal study design of where and when captures are attempted. By analysing data jointly on multiple species, the approach facilitates analyses of sparse datasets where the low number of recaptures would not allow fitting species-specific models separately for each species. C_LI

O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=118 SRC="FIGDIR/small/700930v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (63K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@177a6b4org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@6186a3org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@ce6196org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@168bf43_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG The kangaroo soft tick, Australpavlovskyella gurneyi (Warburton, 1926), is found in sandy depressions ( wallows), under desert shade trees, formed by the activity of the red kangaroo, Osphranter rufus, resting under shade trees (https://youtu.be/AYLoqqPsifc). The field biology of the tick was examined on Moralana Station in arid mid-north, South Australia, between February 1969 and March 1971. The age of kangaroo dung in wallows showed that kangaroos visited wallows regularly during the hot summer and infrequently during the cooler months. All nymphal instars and adults were present at all times of the year in kangaroo wallows, but only a small proportion of the ticks present was trapped on any one occasion. Ticks were abundant in large kangaroo wallows under trees with dense shade, but scarce under smaller trees with sparse shade. The short-lived larvae were present only during spring and early summer, indicating that the long-lived female ticks bred only during spring and early summer. Laboratory tests showed that field-collected adult female ticks entered reproductive diapause from January to August (mid-summer to late-winter). Ticks placed in kangaroo wallows survived for at least one year without food. On Moralana Station, the population of first-instar nymphs increased in summer and subsequently the population of second-instar nymphs increased in early autumn, indicating that a life cycle could be completed in 2-3 years. HighlightsO_LIThe seasonal biology of Australpavlovskyella gurneyi, found in sandy depressions wallows formed by the activity of the red kangaroo, under sparse semi-arid desert shade trees was examined for the first time. C_LIO_LIEngorged ticks placed in kangaroo wallows survived for at least one year without food. C_LIO_LIIn this environment, the entire life cycle could be completed in 2-3 years. C_LI

Climate change is pushing species northward, where they will encounter novel abiotic conditions, such as novel daily light cycles and seasonal lengths, to which they will have to adapt. Despite the diversification of these adaptations being well described, the direct fitness consequences of the natural variation is rarely estimated in the field. To test the fitness effects of local adaptations to daylength and season length, we studied diapause induction and growth rate in the range expanding butterfly Lasiommata megera (wall brown). Using a common garden field-experiment (conducted near the northern range margin) where we manipulated the start of the last generation in the year that typically enter diapause, we compared populations from the southern-Swedish core range with populations from the northern-Swedish margin. Our results show differences between populations in diapause response and growth rate. In line with adaptive predictions caterpillars from the northern populations entered diapause earlier in the season compared to the southern populations. However, this difference was only present in larvae produced by the earliest individuals in the last adult generation. Consequently, the early laid eggs of the southern populations were more likely to produce an additional generation that turned out to be highly maladaptive. Additionally, caterpillars of northern origin grew faster compared to caterpillars from the southern populations, even though we found no clear evidence of prewinter larval mass affecting winter survival. The wall brown butterfly showed local evolution of seasonal timing traits, but just at a specific time of the season. This highlights the importance of local adaptations in northern-Swedish populations, during the early stages of the last annual generation. Despite that the additional generation is presently maladaptive, our fitness estimates suggests that a warmer climate is likely to favour the production of an additional generation.

Melanophryniscus moreirae is a diurnal species endemic to the high-altitude grasslands of the Serra da Mantiqueira mountain range, currently classified as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the IUCN. Knowledge about its distribution and natural history is fundamental for conservation plans, especially in the face of the threats of climate change. This study presents a new record of the species in the state of Sao Paulo, at an altitude of 1,904 m, expanding the known distribution in the southwestern portion of the Serra da Mantiqueira. In addition to fieldwork, a spatial and temporal review of data available on the GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) platform was carried out. The temporal analysis confirmed observation peaks in November, coinciding with the reproductive period, and an absence of records in the colder months, consistent with the species dormancy behavior. The study demonstrates that the integration of citizen science data, when properly validated, is an effective tool to fill knowledge gaps about biodiversity and assist in the monitoring of threatened species.

Trichomonas gallinae is a protozoan parasite of major concern in avian medicine, particularly in domestic pigeons (Columba livia). This study investigated the risk factors associated with the frequency of nitroimidazole resistance and T. gallinae prevalence in domesticated pigeons from Eastern Spain, kept for different competitions. A total of 220 pigeons from 11 lofts were sampled and examined by microscopy and culture, revealing a 63.6% infection prevalence. Genotyping identified genotype C as predominant, with occasional detection of genotype A, mixed A/C infections, and one isolate of Lineage III. In vitro susceptibility testing of 42 isolates showed a high prevalence (81%) of metronidazole resistance (MIC values [≥] 20 {micro}g/ml), with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ranging from 5 to >100 {micro}g/mL in 9/11 pigeon lofts examined. Resistance was significantly associated with the use of metronidazole and was more frequent in young and non-reproductive birds. Biannual treatments and the combination of ronidazole and dimetridazole at higher doses were associated with lower infection rates than monotherapies or annual treatments. No significant associations were found between resistance and environmental or loft management parameters, although poor hygiene and high bird density were common in lofts with resistant strains. These findings highlight the urgent need for regulated treatment protocols, improved biosecurity, and the development of alternative trichomonacidal agents to combat the emergence of drug-resistant T. gallinae in pigeon populations.

Climate change can alter predator-prey dynamics by influencing the distribution and movements of migratory prey. Despite increasing research on predator-prey mismatches, how predators respond to changes in prey availability caused by climate change remains largely unknown, particularly for behaviourally flexible species such as central-place foragers. In the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, increased rainfall in recent decades is thought to have altered the movement patterns of large herds of migratory herbivores, the main prey of spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) in the park, leading to a decrease in yearly migratory prey presence within hyaena clan territories. Between 1990 and 1994, migratory prey were present within hyena clan territories for about 12% of the year--mainly in May-June and November-December--dropping to just 7% between 2015 and 2019. Using longitudinal data from three Serengeti hyaena clans at the centre of the park monitored between 1990 and 2019, we investigated the impact of the observed decrease in migratory prey presence on the number of observations of hyaenas feeding at carcasses ("feeding events", n = 777), and explored associated changes in hyaena clan size. The vast majority of observed hyaena feeding events involved migratory prey species, with this relative proportion remaining constant throughout the study period. Annual patterns in the number of feeding events closely mirrored annual patterns of migratory prey presence in clan territories, with two distinct peaks mid-year and toward the end of the year. As migratory prey presence in the study clan territories declined over the years, the number of observed feeding events also decreased. However, the size of two out of three clans increased over time, suggesting that the decline in migratory prey presence in clan territories and in the number of observed feeding events did not negatively impact hyaena clans. This absence of decline in clan size may reflect the fact that hyaenas feed within their territories for only a small fraction of the year, although it also invites further investigation into the mechanisms hyaenas may employ to compensate for reduced prey availability and reduced feeding events within their clan territories.

Mycoplasmopsis [Mycoplasma] agassizii is one of the principal pathogens associated with upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) in tortoises, yet its epidemiology in European wild chelonian populations remains poorly understood. The pathogen has been linked to population declines in some wild tortoise populations and is frequently detected in captive tortoises, where infections may persist subclinically and prolonged contact can facilitate transmission. In this context, the pet trade and the release or escape of captive individuals represent potential pathways for pathogen exchange between captive and wild populations. We assessed the presence and prevalence of M. agassizii in wild Mediterranean tortoises in Spain and compared infection patterns with captive populations. A total of 259 tortoises were sampled between 2020 and 2025, including spur thighed tortoises (Testudo graeca; 127 wild; 63 captive) and Hermanns tortoises (Testudo hermanni; 46 wild; 23 captive). Detection of M. agassizii was performed using PCR. The pathogen was detected in both species, but prevalence patterns differed markedly between captivity status and species. High prevalence was consistently observed in captive individuals of both species. In contrast, wild populations showed species-specific patterns: T. graeca exhibited very low or absent prevalence across wild populations, whereas T. hermanni showed comparatively higher prevalence in the wild. These results provide the first baseline assessment of M. agassizii occurrence in Mediterranean tortoises in Spain and highlight the importance of incorporating pathogen surveillance into conservation and management strategies for European chelonian populations.

The extent to which phenotypic evolution can be constrained by genetic correlations is an important question in evolutionary biology. To address this question, biological invasions are opportune models where derived, invasive populations can be compared to their extant ancestors, allowing to track the evolution of genetic correlations from the ancestor, throughout the invasion process. In this paper, we focused on the worldwide invasion of Drosophila suzukii (Matsumara, 1931), and investigated the evolution of the genetic covariance matrix G of wing shape between ancestral native, and derived invasive populations. Leveraging demographic history resolved by population genetics approaches, we tested whether G remained stable during the invasion. Using a multivariate QST-FST approach, we further tested whether or not the observed phenotypic divergence in wing shape aligned with a neutral scenario of evolution. Our results show moderate yet significant quantitative genetic differentiation of wing shape among D. suzukii populations and a relative stability in the structure of G, presenting a roughly spherical shape but slightly different volumes. These characteristics likely reflect the demographic history of populations and suggest a low level of genetic constraint on wing shape evolution. The divergence between populations was greater than expected under a purely neutral model of evolution, compatible with an effect of divergent selection among them. Overall, our study suggests that selection and drift, but not ancestral genetic constraints, affected the early stages of wing shape evolution during D. suzukii invasion.