Nature ecology & evolution (November 2021)
Volume 5 Issue 11, November 2021
Reproductive modes
Life birth has evolved from egg-laying ancestors multiple times independently. The European common lizard, Zootoca vivipara (pictured here), is a rare example of a vertebrate with populations that are either egg-laying or live-bearing. Hybrids resulting from crosses between egg-laying and live-bearing lizards provide the opportunity to explore the genetic basis of pregnancy.
See Recknagel et al.
Image credit: Rasmus Holmboe Dahl / Alamy Stock Photo. Cover Design: Allen Beattie.
Editorial
Editorial | 02 November 2021
A decisive decade
The climate and biodiversity crises are two sides of the same coin demanding urgent, ambitious action. Countries must commit to halve their carbon emissions and effectively protect 30% of land and oceans by 2030.
Correspondence
Correspondence | 02 September 2021
Scientists need to better communicate the links between pandemics and global environmental change
- Matthias C. Rillig
- Anika Lehmann
- Hauke R. Heekeren
Research Highlights
Research Highlight | 11 October 2021
Quirky bowfin
- Vera Domingues
Research Highlight | 11 October 2021
HIV tricks
- Vera Domingues
Research Highlight | 11 October 2021
Butterflies on the move
- Emily Jones
Research Highlight | 07 October 2021
Chondrichthyan crisis
- Marian Turner
Research Highlight | 14 October 2021
Diluting tree disease
- Alexa McKay
Research Highlight | 14 October 2021
Colourful females
- Vera Domingues
News & Views
News & Views | 30 September 2021
Excess plant growth worsens droughts
As global temperature and climate variability increase, overshoot droughts resulting from previously high plant growth could intensify climate–vegetation feedbacks.
- Miguel A. Zavala
News & Views | 07 October 2021
Evolution of lizard viviparity
Analysis of oviparous and viviparous individuals of the common lizard reveals the genetic architecture of pregnancy.
- Camilla M. Whittington
Reviews
Perspective | 23 September 2021
Refocusing multiple stressor research around the targets and scales of ecological impacts
This Perspective argues that classifying stressors by the ecological scales at which they have their impacts, rather than by their source, will allow better understanding of the predictability and consistency of multiple-stressor effects.
- Benno I. Simmons
- Penelope S. A. Blyth
- Andrew P. Beckerman
Research
Article | 30 September 2021
Exacerbated drought impacts on global ecosystems due to structural overshoot
Structural overshoot can occur when phases of excess plant growth deplete soil moisture too rapidly. The authors quantify structural overshoots using remote sensing datasets from 1981 to 2015, finding that 11% of droughts during this period could be attributed to structural overshoot.
- Yao Zhang
- Trevor F. Keenan
- Sha Zhou
Article | 23 August 2021
Areas of global importance for conserving terrestrial biodiversity, carbon and water
Global spatial data for terrestrial vertebrate and vascular plant diversity, above- and below-ground biomass carbon, and potential clean freshwater volume are combined in a joint optimization study to identify potential synergies for conservation management.
- Martin Jung
- Andy Arnell
- Piero Visconti
Article | 30 August 2021
Using the IUCN Red List to map threats to terrestrial vertebrates at global scale
Red List information is used to generate global maps of the likelihood of impacts on terrestrial vertebrates exerted by agriculture, hunting and trapping, logging, pollution, invasive species and climate change.
- Michael B. J. Harfoot
- Alison Johnston
- Jonas Geldmann
Article | 20 September 2021
Risks to global biodiversity and Indigenous lands from China’s overseas development finance
The authors assess the risks to global biodiversity and Indigenous lands arising from projects financed by China’s policy banks between 2008 and 2019, and compare that with the risks associated with similar projects financed by the World Bank.
- Hongbo Yang
- B. Alexander Simmons
- Kevin P. Gallagher
Collection:
Article | 02 September 2021
Global topographic uplift has elevated speciation in mammals and birds over the last 3 million years
Geology and climate affect speciation. A combination of path analysis applied to palaeo-reconstructions of mammals and birds with analysis of palaeoclimatic data shows that uplift over the last 3 million years explains more spatial variation in speciation than the direct effects of palaeoclimate change or present-day elevation and temperature.
- Javier Igea
- Andrew J. Tanentzap
Article | 09 September 2021
Global hunter-gatherer population densities constrained by influence of seasonality on diet composition
The authors construct a process-based hunter-gatherer population model embedded within a global terrestrial biosphere model that reveals a strong effect of growing season length on population density via diet composition.
- Dan Zhu
- Eric D. Galbraith
- Philippe Ciais
Article | 07 October 2021
The functional genetic architecture of egg-laying and live-bearing reproduction in common lizards
Using natural hybrids between oviparous and viviparous common lizards, the authors describe the genetic architecture of parity mode and conduct a comparative analysis of genes associated with viviparity in mammals, squamates and fish.
- Hans Recknagel
- Madeleine Carruthers
- Kathryn R. Elmer
Amendments & Corrections
Author Correction | 23 September 2021
Author Correction: Areas of global importance for conserving terrestrial biodiversity, carbon and water
- Martin Jung
- Andy Arnell
- Piero Visconti
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