BMC ecology and evolution

01 16 October 2026

DOI 10.1186/s12862-026-02599-5

Carnivores, but not insectivores, map onto the same social brain relationship as primates

Open DOI

R. I. M. Dunbar, Susanne Shultz

Background: It has previously been thought that the social brain hypothesis applies in its full quantitative form only to primates because only primates have bonded social groups. However, previous tests have overlooked the fact that the...

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02 16 October 2026

DOI 10.1186/s12862-026-02595-9

Modelling the impact of environmental pressure and fear effect on a plankton-fish ecosystem

Open DOI

Kangkana Barman, Animesh Phukan, Santosh Kumar Choudhary et al.

This paper presents a mathematical prey-predator model to investigate the intricate, non-linear relationships between phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish in a marine ecosystem. The model incorporates fundamental ecological processes, in...

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03 13 October 2026

DOI 10.1186/s12862-026-02602-z

Sex differences in turtle vocalizations: social context and behavioural roles

Open DOI

Claire Voss, Njal Rollinson, Claudia Lacroix

Acoustic communication is widespread in animals, yet its function in turtles remains poorly understood. Although turtle signaling has been considered primarily visual and chemical, many species vocalize across life stages. We investigate...

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04 13 October 2026

DOI 10.1186/s12862-026-02597-7

Long-term genomic adaptation in a natural Drosophila melanogaster population from central Anatolia

Open DOI

Senel Selin Yagli, Banu Sebnem Onder

05 13 October 2026

DOI 10.1186/s12862-026-02596-8

Predicting the invasion distribution of three Amaranthus species (Amaranthus blitum, A. spinosus and A. palmeri) under the current and future climate change scenarios in China

Open DOI

Rongtao Hu, Qiurui Li, Zhijie Wang et al.

06 12 October 2026

DOI 10.1186/s12862-026-02601-0

Genetic and metabolomic differentiation of Dryas octopetala in Svalbard: genome-wide SNP evidence and region-specific marker development

Open DOI

Moonkyo Kim, Youngil Ryu, Euna Jo et al.

Background: Dryas octopetala , the dominant tundra species in Svalbard, is a suitable model for examining population differentiation under extreme environmental conditions. Although earlier amplified fragment length polymorphism and simp...

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07 12 October 2026

DOI 10.1186/s12862-026-02598-6

Contrasting patterns of leaf trait variation and soil associations in two alpine grassland species across land-use histories

Open DOI

Yalin Wang, Na Li, Lin Wei et al.

08 5 October 2026

DOI 10.1186/s12862-026-02594-w

Predicting the habitat suitability and hotspot regions of the near threatened Socotra bluet on the Socotra Archipelago using an integrated modelling approach

Open DOI

Kartik Omanakuttan, Taniya Pandey, Sandeep Kumar

09 1 October 2026

DOI 10.1186/s12862-026-02577-x

Do osteohistology, microanatomy or life history traits show patterns linked to neotenic lifestyles in extant Caudata and the Permian temnospondyl Apateon?

Open DOI

Nicole Klein, Dorota Konietzko-Meier, Rainer R. Schoch et al.

Neoteny is widespread in extant Caudata and has also been inferred in extinct temnospondyls. Here, we compare osteohistology, microanatomy, and life history traits of the Permian branchiosaurid Apateon spp. with those of modern obligate ...

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10 28 September 2026

DOI 10.1186/s12862-026-02588-8

Using soundscapes to examine the impacts of urbanisation on spatial and temporal patterns of avian acoustic activity along a riparian corridor

Open DOI

Jemma Guthrie, Anna M. Bracken, Alejandra G. Vovides et al.

Background: Biodiversity may correlate with acoustic indices, potentially offering insights into urban soundscapes both spatially (identifying areas with higher or lower biodiversity) and temporally (depicting daily patterns of biologica...

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