Volume 1 Issue 7, July 2017

Similarities in planning, development and culture within urban areas may lead to the convergence of ecological processes on continental scales. Transdisciplinary, multi-scale research is now needed to understand and predict the impact of human-dominated landscapes on ecosystem structure and function.

In 2018 technologies on the International Space Station will provide ∼1 year of synchronous observations of ecosystem composition, structure and function. We discuss these instruments and how they can be used to constrain global models and improve our understanding of the current state of terrestrial ecosystems. Author Correction (05 September 2017)

A model of the genetic relationships between non-African populations unravels their deep roots and provides a springboard for future discoveries.

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning relationships remain constant no matter how many functions are considered. Biodiversity affects the level of multifunctionality and the effect on multifunctionality equals the average effect on single functions.

A new approach is outlined for capturing multiple facets of biodiversity in near real-time by combining the latest advances in automated Earth observation recording, high-throughput sequencing and ecological modelling.

Palaeoecology is an essential tool for assessing island conservation.

Fatty acid desaturase genes encode enzymes for the biosynthesis of fatty acids that are essential for individuals with plant-based diets. Here, the authors show positive selection on alternative alleles in Europeans before and after the onset of farming and strongest selection in Southern European farmers.

Assessing the conservation status of 1,020 European marine fishes reveals half of large (>1.5 m) fishes are threatened with extinction and stock status diverges geographically: almost all Mediterranean stock is overfished, most northern European stock is not.

Trace fossil analysis reveals that following initial marginal incursions in the Ediacaran, the marine–terrestrial faunal transition became widespread in the Carboniferous, accompanied by repeated ‘bursts’ of diversification.

The social environment is rarely considered a factor in models of trait responses to selection. Here the authors show that carrion beetle populations respond to selection for larger body size, but only when parents care for their offspring.

It is not fully understood what factors drive population cycles of Antarctic krill. Contrary to previous work focusing on climatic factors, here the authors identify intraspecific competition for food as the primary driver of 5–6 year oscillations.

About 30% of global fish stocks are overfished, and reducing this is a target of the Sustainable Development Goals. An analysis of fisheries data shows that progress in developed countries is not mirrored in developing countries.

Trees are likely to show lagged responses to climate change because they are sessile and long-lived. Here, the authors show that dominant tree species in North America are out of equilibrium with climate, with range contraction outpacing expansion.

Analysis of eight taxonomic groups across 186 islands and 423 mainland regions reveals that those with the greatest gross domestic product per capita, human population density and area have the highest established alien species richness, with the strongest effects on islands.

Song birds discriminate between the songs of their conspecifics and those of closely related species from a young age. Now it is shown that song discrimination in two flycatchers has a strong genetic component as is not determined by social experience.

Ancient DNA analysis of archaeological cat remains shows cats dispersed along trade routes from the Neolithic era onwards, while its gene pool shows admixture from multiple geographical sources and that the tabby allele originated in the Middle Ages.

Co-mapping the incidence of worker reproduction and queen pheromone chemical composition on a phylogeny of stingless bees reveals no association between queen hydrocarbon profiles and worker reproduction.

The worldwide spread of four groups of alien ant species has been significantly but differently influenced by major events in recent human history: waves of globalization, world wars and global recessions.

Predicting declines in commercially harvested species is crucial to avoid overexploitation. An analysis of historical whaling records identifies early warning signals in body size and abundance data 40 years before the collapse of whale stocks.

Marine seismic surveys use high-pressure air guns to explore sub-sea petroleum deposits, but little is known about their impact on marine life. Now it is shown that exposure is linked to increased zooplankton mortality at a range >1 km.

Relationships between antibiotic interactions and diversity are often examined in ecologically stable in silico models, but building in biologically realistic features is found to promote coexistence and more diversity than idealized models.

Existing rooting methods to determine ancestor–descendent relations in phylogenetic trees have limitations. A new rooting method called minimal ancestor deviation does not require outgroup knowledge and can be used on any type of data.

We speak to An Cliquet, a professor in the Department of European, Public and International Law at Ghent University, about working at the interface between conservation, biodiversity and law.

The study of invasive species is burgeoning and involves both the natural and social sciences.

Years before they conquered the Internet, cats colonized our sofas. But they haven’t spent the last ten thousand years just snoozing. A new study reveals that tamed cats swept through Eurasia and Africa carried by early farmers, ancient mariners and even Vikings. The researchers analysed DNA from over 200 cat remains and found that farmers in the Near East were probably the first people to successfully tame wild cats 9,000 years ago, before a second wave of cat domestication a few thousand years later in ancient Egypt.