Using data on bird species elevational distributions from the world's mountain ranges, bird diets, and the distribution of the ant genus Oecophylla, we show that global patterns in bird elevational diversity are likely to be affected by competition with ants. In mountain ranges with Oecophylla present in the foothills, maximum species richness of...

Species' traits and interactions are products of evolution, but it remains challenging to link the ecology of natural communities with their evolutionary history. We pair a principled model for species' interactions with a flexible link between shared ancestry and interaction strengths. We apply the resulting statistical framework to reveal how interactions...

Invasions are commonly shown to be facilitated by disturbances. However, little is known about how important the timing of the invasion is relevant to the disturbance for both invader success and impact on the resident community. Here, we experimentally show timing to be crucial, with pre-disturbance invasions being on average more successful and...

Introduction history, including propagule pressure and residence time, has been proposed as a primary driver of biological invasions. Using a dataset of plant species historically available through the ornamental plant trade in the contiguous United States, we found a significant effect of introduction history on establishment, but only a marginally...

Animals interact with nutrient cycles by consuming and depositing nutrients, potentially creating a positive feedback that helps animals meet their nutritional needs. Our study highlights that an often-overlooked zoogeochemical input, natal fluid, increases nitrogen stocks due to improved forage quality, potentially creating a feedback that motivates...

We used genetic forecasting to predict local adaptation to climate change in polar bears across the Canadian Arctic. We used genome-wide SNPs to evaluate the mismatch between current allele frequencies in polar bear subpopulations and future environments under climate change. Our findings suggest that polar bears in the Canadian high Arctic are most...