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Many chemically-defended/aposematic species rely on diet for sequestering the toxins with which they defend themselves. This dietary acquisition can lead to variable chemical defenses across space, as the community composition of chemical sources is likely to vary across the range of (an aposematic) species. We characterized the alkaloid content of two populations of the Dyeing Poison Frog (Dendrobates tinctorius) in northeastern French Guiana. Additionally, we conducted unpalatability experiments with naive predators, Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), using whole-skin secretion cocktails to assess how a model predator would respond to the defense of individuals from each population. While there was some overlap between the two D. tinctorius populations in terms of alkaloid content, our analysis revealed that these two populations are markedly distinct in terms of overall alkaloid profiles. Predator responses to skin secretions differed between the populations. We identified 15 candidate alkaloids (including three previously undescribed) in seven classes that are correlated with predator response in one frog population. We describe alkaloid profile differences between populations for D. tinctorius and provide a novel method for assessing unpalatability of skin secretions and identifying which toxins may contribute to the predator response. In one population, our results suggest 15 alkaloids that are implicated in predator aversive response. This method is the first step in identifying the causal link between alkaloids and behavioral response of predators, and thus makes sense of how varying alkaloid combinations are capable of eliciting consistent behavioral responses, and eventually driving evolutionary change in aposematic characters (or characteristics).

Determining how variation in brain morphology affects cognitive abilities is important to understand inter-individual variation in cognition and, ultimately, cognitive evolution. Yet, despite many decades of research in this area, there is surprisingly little experimental data available from assays that quantify cognitive abilities and brain morphology in the same individuals. Here, we tested female guppies ( Poecilia reticulata ) in two tasks, colour discrimination and reversal learning, to evaluate their learning abilities and cognitive flexibility. We then estimated the size of five brain regions (telencephalon, optic tectum, hypothalamus, cerebellum and dorsal medulla), in addition to relative brain size. We found that optic tectum relative size, in relation to the rest of the brain, correlated positively with discrimination learning performance, while relative telencephalon size correlated positively with reversal learning performance. The other brain measures were not associated with performance in either task. By evaluating how fast learning occurs and how fast an animal adjusts its learning rules to changing conditions, we find support for that different brain regions have distinct functional correlations at the individual level. Importantly, telencephalon size emerges as an important neural correlate of higher executive functions such as cognitive flexibility. This is rare evidence supporting the theory that more neural tissue in key brain regions confers cognitive benefits.

A major barrier to advancing ornithology is the systemic exclusion of professionals from the Global South. A recent special feature, Advances in Neotropical Ornithology, and a shortfalls analysis therein, unintentionally followed a long-standing pattern of highlighting individuals, knowledge, and views from the Global North, while largely omitting the perspectives of people based within the Neotropics. Here, we review current strengths and opportunities in the practice of Neotropical ornithology. Further, we discuss problems with assessing the state of Neotropical ornithology through a northern lens, including discovery narratives, incomplete (and biased) understanding of history and advances, and the promotion of agendas that, while currently popular in the north, may not fit the needs and realities of Neotropical research. We argue that future advances in Neotropical ornithology will critically depend on identifying and addressing the systemic barriers that hold back ornithologists who live and work in the Neotropics: unreliable and limited funding, exclusion from international research leadership, restricted dissemination of knowledge (e.g., through language hegemony and citation bias), and logistical barriers. Moving forward, we must examine and acknowledge the colonial roots of our discipline, and explicitly promote anti-colonial agendas for research, training, and conservation. We invite our colleagues within and beyond the Neotropics to join us in creating new models of governance that establish research priorities with vigorous participation of ornithologists and communities within the Neotropical region. To include a diversity of perspectives, we must systemically address discrimination and bias rooted in the socioeconomic class system, anti-Blackness, anti-Brownness, anti-Indigeneity, misogyny, homophobia, tokenism, and ableism. Instead of seeking individual excellence and rewarding top-down leadership, institutions in the North and South can promote collective leadership. In adopting these approaches, we, ornithologists, will join a community of researchers across academia building new paradigms that can reconcile our relationships and transform science. Spanish and Portuguese translations are available in the Supplementary Material.

Heatwave frequency and intensity will increase as climate change progresses. Intertidal sessile invertebrates, which often form thermally benign microhabitats for associated species, are vulnerable to thermal stress because they have minimal ability to behaviourally thermoregulate. Understanding what factors influence the mortality of biogenic species and how heatwaves might impact their ability to provide habitat is critical. Here, we characterize the community associated with the thatched barnacle, Semibalanus cariosus (Pallass 1788), in British Columbia, Canada and attempt to determine what environmental factors — air temperature, time of low tide, shoreline orientation, algal cover, and the angle of solar incidence — explain variations in S. cariosus mortality induced by an unprecedented regional heatwave, the 2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Dome. Further, we used a manipulative shading experiment deployed prior to the heat dome to examine the effect of thermal stress on barnacle survival and recruitment and the barnacle-associated community. We identified 50 taxa inhabiting S. cariosus beds, with variations in species diversity and community composition between sites. Site-scale variables and algal canopy cover did not predict S. cariosus mortality, but patch-scale variation in substratum orientation did, with more direct solar irradiance corresponding with higher barnacle mortality. The shading experiment demonstrated that S. cariosus survival, barnacle recruitment, and invertebrate community diversity were higher under shades, where substratum temperatures were lower. Associated community composition also differed between shaded and non-shaded plots, suggesting S. cariosus was not able to fully buffer acute thermal stress for its associated community . While habitat provisioning by intertidal foundation species is an important source of biodiversity, these species alone may not be enough to prevent substantial community shifts following extreme heatwaves. As heatwaves become more frequent and severe, they may further reduce diversity via the loss of biogenic habitat, and spatial variation in these impacts may be substantial.

Zooplankton provide critical food for threatened and endangered fish species in the San Francisco Estuary (estuary). Reduced food supply has been implicated in the Pelagic Organism Decline of the early 2000s and further changes in zooplankton abundance, seasonality, and distribution may continue to threaten declining fishes. While we have a wealth of monitoring data, we know little about the abundance trends of many estuary zooplankton species. To fill these gaps., we reviewed past research and then examined trends in seasonality and abundance from 1972 to present of three key but understudied zooplankton species (Bosmina longirostris, Acanthocyclops spp., and Acartiella sinensis) that play important roles in the estuary food web. All three species were found in the stomach contents of important estuarine fishes. We fit Bayesian generalized additive mixed models of each species’ relationships with salinity, seasonality, year, and geography on an integrated database of zooplankton monitoring in the upper estuary. We found marked changes in the seasonality and overall abundance of each study species. B. longirostris no longer peaks in abundance in the fall months, Acanthocyclops spp. dramatically declined in all months and lost its strong relationship with salinity, and A. sinensis adult abundance has become increasingly driven by salinity while juveniles have developed wider seasonal abundance peaks. In this process, we have documented the relationship of each species with salinity and seasonality since the beginning of monitoring or their introduction, thus increasing our understanding of their ecology and importance in the estuary. These results can inform food web models, be paired with fish data to model the contributions of these species toward fish abundance trends, and be mirrored to elucidate other species’ trends in future studies.

Human impacts on the Earth’s biosphere are driving the global biodiversity crisis. Governments are preparing to agree on a set of actions intended to halt the loss of biodiversity and put it on a path to recovery by 2050. We provide evidence that the proposed actions can bend the curve for biodiversity, but only if these actions are implemented urgently and in an integrated manner.

Animals breeding in anthropogenic shelters such as nest-boxes experience nesting environment in which they did not originally evolve. Over the past decades, they are additionally challenged by climate change – a major environmental force influencing their reproductive ecology. Despite the central importance of nesting microclimate for offspring development and fitness, very little is known about the thermal properties of human-provided nests compared to natural ones. While it has been demonstrated that artificial nests provide poorer thermal insulation in comparison to natural breeding sites, there is no evidence on how these shifts are shaped along the reproductive stages. In particular, comparisons focusing on the time when offspring are in the nest are lacking. Here, we compare the microclimatic conditions (temperature and absolute humidity) along the nesting cycle (from nest-site choice in early spring until post-fledging) in natural cavities and nest-boxes used by several species of hollow-nesting passerines in a temperate deciduous forest. We confirm that across all nesting stages, nest-boxes are thermally unstable when compared to natural cavities, with higher temperature maximums, larger amplitudes and worse insulation from maximum ambient temperatures relative to natural cavities. Importantly, in the presence of young, and after they start to thermoregulate on their own, nest-boxes are also more humid than natural cavities. Artificial nest microclimate is likely to amplify the adverse effects of projected temperature increases modelled under climate change scenarios, specifically by compromising thermoregulation and increasing water requirements of developing animals. In contrast, internal microclimatic shifts were mitigated in natural cavities 3.0 times more effectively than in nest-boxes when offspring were in the nest (in terms of mean daily differences from ambient temperature). We stress that conservation efforts should focus on the protection of habitats offering natural breeding-hollows to reduce climate change impacts on breeding animals.

The high intertidal zone is home to an incredible variety of marine animals, as it offers an escape from low intertidal/subtidal predation and competition, among other advantages. However, this area of the shore also comes with many tide-driven and emersion-associated environmental stressors, such as desiccation, high temperatures and freezing stress, hypoxia, salinity fluctuations, nitrogenous waste accumulation, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, wave and ice disturbance, and hydrogen sulphide (H2S) toxicity. This review explores the diversity of evolutionary adaptations and plastic phenotypic responses that high intertidal animals use to cope with these challenges. Examples are provided of behavioural, morphological, physiological and biochemical adaptations/responses, along with some of the underlying molecular mechanisms that have been elucidated to date. Adaptations of many different worms, anemones, molluscs, crustaceans and fishes are highlighted. Many adaptations and mechanisms of plasticity are universal among animal phyla, and some are multifunctional (serve more than one function) or provide tolerance to multiple stressors (i.e., ‘cross-tolerance’). High intertidal animals have received considerable attention by scientists, given their accessibility and that they can provide valuable insights in the transition from a marine to a terrestrial lifestyle. Nevertheless, further research is needed to understand the adaptations/responses of these animals more thoroughly, and the future holds great promise for accomplishing this with recent advances in epigenetics, transcriptomics, protein biochemistry and other molecular tools.

Macrophysiological research is vital to our understanding of mechanisms underpinning global life history variation and adaptation to diverse environments. Here, we examined latitudinal and elevational variation in a key substrate of energy metabolism and an emerging physiological component of pace-of-life syndromes, blood glucose concentration. Our data, collected from 61 European temperate and 99 Afrotropical passerine species, revealed that baseline blood glucose increases with both latitude and elevation, whereas blood glucose stress response shows divergent directions, being stronger at low latitudes and high elevations. Low baseline glucose in tropical birds, compared to their temperate counterparts, was mainly explained by their low fecundity, consistent with the slow pace-of-life syndrome in the tropics. In contrast, elevational variation in this trait was decoupled from fecundity, implying a unique montane pace-of-life syndrome combining slow-paced life histories with fast-paced physiology. The observed patterns suggest that pace-of-life syndromes do not evolve along the single fast-slow axis.

In most vertebrates, males are larger than females. For raptors, sexual size dimorphism is reversed, with females being larger. Reversed sexual dimorphism (RSD) in raptors is strongly linked to diet, with species feeding on the most agile prey, for example bird-eating raptors, showing the greatest size differences between the sexes. Hypotheses for reversed sexual dimorphism (RSD) include the ‘intersexual competition’ hypothesis, which proposes that RSD evolved to enable pairs to expand their dietary niche (taking a wider range of prey sizes) during the nestling period when both sexes occupy and hunt within the same territory, and thereby reduce competition between the sexes. If intersexual competition is responsible for the evolution of RSD, we predict that sex-related differences in prey size and dietary niche breadth will be particularly pronounced during the nestling period (cf. the non-nestling period). We explore this prediction in the highly dimorphic Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), which displays the largest degree of RSD of all raptors, using web-sourced photographs to identify diet throughout the entire year. We analysed 666 photographs of sparrowhawks on their prey over time. In contrast to our predictions, sex-specific prey sizes were most similar during the nestling period compared to any other time of the year. Both males and females reduced the size of their prey during the nestling period which may be a result of the ‘ingestion rate’ hypothesis, or a strategy employed to prevent hunting-related injuries during this critical period of the year.

Primate vision is thought to have evolved in connection with life in the trees. However, several inter-related origins theories—those addressing possible co-evolution with size, predation, diet, daylight, locomotion, and groups—also provide reasonable explanations of their distinct cranial-visual morphology. We hypothesized that demand for high-speed landings in arboreal environments facilitated predation avoidance, thereby reducing the need for lateral facing orbits. To test this proposed influence, in the context of a multi-causal adaptive landscape, we consolidated published data on extant primate species including body mass, daily path length, arboreality, insectivory, frugivory, activity period, leaping, swinging, and group size. Phylogenetically controlled regressions, on three different taxonomic subsets of the primate order, highlight size and environmental influences as the most compelling factors explaining higher orbital convergence [OC]. Moreover, activity period and group size (in anthropoids) as well as arboreality and body mass (in non-anthropoids) associated convincingly with higher OC. After considering size and path length, suspensory (and to a lesser extent leaping-based) grasp-landed locomotion co-varied with OC, primarily in anthropoids. Nocturnality had negative, and leaping mixed, associations with OC—thus, with the exception of those relating to nocturnal-locomotion, all adaptive origins theories considered were at least partially corroborated. The conflicting associations of OC with leaping is largely attributable to the exceptionally small (and more taxonomically contentious) members of the order. These analyses support grasp-swing, in anthropoids, and rear attack risk reduction [RARR], more generally, as they provide compelling alternatives to strictly sized based models (e.g. predation deterrence and allometric scaling) in explaining deep divisions in the primate order.

1. Environmental conditions during early-life development can have lasting effects on individual quality and fitness. Telomere length (TL) may correlate with early-life conditions and may be an important mediator or biomarker of individual quality or pace-of-life, as periods of increased energy demands can increase telomere attrition due to oxidative stress. Thus, knowledge of the mechanisms that generate variation in TL, and the relation between TL and fitness, is important in understanding the role of telomeres in ecology and life-history evolution. 2. Here, we investigate how environmental conditions and morphological traits are associated with early-life TL and if TL predicts natal dispersal probability or components of fitness in two populations of wild house sparrows (Passer domesticus). 3. We measured morphological traits and blood TL in 2746 nestlings from 20 cohorts (1994-2013) and retrieved data on weather conditions. We monitored population fluctuations, and individual survival and reproductive output using field observations and genetic pedigrees. We then used generalized linear mixed-effects models to test which factors affected TL in early-life, and if TL predicted dispersal propensity, or was associated with recruitment probability, mortality risk, or reproductive success. 4. We found a negative effect of population density on TL, but only in one of the populations. There was a curvilinear association between TL and the maximum daily North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index during incubation, suggesting that there are optimal weather conditions that result in the longest TL. Dispersers tended to have shorter telomeres than non-dispersers. TL did not predict survival, but we found a tendency for individuals with short telomeres to have higher annual reproductive success. 5. Our study showed how early-life TL is shaped by effects of growth, weather conditions and population density, supporting that environmental stressors negatively affect TL in wild populations. In addition, TL may be a mediator or biomarker of individual pace-of-life, with higher dispersal rates and annual reproduction tending to be associated with shorter early-life TL in this study. However, clear associations between early-life TL and individual fitness seems difficult to establish and may differ between different populations in the wild.

Survivorship under predation exerts strong selection on reproductive traits as well as on brain anatomy of prey. However, how exactly predation and brain evolution are linked has not been resolved as current empirical evidence is inconclusive. This may be due to predation pressure having different effects across life stages and/or due to confounding factors in ecological comparisons of predation pressure. Here, we used adult guppies (Poecilia reticulata) to experimentally test the impact of a period of strong predation on brain anatomy and reproduction of surviving individuals. We compared the survivors to control fish, which were exposed to visual and olfactory predator cues but could not be predated on, and found that predation impacted the relative size of female brains. This effect was dependent on body size as larger female survivors showed relatively larger brains, while smaller survivors showed relatively smaller brains when compared to control animals. There were no differences in male relative brain size between the treatments, nor for any specific relative brain region sizes for either sex. Moreover, survivors produced more offspring, but did not show shorter interbrood intervals than controls. Our results corroborate the important, yet complex, role of predation as an important factor behind variation in brain anatomy.

Human population expansion into wildlife habitats has increased interest in the behavioral ecology of human-wildlife interactions. To date, however, the socio-ecological factors that determine whether, when or where wild animals take risks by interacting with humans and anthropogenic factors still remains unclear. We adopt a comparative approach to address this gap, using social network analysis (SNA). SNA, increasingly implemented to determine human impact on wildlife ecology, can be a powerful tool to understand how animal socioecology influences the spatiotemporal distribution of human-wildlife interactions. For 10 groups of rhesus, long-tailed, and bonnet macaques (Macaca spp.) living in anthropogenically-impacted environments in Asia, we collected data on human-macaque interactions, animal demographics, and macaque-macaque agonistic and affiliative social interactions. We constructed ‘human co-interaction networks’ based on associations between macaques that interacted with humans within the same time and spatial locations, and social networks based on macaque-macaque allogrooming behavior, affiliative behaviors of short duration (agonistic support, lip-smacking, silent bare-teeth displays, and non-sexual mounting), and proximity. Pre-network permutation tests revealed that, within all macaque groups, specific individuals jointly took risks by repeatedly, consistently co-interacting with humans within and across time and space. GLMMs revealed that macaques’ tendencies to co-interact with humans was positively predicted by their tendencies to engage in short-duration affiliative interactions and tolerance of conspecifics, although the latter varied across species (bonnets>rhesus>long-tailed). Male macaques were more likely to co-interact with humans than females. Neither macaques’ grooming relationships nor their dominance ranks predicted their tendencies to co-interact with humans. Our findings suggest that, in challenging anthropogenic environments, less (compared to more) time-consuming forms of affiliation, and additionally greater social tolerance in less ecologically flexible species with a shorter history of exposure to humans, may be key to animals’ joint propensities to take risks to gain access to resources. For males, greater exploratory tendencies and less energetically demanding long-term life-history strategies (compared to females), may also influence such joint risk-taking. From conservation and public health perspectives, wildlife connectedness within such co-interaction networks may inform interventions to mitigate zoonosis, and move human-wildlife interactions from conflict towards co-existence.

Morphological variation among individuals has the potential to influence multiple life history characteristics such as dispersal, migration, reproductive success, and survival (Wilder et al. 2016). Individuals that are in better “condition” can disperse or migrate further or more successfully, have greater reproductive success, and survive longer (Heidinger et al. 2010; Liao et al. 2011; Wilder et al. 2016), particularly in years where environmental conditions are harsh (Milenkaya et al. 2015). Body condition is defined in various ways, but is most often measured using an individual’s energetic or immune state (Milenkaya et al. 2015). These traits are difficult to measure directly, therefore a variety of morphological proxies to quantify condition are used instead, including fat score (Kaiser 1993), weight, ratio of weight to tarsus length (Labocha et al. 2014), a scaled mass index (Peig and Green 2009), as well as hematological indices for immune system function (Fleskes et al. 2017; Kraft et al. 2019). However, there is mixed support regarding whether these condition indices relate to life history characteristics (Labocha et al. 2014; Wilder et al. 2016), and whether the relationship is linear (McNamara et al. 2005; Milenkaya et al. 2015). Additionally, although some investigations use multiple morphological proxies for condition (e.g. Warnock and Bishop 1998), rarely have there been direct comparisons among proxies to validate that they measure the same trait. In this investigation, we define condition as an energetic state and we attempt to measure it by comparing two indices (fat score and the scaled mass index) to validate whether they measure the same trait and whether they correlate with measures of reproductive success in our study system, the great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus). We found that the morphological proxies did not correlate with each other, indicating that they do not measure the same trait. Further, neither proxy correlated with reproductive success in males, measured as whether a male held a territory containing nests or not. We found that females with a high scaled mass index had a significantly lower probability that their nest would survive on any given day. However, there was no relationship between female fat score and nest survival. These results indicate that measures of condition should be validated before relying on their use as a condition proxy in grackles and birds in general. Future research should further investigate our unexpected result that higher scaled mass index correlated with lower nest survival to better understand the importance of energetic condition for reproductive success - a necessary component for selection to act.

When selecting a breeding site, individuals can use social information to reduce the uncertainty regarding habitat quality. In particular, individuals from several bird species tend to reuse nests previously occupied by competitors. Re-occupying nests previously used by conspecifics or heterospecifics could result from exploiting social information by copying competitors’ choice (the ‘social information’ hypothesis). Alternatively, it could allow fulfilling the needs for a comfortable nest substrate (e.g. by improving thermal insulation or reducing egg breakage risks) at low costs, regardless of previous occupancy (the ‘comfort’ hypothesis). Here, we aimed to determine which of these two mechanisms triggered the preference for old conspecific nest material in a secondary cavity-nesting raptor which does not add lining materials to its nest, the lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni). Using an experimental design forcing settling lesser kestrels to choose between two adjacent nestboxes containing different substrates, we detected a strong preference for comfortable substrates (peat moss, or conspecific or European roller old nest material) over uncomfortable mineral substrate, especially when the comfortable substrate also provided social information about previous nest use by a competitor. Despite the apparent absence of preference when directly comparing settlement patterns in comfortable substrates with and without social information, early-settling individuals favoured the substrate with social information, while late-settling ones favoured the substrate without social information. This could reflect intraspecific competition avoidance by late arriving individuals that may be competitively inferior compared to early arriving ones. This hypothesis is supported by a later laying date of young (up to two years old) breeders compared to older ones in our population. Our findings suggest that both comfort seeking and social information use explain preference for previously used nest cavities, and that nest site choices may depend on individual competitive abilities and experience.

Ecosystems are open systems connected through spatial flows of energy, matter, and nutrients. Predicting and managing ecosystem interdependence requires a rigorous quantitative understanding of the drivers and vectors that connect ecosystems across spatio-temporal scales. Animals act as such vectors when they transport nutrients across landscapes in the form of excreta, egesta, and their own bodies. Here, we introduce a methodological roadmap that combines movement, foraging, and ecosystem ecology to study the effects of animal-vectored nutrient transport on meta-ecosystems. The meta-ecosystem concept — the notion that ecosystems are connected in space and time by flows of energy, matter, and organisms across boundaries — provides a theoretical framework on which to base our understanding of animal-vectored nutrient transport. However, partly due to its high level of abstraction, there are few empirical tests of meta-ecosystem theory, and while we may label animals as important mediators of ecosystem services, we lack predictive inference of their relative roles and impacts on diverse ecosystems. Recently developed technologies and methods — tracking devices, mechanistic movement models, diet reconstruction techniques and remote sensing — have the potential to facilitate the quantification of animal-vectored nutrient flows and increase the predictive power of meta-ecosystem theory. Understanding the mechanisms by which animals shape ecosystem dynamics may be important for ongoing conservation, rewilding, and restoration initiatives around the world, and for more accurate models of ecosystem nutrient budgets. We provide conceptual examples that show how our proposed integration of methodologies could help investigate ecosystem impacts of animal movement. We conclude by describing practical applications to understanding cross-ecosystem contributions of animals on the move.

Wind direction, often used in forecasting locust migration, indicates a non-zero probability of desert locust invasion in eastern Indian states. Apart from present controlling measures, we are additionally suggesting to be cautious about the eggs of locust as the rainfall associated with Super Cyclone Amphan has created a favorable breeding ground for the gregarious locust. Also reverse migration of these locusts might affect the Indian states for the second time. Long-term controlling policy (till Kharif season; June to October) is required to minimize the damage. Also, increasing the farmers awareness and sensitized local ecology groups might be helpful in desert locust reporting.

Presence of Eastern Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock leuconydes) was confirmed recently in and around Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, where the last remnant rainforest region of Eastern Himalaya still exists. A total of 13 groups of Eastern Hoolock Gibbon were located in this Lower Dibang valley in the outskirts and periferi of Mehao WLS where they coexist with humans at the non-protected agricultural landscape. The present study focuses on the recent behavioural modification of Hoolock Gibbon in the non-protected fragmented region coexisted with local population at the juxta region of agricultural landscape and groves. Satellite data indicates massive deforestation in last 30 years with a rate of 7 sq km per year leading to multiple fragmented forest patches with an average area of 200-800 sq meters. These patches are home for a family of Eastern Hoolock Gibbon consisting of with an average family size of 3.5. Agricultural expansion, developmental activities, tourism and migration of population to this part of Eastern Himalaya have significantly modify behavioural aspects of Eastern Hoolock Gibbon. Our observation shows a larger family size, descending to the ground and maize crop raiding as a result of food scarcity and habitat crunching due to the recent anthropogenic activities. The chances of human-animal conflict will expect to increase as a consequence of these behavioral changes. The conflict could be elevated due to the recent change in sociological demographics in the non-protected regions. A call for immediate action is needed for the survival of these species in the changing land use pattern over newly emerged eco-sociological dynamics.

Current climate change-forced local extinctions of ectotherms in their warmer distribution limits have been linked to a reduction in their activity budgets by excess of heat. However, warmer distribution limits of species may be determined by biotic interactions as well. We aimed to understand the role of thermal activity budgets as drivers of the warmer distribution limit of cold-adapted mountain ectotherms, and the colder distribution limit of partially sympatric thermophilous species. In the southern slopes of the Sierra de Guadarrama, Madrid, Spain, (1800–2200 m asl), we collected data from surveys of active individuals, thermal preferences, thermoregulation effectiveness, and activity budgets across 12 different sites exposed to different microclimates and habitats. We assessed how abundances of each species were predicted by activity budgets, restriction time, temperature deviation, habitat covers and date. We found that Iberolacerta cyreni abundances are not predicted by heat-restricted activity time as they were absent or rare in the areas where its activity budgets are broader. Conversely, the abundances of the other lizards were positively predicted by the potential activity time. Habitat preferences and date explained also part of the occurrences of the four species. Our results suggest that realized niches of lizards in the Sierra de Guadarrama are a consequence of niche partitioning by temperature-mediated competitive exclusion. The more thermophilous species were physiologically limited by the reduced chances of being active due to the cold, while the cold-adapted species was abundant in those areas where its potential activity is limited by cold-temperatures, but the thermophilous species cannot inhabit. We provide new insights on the ecological processes affecting the distribution of ectotherm mountain organisms, the assemblage of their communities and how climate change could affect them.

Mammals living in more complex social groups typically have large brains for their body size and many researchers have proposed that the primary driver of the increase in brain size through primate and hominin evolution was the selection pressures associated with sociality. Many mammals, and especially primates, use flexible signals that show a high degree of voluntary control and these signals may play an important role in forming and maintaining social relationships between group members. However, the specific role that cognitive skills play in this complex communication, and how in turn this relates to sociality, is still unclear. The hypothesis for the communicative roots of complex sociality and cognition posits that cognitive demands behind the communication needed to form and maintain bonded social relationships in complex social settings drives the link between brain size and sociality. We review the evidence in support of this hypothesis and why key features of cognitively complex communication such as intentionality and referentiality should be more effective in forming and maintaining bonded relationships as compared with less cognitively complex communication. Exploring the link between cognition, communication and sociality provides insights into how increasing flexibility in communication can facilitate the emergence of social systems characterised by bonded social relationships, such as those found in non-human primates and humans. To move the field forward and carry out both within- and among-species comparisons, we advocate the use of social network analysis, which provides a novel way to describe and compare social structure. Using this approach can lead to a new, systematic way of examining social and communicative complexity across species, something that is lacking in current comparative studies of social structure.