Density-dependent network structuring within and across wild animal systems.

Theory predicts that high population density leads to more strongly connected spatial and social networks, but how local density drives individuals' positions within their networks is unclear. This gap reduces our ability to understand and predict density-dependent processes. Here we show that density drives greater network connectedness at the scale of individuals within wild animal populations.

Antipredator behaviour as a major determinant of prey altitudinal movements: the wolf and the chamois.

Background: Predators have the potential to affect prey ecology through both direct effects on population dynamics or indirect effects on behaviour, e.g., by triggering antipredator strategies.

Starving or Stuffing? Plasticity in Wild Boar Body Mass Variations During Summer in a Mediterranean Area.

Identifying determinants of key phenotypic indicators driving animal population dynamics is fundamental to address measures aimed at mitigating human-wildlife interactions. In Mediterranean areas, summer drought reduces the availability of water and food resources for wild ungulates, potentially affecting body conditions. Since summer is a crucial period for the nursing/weaning of offspring, a seasonal bottleneck for ungulates would be expected to occur, especially in females.

Testing the persuasiveness of conspiracy theories: a comparison of narrative and argumentative strategies.

The present study examined the persuasive impact of conspiracy theories (CTs) in relation to two distinct communicative strategies: argumentation and narrative. The final sample consisted of 160 participants, randomly assigned to three groups: a first group (N = 56) watched a video in which a conspiracy theory related to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion was presented in a predominantly argumentative form (mostly argumentative group: MAG); a second group (N = 53) who watched a video in which the same conspiracy theory was presented in a predominantly narrative form (mostly narrative group: MNG); and a third control group (CG) (N = 51) who watched a video on non-conspiracy topics. The experiment was conducted online by the participants.

Global tracking of marine megafauna space use reveals how to achieve conservation targets.

The recent Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) sets ambitious goals but no clear pathway for how zero loss of important biodiversity areas and halting human-induced extinction of threatened species will be achieved. We assembled a multi-taxa tracking dataset (11 million geopositions from 15,845 tracked individuals across 121 species) to provide a global assessment of space use of highly mobile marine megafauna, showing that 63% of the area that they cover is used 80% of the time as important migratory corridors or residence areas. The GBF 30% threshold (Target 3) will be insufficient for marine megafauna's effective conservation, leaving important areas exposed to major anthropogenic threats.

How psychological and descriptive narratives modulate the perception of facial emotional expressions: an event-related potentials (ERPs) study.

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether stories with high and low narrative transport exert different effects on neural activation in response to facial emotional expressions. Thirty-one participants were randomly assigned to two groups based on the type of story they read: psychological narrative with high narrative transport (6 women and 10 men; age M = 34.38 ± 8.

Spatial and Temporal Relationships Between Roe and Red Deer in an Alpine Area.

Interspecific interactions are important drivers of population dynamics and species distribution. These relationships can increase niche partitioning between sympatric species, which can differentiate space and time use or modify their feeding strategies. Roe deer and red deer are two of the most widespread ungulate species in Europe and show spatial and dietary overlap.

Exploring how first- and third-person narrative modulates neural activation during a social cognition task. An event-related potentials (ERPs) study.

Several studies showed a positive effect of stories on Theory of Mind (ToM) performance. The aim of the present exploratory study was to investigate whether and how a specific aspect of narrative, i.e.

Environmental stress reduces shark residency to coral reefs.

Coral reef ecosystems are highly threatened and can be extremely sensitive to the effects of climate change. Multiple shark species rely on coral reefs as important habitat and, as such, play a number of significant ecological roles in these ecosystems. How environmental stress impacts routine, site-attached reef shark behavior, remains relatively unexplored.

Narrative identity in addictive disorders: a conceptual review.

Narrative identity allows individuals to integrate their personal experiences into a coherent and meaningful life story. Addictive disorders appear to be associated with a disturbed sense of self, reflected in problematic and disorganized self-narratives. In recent literature, a growing body of research has highlighted how narrative approaches can make a dual contribution to the understanding of addiction: on the one hand, by revealing crucial aspects of self structure, and, on the other, by supporting the idea that addiction is a disorder related to unintegrated self-states in which dissociative phenomena and the resulting sense of 'loss of self' are maladaptive strategies for coping with distress.

Mammal responses to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape.

Wildlife must adapt to human presence to survive in the Anthropocene, so it is critical to understand species responses to humans in different contexts. We used camera trapping as a lens to view mammal responses to changes in human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across 163 species sampled in 102 projects around the world, changes in the amount and timing of animal activity varied widely.

Seasonal and Ecological Determinants of Wild Boar Rooting on Priority Protected Grasslands.

Wild ungulates can influence various trophic levels, regulating carnivore abundance and affecting habitat structure. Conservation problems can arise when high ungulate densities threaten species or habitats with conservation concern. Assessing factors influencing the intensity of their impact is important to identify appropriate measures enhancing habitat conservation.

Same place, different time, head up: Multiple antipredator responses to a recolonizing apex predator.

Prey adjust their antipredator behavioral tactics to minimize the risk of an encounter with predators. Spatiotemporal responses of prey to predators have been reported, but the nature of antipredator response is not ubiquitous and it is the object of increasing interest, especially considering the recent recovery of large carnivores in Europe, and the potential for behavioral antipredator responses to elicit consequences at the ecosystem level. We have tested multiple antipredator responses by fallow deer to wolf in a Mediterranean protected area recently recolonized by this apex predator.

Defining the Characteristics of Story Production of Autistic Children: A Multilevel Analysis.

Several studies suggest that a valuable tool to examine linguistic skills in communication disorders is offered by procedures of narrative discourse assessment. Following this line of research, we present an exploratory study aimed to investigate storytelling abilities of autistic children to better define the characteristics of their story production. Participants included 41 autistic children and 41 children with typical development aged between 7.

Quantifying longline bycatch mortality for pelagic sharks in western Pacific shark sanctuaries.

Marine protected areas are increasingly touted for their role in conserving large marine predators such as sharks, but their efficacy is debated. Seventeen "shark sanctuaries" have been established globally, but longline fishing continues within many such jurisdictions, leading to unknown levels of bycatch mortality levels. Using public data from Global Fishing Watch and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, we quantified longline fishing within eight shark sanctuaries and estimated pelagic shark catch and mortality for seven pelagic shark species.

Effective Synthesis of 4-Quinolones by Reductive Cyclization of 2'-Nitrochalcones Using Formic Acid as a CO Surrogate.

4-Quinolones are the structural elements of many pharmaceutically active compounds. Although several approaches are known for their synthesis, the introduction of an aryl ring in position 2 is problematic with most of them. The reductive cyclization of -nitrochalcones by pressurized CO, catalyzed by ruthenium or palladium complexes, has been previously reported to be a viable synthetic strategy for this aim, but the need for pressurized CO lines and autoclaves has prevented its widespread use.

Consumers decrease variability across space and turnover through time during coral reef succession.

Consumers play an integral role in mediating ecological succession-the change in community composition over time. As consumer populations are facing rapid decline in ecosystems around the world, understanding of their ecological role is becoming increasingly urgent. Increased understanding of how changes in consumer populations may influence community variability across space and turnover through time during succession is particularly important for coral reefs, which are among the most threatened ecosystems globally, and where fishes play vital roles in structuring benthic succession.

On the influence of thought on language: a naturalistic framework for the pantomimic origins of human communication.

This paper focuses on the idea that pantomime is a privileged lens for investigating the origin of language in a naturalistic framework. Two reasons support this claim. The first one concerns the motivated and iconic character of pantomime compared to the arbitrary and abstract features of linguistic signs emphasized by the conventionalist thesis.

Interactions between carnivore species: limited spatiotemporal partitioning between apex predator and smaller carnivores in a Mediterranean protected area.

Background: There is need of information on ecological interactions that keystone species such as apex predators establish in ecosystems recently recolonised. Interactions among carnivore species have the potential to influence community-level processes, with consequences for ecosystem dynamics. Although avoidance of apex predators by smaller carnivores has been reported, there is increasing evidence that the potential for competitive-to-facilitative interactions is context-dependent.

Animal conflicts escalate in a warmer world.

The potential for climate change to affect animal behaviour is widely recognized, yet its possible consequences on aggressiveness are still unclear. If warming and drought limit the availability of food resources, climate change may elicit an increase of intraspecific conflicts stemming from resource competition. By measuring aggressivity indices in a group-living, herbivorous mammal (the Apennine chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata) in two sites differing in habitat quality, and coupling them with estimates of plant productivity, we investigated whether harsh climatic conditions accumulated during the growing season influenced agonistic contests at feeding via vegetation-mediated effects, and their interaction with the site-specific habitat quality.

Formic Acid as Carbon Monoxide Source in the Palladium-Catalyzed N-Heterocyclization of -Nitrostyrenes to Indoles.

The reductive cyclization reaction of -nitrostyrenes to generate indoles has been investigated for three decades using CO as a cheap reducing agent, but it remains an interesting area of research and improvements. However, using toxic CO gas has several drawbacks. As a result, it is highly preferable to use safe and efficient surrogates for generation of CO from nontoxic and affordable sources.

An evolutionary account of impairment of self in cognitive disorders.

Recent research has proposed that certain aspects of psychosis, as experienced in, e.g., schizophrenia (SCZ), but also aspects of other cognitive conditions, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and synesthesia, can be related to a shattered sense of the notion of self.