Melophorus anderseni is a thermophilic ant species that nests near colonies of Iridomyrmex on which it conducts brood raids. We examined its colony founding behavior and foraging ecology to evaluate possible mechanisms that may facilitate interspecific nest raiding, as well as determine if it is a parasite or specialist predator. Specifically, we (1) examined colony establishment and survival, (2) patterns of worker activity (...

Fresh groundwater resources in coastal regions are vital for modern society, but are under considerable pressure due to population growth, seasonal peaks in demand, pollution and climate change. In recent years, interest in offshore freshened groundwater (OFG) has surged, as potential resource for addressing these challenges. Recent studies have documented OFG occurrences on many continental margins and islands, with global vo...

Statistical‐dynamical downscaling is one method to model urban climate using global and regional climate model (GCM and RCM) results. In this study, different strategies for statistical‐dynamical downscaling are derived and evaluated. For the statistical part of downscaling, a Bivariate Skill Score is developed to quantify the overlap of the joint probability densities of two meteorological variables, which helps to quantify w...

Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) offers promising solutions for sustainable, low‐cement infrastructure materials. While it is known how urea catabolism leads to biomineralisation, the non‐ureolytic pathways of MICP are less clear. This limits the use of the latter in biotechnology, despite its clear benefit of avoiding toxic ammonia release. To address this knowledge gap, the present study explored the interdep...

Workers of the red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta are repeatedly claimed in the literature not to have ovaries. Here, we demonstrate that we cannot find a source publication that proves the statement, and we show how publications are erroneously citing this statement. To remedy this gap, we dissected 87 S. invicta workers over a range of worker sizes, and demonstrate that S. invicta workers do not have reproductive organ...

Multiple indicators have been used to assess the degree of exposure of fish to anthropogenic chemicals in their stream habitats. We hypothesized that brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans) in a headwater stream receiving urban and agricultural runoff (South Fork Whitewater River, SFWR) would exhibit poorer condition, reduced reproductive fitness, and a greater left side to right side morphological asymmetry (i.e., fluctuating a...

Fire–vegetation feedbacks potentially maintain global savanna and forest distributions. Accordingly, vegetation in savanna and forest ecosystems should have differential responses to fire, but fire response data for herbaceous vegetation have yet to be synthesized across biomes. Here, we examined herbaceous vegetation responses to experimental fire at 30 sites spanning four continents. Across a variety of metrics, herbaceous v...