Population genomics can reveal trends and drivers of biodiversity loss, but it is still unclear how best to use measures of genome variation to understand population vulnerability in insects. Here we study genome variation in three species of Anthophora bees that show contrasting population trends in northern Europe. Two species, Anthophora plagiata and Anthophora retusa , have experienced declines and recoveries of different...

Telomeres are nucleotide‐protein caps, predominantly at the ends of Metazoan linear chromosomes, showing complex dynamics with regard to their lengthening and shortening through life. Their complexity has entertained the idea that net telomere length and attrition could be valuable biomarkers of phenotypic and genetic quality of their bearer. Intuitively, those individuals could be more heterozygous and, hence, less inbred. Ho...

Ectotherms are classic models for understanding life‐history tradeoffs, including the reproduction–somatic maintenance tradeoffs that may be reflected in telomere length and their dynamics. Importantly, life‐history traits of ectotherms are tightly linked to their thermal environment, with diverse or synergistic mechanistic explanations underpinning the variation. Telomere dynamics potentially provide a mechanistic link that c...

It is well known that oxidative stress is a major cause of DNA damage and telomere attrition. Most endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced in the mitochondria, producing a link between mitochondrial function, DNA integrity and telomere dynamics. In this review we will describe how ROS production, rates of damage to telomeric DNA and DNA repair are dynamic processes. The rate of ROS production depends on mitochond...

As the earth warms, populations will be faced with novel environments to which they may not be adapted. In the short term, populations can be buffered against the negative effects, or maximize the beneficial effects, of such environmental change via phenotypic plasticity and, in the longer term, via adaptive evolution. However, the extent and direction of these population‐level responses will be dependent on the degree to whic...

The rate at which biological diversity is altered on both land and in the sea, makes temporal community development a critical and fundamental part of understanding global change. With advancements in trait‐based approaches, the focus on the impact of temporal change has shifted towards its potential effects on the functioning of the ecosystems. Our mechanistic understanding of and ability to predict community change is still...

Telomeres are the non‐coding protein‐nucleotide “caps” at chromosome ends that contribute to chromosomal stability by protecting the coding parts of the linear DNA from shortening at cell division, and from erosion by reactive molecules. Recently, there has been some controversy between molecular and cell biologists, on the one hand, and evolutionary ecologists on the other, regarding whether reactive molecules erode telomeres...