Explanipedia

Predator-prey interactions as drivers of cognitive evolution Open

Eamonn I. F. Wooster, Martin J. Whiting, Dale G. Nimmo, Ferran Sayol, Alexandra J. R. Carthey , et al. · 2025

Despite decades of research, how and why cognition varies between and within species remains hotly debated. Social interactions and environmental variability are the leading hypotheses for cognitive evolution, but these factors fail to acc…

Aridity Niche and Species Traits Mediate the Global Vulnerability of Passerine Birds Open

M. Petit, Ferran Sayol, Craig Weideman, Angéline Bertin · 2025

Biodiversity is experiencing an unprecedented crisis, with intensifying global aridity representing a critical driver of species extinction. However, the extent to which species' preferences for specific aridity conditions and their tolera…

Does brain size matter? Linking cognitive and ecological traits to climate change vulnerability in seabirds Open

Junghyuk Keum, Ferran Sayol, Florian Orgeret, Catharine Horswill · 2025

Understanding the mechanisms that increase a species resilience to climate change is central to predicting how they are likely to respond. One determinant of vulnerability to climate change identified in multiple taxa is the thermal range …

<span>AVOTREX</span>: A Global Dataset of Extinct Birds and Their Traits Open

Ferran Sayol, Joseph P. Wayman, Paul Dufour, Thomas E. Martin, Julian P. Hume , et al. · 2024

Motivation Human activities have been reshaping the natural world for tens of thousands of years, leading to the extinction of hundreds of bird species. Past research has provided evidence of extinction selectivity towards certain groups o…

Niche filling predicts evolutionary trajectories in insular bird communities Open

Paul Dufour, Ferran Sayol, Manuel J. Steinbauer, Rob Cooke, Søren Faurby · 2024

Different theories have been proposed to explain the phenotypic changes observed in island lineages, but it remains unclear if predictable evolutionary trajectories can be identified within island communities. Using a 3D functional space a…

Assessing the role of habitat, climate, and anthropization gradients on terrestrial mammal diversity in the western Mediterranean basin Open

Ignasi FERNÁNDEZ‐CABELLO, Marc Franch, Marc Vilella, Nerea FERNANDEZ‐ARRIETA, Marc Rota , et al. · 2024

Mammal species globally exhibit distribution patterns conditioned by environmental conditions and human impact. The Mediterranean basin provides an ideal system to study these effects due to its diverse climate, and habitat conditions. In …

The importance of migratory drop-off for island colonization in birds Open

Paul Dufour, Ferran Sayol, Rob Cooke, Tim M. Blackburn, Laure Gallien , et al. · 2024

Seasonal migration is an underappreciated driver of animal diversification. Changes in migratory behaviour may favour the establishment of sedentary founder populations and promote speciation if there is sufficient reproductive isolation b…

Undiscovered bird extinctions obscure the true magnitude of human-driven extinction waves Open

Rob Cooke, Ferran Sayol, Tobias Andermann, Tim M. Blackburn, Manuel J. Steinbauer , et al. · 2023

Brain size predicts bees' tolerance to urban environments Open

Jose B. Lanuza, Miguel Á. Collado, Ferran Sayol, Daniel Sol, Ígnasi Bartomeus · 2023

The rapid conversion of natural habitats to anthropogenic landscapes is threatening insect pollinators worldwide, raising concern regarding the negative consequences on their fundamental role as plant pollinators. However, not all pollinat…

A global analysis of avian island diversity–area relationships in the Anthropocene Open

Thomas J. Matthews, Joseph P. Wayman, Robert J. Whittaker, Pedro Cardoso, Julian P. Hume , et al. · 2023

Research on island species–area relationships (ISAR) has expanded to incorporate functional (IFDAR) and phylogenetic (IPDAR) diversity. However, relative to the ISAR, we know little about IFDARs and IPDARs, and lack synthetic global analys…

Relative brain size is associated with natal dispersal rate and species' vulnerability to climate change in seabirds Open

Laurel Constanti Crosby, Ferran Sayol, Catharine Horswill · 2023

The cognitive buffer hypothesis proposes that species with larger brains (relative to their body size) exhibit greater behavioural flexibility, conferring an advantage in unpredictable or novel environments. Therefore, behavioural flexibil…

Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: a data repository Open

Hélène Ralimanana, Allison Perrigo, Rhian J. Smith, James S. Borrell, Angelica Crottini , et al. · 2022

Data repository for the two sister reviews of Madagascar's biodiversity: Antonelli et al.: "Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: Evolution, distribution, and use", Science 378 (6623): eabf0869 – https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abf0869 …

Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: a data repository Open

Hélène Ralimanana, Allison Perrigo, Rhian J. Smith, James S. Borrell, Angelica Crottini , et al. · 2022

Data repository for the two sister reviews of Madagascar's biodiversity: Antonelli et al.: "Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: Evolution, distribution, and use", Science 378 (6623): eabf0869 – https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abf0869…

Madagascar’s extraordinary biodiversity: Threats and opportunities Open

Hélène Ralimanana, Allison Perrigo, Rhian J. Smith, James S. Borrell, Søren Faurby , et al. · 2022

Madagascar’s unique biota is heavily affected by human activity and is under intense threat. Here, we review the current state of knowledge on the conservation status of Madagascar’s terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity by presenting da…

Madagascar’s extraordinary biodiversity: Evolution, distribution, and use Open

Alexandre Antonelli, Rhian J. Smith, Allison Perrigo, Angelica Crottini, Jan Hackel , et al. · 2022

Madagascar’s biota is hyperdiverse and includes exceptional levels of endemicity. We review the current state of knowledge on Madagascar’s past and current terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity by compiling and presenting comprehensive d…

Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: a data repository Open

Hélène Ralimanana, Allison Perrigo, Rhian J. Smith, James S. Borrell, Angelica Crottini , et al. · 2022

Data repository for the double review of Madagascar's biodiversity: Antonelli et al.: "Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: Evolution, distribution, and use", https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abf0869 Ralimanana et al.: "Madagascar's ext…

Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: a data repository Open

Hélène Ralimanana, Allison Perrigo, Rhian J. Smith, James S. Borrell, Angelica Crottini , et al. · 2022

Data repository for the double review on Madagascar's biodiversity [ADD FULL CITATIONS + DOI WHEN ACCEPTED] REVIEW I: EVOLUTION, DISTRIBUTION AND USE CatalogueOfVascularPlantsOfMadagascar.csv -- Comma-separated table with comprehensive tax…

The origin of the excavator nesting behavior and its impact on the evolution of Neotropical parrots Open

Myriam Ramírez-Herranz, Ferran Sayol, Rodrigo S. Ríos, Alexandre Antonelli, Francisco A. Squeo · 2022

Data Base for all traits used in the MS: The origin of the excavator nesting behavior and its impact on the evolution of Neotropical parrots

The origin of the excavator nesting behavior and its impact on the evolution of Neotropical parrots Open

Myriam Ramírez-Herranz, Ferran Sayol, Rodrigo S. Ríos, Alexandre Antonelli, Francisco A. Squeo · 2022

Data Base for all traits used in the MS: The origin of the excavator nesting behavior and its impact on the evolution of Neotropical parrots

Assessing the origin of the excavator nesting behavior and its impact on the evolution of Neotropical parrots Open

Myriam Ramírez-Herranz, Ferran Sayol, Rodrigo S. Ríos, Alexandre Antonelli, Francisco A. Squeo · 2022

Data Base for all traits used in the MS: Assessing the origin of the excavator nesting behavior and its impact on the evolution of Neotropical parrots

The origin of the excavator nesting behavior and its impact on the evolution of Neotropical parrots Open

Myriam Ramírez-Herranz, Ferran Sayol, Rodrigo S. Ríos, Alexandre Antonelli, Francisco A. Squeo · 2022

Data Base for all traits used in the MS: The origin of the excavator nesting behavior and its impact on the evolution of Neotropical parrots

Threatened and extinct island endemic birds of the world: Distribution, threats and functional diversity Open

Thomas J. Matthews, Joseph P. Wayman, Pedro Cardoso, Ferran Sayol, Julian P. Hume , et al. · 2022

Aim The world's islands support disproportionate levels of endemic avian biodiversity despite suffering numerous extinctions. While intensive recent research has focused on island bird conservation or extinction, few global syntheses have …

Neuron numbers link innovativeness with both absolute and relative brain size in birds Open

Daniel Sol, Seweryn Olkowicz, Ferran Sayol, Martin Kocourek, Yicheng Zhang , et al. · 2022

Evolutionary transitions in diet influence the exceptional diversification of a lizard adaptive radiation Open

Mauricio Ocampo, Daniel Pincheira‐Donoso, Ferran Sayol, Rodrigo S. Ríos · 2022

Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: a data repository Open

Hélène Ralimanana, Allison Perrigo, Rhian J. Smith, James S. Borrell, Angelica Crottini , et al. · 2022

Data repository for the double review on Madagascar's biodiversity [ADD FULL CITATIONS + DOI WHEN ACCEPTED]\n\n\nREVIEW I: EVOLUTION, DISTRIBUTION AND USE\n\n\n\n\t\nCatalogueOfVascularPlantsOfMadagascar.csv -- Comma-separated table wi…

Niche expansion and adaptive divergence in the global radiation of crows and ravens Open

Joan Garcia‐Porta, Daniel Sol, Matt Pennell, Ferran Sayol, Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou , et al. · 2022

AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds Open

Joseph A. Tobias, Catherine Sheard, Alex L. Pigot, Adam J. M. Devenish, Jingyi Yang , et al. · 2022

Functional traits offer a rich quantitative framework for developing and testing theories in evolutionary biology, ecology and ecosystem science. However, the potential of functional traits to drive theoretical advances and refine models o…

Cover Image: Volume 25 Number 3, March 2022 Open

Joseph A. Tobias, Catherine Sheard, Alex L. Pigot, Adam J. M. Devenish, Jingyi Yang , et al. · 2022

The cover image is based on the Letter AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds by Tobias et al., https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. The sword-billed hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera) is exquisitely adapted to it…

Data from: Neuron numbers link innovativeness with both absolute and relative brain size in birds Open

Daniel Sol, Seweryn Olkowicz, Ferran Sayol, Martin Kocourek, Zhongxing Zhang , et al. · 2022

A long-standing issue in biology is whether the intelligence of animals can be predicted by absolute or relative brain size. However, progress has been hampered by an insufficient understanding of how neuron numbers shape internal brain or…

Data from: Neuron numbers link innovativeness with both absolute and relative brain size in birds Open

Daniel Sol, Seweryn Olkowicz, Ferran Sayol, Martin Kocourek, Zhongxing Zhang , et al. · 2022

A long-standing issue in biology is whether the intelligence of animals can be predicted by absolute or relative brain size. However, progress has been hampered by an insufficient understanding of how neuron numbers shape internal brain or…

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