Biology subjects

Lin, H.-w.

Publications and source records attributed to Lin, H.-w..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Life history traits predict the contribution of transient dynamics to variation in population growth

The performance of any natural population in variable environments depends on contemporaneous changes in its vital rates (e.g., survival, reproduction) as well as legacies carried by its population structure. Yet whether the relative contribution of these two pathways can be predicted from life history remains unknown. Here, we use stochastic simulations of 1,986 matrix population models from 137 species to quantify the contribution of transient dynamics to variation in population growth rate, and test its associations with key life history traits. Longer generation times were associated with reductions in transient contributions, contrary to theoretical expectations. Greater stage-specific survival heterogeneities were associated with increases in transient contributions, whereas greater iteroparity was associated with decreases in plants but increases in animals. These associations were robust to body size, phylogenetic relationships, and vital-rate variability. Life history traits therefore provide a strong predictor for when population structure shapes population responses to environmental variability.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2026

Still Lost in Definitions: How Resilience Is Used in Ecology

Resilience is a central concept in ecology and environmental policy, yet its meaning and quantification remain inconsistent across subfields. Clarifying how resilience is defined and measured across the subfields of ecology is therefore a critical step towards delivering coordinated efforts to strengthen resilience research. Here, we analyse 594 studies published between 1977 and 2025 to determine how resilience is quantified across ecological contexts. Using large language models to extract structured data and conditional inference forests to assess predictors of metric choice, we show that resilience is most commonly ([~]25%) quantified using recovery rate and recovery degree, but no single metric dominates. Crucially, study attributes like organisational level, methodological approach, and disturbance regime explain only a small fraction of variation in metric selection. Despite this apparent inconsistency, more than 90% of studies draw from a shared set of six quantitative dimensions of resilience. This combination of weak constraint and latent convergence suggests that resilience metrics function as a flexible but implicitly standardised toolkit rather than as context-specific constructs. We argue that this hidden structure provides a foundation for a unified, multidimensional resilience framework that can support synthesis across ecological systems and improve the translation of resilience science into conservation and policy.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2024

Elevational constraints on flight efficiency shape global gradients in avian wing morphology

Wings with elongated shape or larger surface area are associated with increased flight efficiency and dispersal ability in a wide range of animals from insects to birds 1-4. Inter- and intraspecific variation in these attributes of wing shape is determined by a range of factors - including foraging ecology, migration and climatic seasonality 5-8 - all of which may drive latitudinal gradients in wing morphology 9,10. A separate hypothesis predicts that wing shape should also follow an elevational gradient because air density and oxygen supply decline with altitude 11, altering the aerodynamics of flight, and driving the evolution of more efficient wings in high-elevation species to compensate for reduced lift 12,13. However, previous analyses have found only mixed support for the thin-air hypothesis 14-18, and we currently lack a global synthesis of elevational gradients in wing design for any taxonomic group. In this study, we use phylogenetic comparative models to explore elevational effects on wing morphology in 9986 bird species, while accounting for multiple climatic and ecological attributes, including latitude, temperature seasonality, body mass, aerial lifestyle and migration. We found that relative wing elongation (hand-wing index) and wing area increase with elevation, particularly in the upper montane zone (>4 km above sea level). These results confirm a pervasive elevational gradient in avian wing morphology, highlighting the role of aerodynamic constraints as key mechanisms shaping global patterns of trait evolution in flying animals.

evolutionary biology↗