The effect of sexual selection on extinction risk remains unclear. In theory, sexual selection can lead to both increase and decrease extinction probability depending on the ecology of the study system. Thus, combining different groups might obscure patterns that can be found in groups that share similar ecological features. Using phylogenetic comparative analysis, we studied sexual plumage dim...

Aims The process of facilitation, where a species increases the survival, growth, and fitness of another species, is becoming increasingly recognized as a critical factor in shaping the structure of plant communities. This process is particularly important in stressful environments. Yet few studies have attempted to incorporate positive interactions into community ecological theories such as th...

The effect of natural catastrophic events, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, on the genetic structure of species has been infrequently studied. The 1999 Chi-Chi Earthquake of Taiwan resulted in population extinction of Lithocarpus konishii (Fagaceae), an endangered species, and provides a case study for assessing impacts of natural catastrophes on genetic diversity. Genetic diversity ...

Polypore fungi are an important group of wood-inhabiting basidiomycetes that have significant roles in biomass recycling in forests and woodland ecosystems. Figures on the polypore diversity in Iran have been partly made available through few checklists, but there have been no comparative studies on the pattern of geographic distribution of the species. The prevalence of the Mediterranean biocl...

The phenomenon of species extinction raises more and more concern among ecologists facing the actual crisis of biodiversity. Scientific investigations of the causes and effects of extinction must be completed by a philosophical analysis of the concept of extinction that aims to clarify the meanings of the term 'extinction' and to analyse modalities, criteria and degrees of extinction. We will f...

Determining differences between common and rare species is commonly used to identify factors responsible for rarity. Existing studies, however, suffer from two important drawbacks. First, studies compare species that are closely related phylogenetically but occupy different habitats. Second, these studies concentrate on single life history traits, with unknown relevance for population growth ra...

The Northern Spotted Owl (Strir oc.c*idcwtcrlis (*( i ; i r i / i~ Xantus I 859) hiis become a surrogate for efforts to preserve rcmaining old growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. We review here il viability iinalysis prcpiired by the U. S. Forest Service which evaluates risks of extinction resulting separately from ( a ) stochastic demographic processes, (b) inbreeding and loss of genetic ...

Current theoretical studies on mechanisms promoting species co-existence in diverse communities assume that species are fixed in their mating behavior. Each species is a discrete evolutionary unit, even though most empirical evidence indicates that inter-specific gene flow occurs in plant and animal groups. Here, in a data-driven meta-community model of species co-existence, we allow mating beh...