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American Naturalist / ASN 🐌
@asn-amnat.bsky.social
The American Naturalist, scholarly journal of evolutionary biology and ecology, pioneer of Open Data, affiliated with American Society of Naturalists and our nonprofit publisher (UChicago Press). All articles are Green Open Access compatible.
Innes-Gold et al. found that both biotic factors like herbivory and abiotic factors like water temperature mediate the intriguing phenomenon of coral reef halos.

Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
November 7, 2025 at 9:53 PM
What can goshawks teach us about how camouflage, behavior, and habitat protect seasonally color-molting prey? Recent findings suggest that brown prey may be less vulnerable to predation under climate change compared to white morphs.

Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
November 3, 2025 at 7:49 PM
ASN Address: Pirates of the Caribbean (and Elsewhere): Three-Legged Lizards and the Study of Evolutionary Adaptation by Losos et al.

Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
October 17, 2025 at 6:45 PM
My Husband is Hot! – How having an attractive mate can provide tangible benefits to birds

Summary & Analysis by Kaleigh Remick of “Females with Attractive Mates Gain Environmental Benefits That Increase Lifetime and Multigenerational Fitness” by Barron et al.
www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
August 11, 2025 at 5:56 PM
The battle of the sexes may begin as early as conception!

Summary & Analysis by Julia M. Dovi of “Female Embryos Are More Likely to Die than Males in a Wild Mammal” by Douhard et al.

Read now! www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
August 11, 2025 at 5:53 PM
How Randomness Can Flip Evolution: New Study Uncovers Surprising Role of Population Noise

Summary & Analysis by Tahirah Williams of “Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics for Finite Populations and the Noise-Induced Reversal of Selection” by Bhat et al.
www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
August 1, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Weather the storm by spreading your investments: the benefits of bet-hedging

Summary & Analysis by Xochitl Ortiz-Ross of “Shifting Precipitation Regimes Influence Optimal Germination Strategies and Population Dynamics in Bet-hedging Desert Annuals” by Cuello et al.
www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
July 24, 2025 at 4:24 PM
How does environmental age affect chronological age-specific phenology and reproductive success senescence?
Summary & Analysis by Shatarupa Sarkar of “Age-Specific Phenology & Reproductive Success Senescence Vary with Environmental Age in a Wild Bird” by Bonamour et al. www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
July 21, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Adapt or Freeze: How Harsh Winters Are Reshaping Bluebirds’ Survival

Summary & Analysis by Baltazar González Chávez of “Natural Selection after Severe Winter Favors Larger and Duller Bluebirds” by Rolland et al.
Read now!
www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
July 21, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Better together: sibling cooperation matters! Burying beetle larvae consistently benefited from growing up with siblings, both with & without parents. Huber et al. show that sibling interactions can play a key role in the evolution of family life. Read now!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
July 21, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Are specializations evolutionary dead ends? Morrison et al. reveal that in bird carotenoid evolution, continuity and stability are two sides of the same coin.

Read now ahead of print!
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
July 19, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Artículo publicado antes de la impresión: "La centralidad de las aves en redes de interacción varía dentro de sus nichos climáticos" de Moulatlet et al.

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Artista: Roberto Ruiz, estudiante en maevolab.mx.
July 16, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Love in the Time of Climate Change: The Fate of Nuptial Gift-Giving Behavior in Unpredictable Environments

Read a summary and analysis by Ratna Karatgi of "Variability in precipitation weakens sexual selection for nuptial gifts in spiders" by Pavón-Peláez et al.
www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
June 11, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Small Populations, Large Conservation Challenges:
Turgeon et al. evaluate the relative influence of density-dependence, environmental conditions, and sporadic events on annual ungulate population growth. Summary & Analysis by Madeline Eppley!

www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
March 20, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Golden Retriever Energy Helps Wild Dragons Navigate the Social Landscape: Class et al. found evidence for sex-specific associations between behavior, its predictability and fitness in wild Eastern water dragons.
Summary & Analysis by Pooja Radhakrishnan: www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
February 13, 2025 at 4:18 PM
"Pollen Wars: Explosive Pollination Removes Pollen Deposited from Previously Visited Flowers"
Anderson et al. find that explosive pollination may confer a pre-pollination, male-competition advantage to plants.
Summary & analysis by Andrea Romero: www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
February 13, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Infidelity, divorce, and real-estate drama in the Alpine swift: Dumas et al. found that mate switching behaviours in the Alpine swift likely follow a win-stay lose-switch strategy.
Summary & analysis by Diana Aguilar Gómez: www.amnat.org/an/newpapers...
February 13, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 American Society of Naturalists election: Becky Fuller (Illinois, President); Renée Duckworth (Arizona, Vice President); Katie Lotterhos (Northeastern, Secretary). More info here! www.amnat.org/announcement...
#WomenInSTEM
April 24, 2024 at 8:35 PM
Story Collider returns for #Evol2024! This in-person event will feature true, personal stories from members of the evolutionary biology community. We are seeking story pitches from now until May 17. Submit yours today! www.evolutionsociety.org/news/display...
April 23, 2024 at 8:36 PM
Storz et al. report the discovery of multiple species of Andean mice living at extreme elevations that far surpass previously assumed range limits for mammals. These discoveries contribute to a new appreciation of the environmental limits of vertebrate life: www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
April 19, 2024 at 8:39 PM
New science out about how demographic compensation buffers salamanders from hydrologic variation, but unfortunately not well enough to avoid the negative impacts of increasing extremes on survival and recruitment: www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
April 19, 2024 at 8:26 PM
There's still time to submit a proposal to “Genomic forecasting of adaptation under environmental change” special feature in AmNat! Click here for all the details: www.amnat.org/announcement...
February 22, 2024 at 11:13 PM
New study by Behr et al. finds #AfricanWildDogs that disperse have lower mortality than those not dispersing. Could group living be riskier for some age classes than assumed due to limited resource access? Time to reevaluate costs of dispersal. Read now: journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/72
November 28, 2023 at 9:26 PM
ASN members: Voting is now open on proposals to adopt the Code of Ethics and to better integrate the Exec Comm & Diversity Comm. Please check your email! If you did not receive a ballot but are a member in good standing, please email the AmNat journal office. Voting is open till Nov 11.
October 11, 2023 at 7:39 PM
The ASN Executive Committee and Mark McPeek have authored a statement recognizing the research and contributions of the society's Vice President, Dr. Priyanga Amarasekare: www.amnat.org/announcement...
October 3, 2023 at 10:12 PM