Richard F Preziosi

• B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., F.R.E.S.
• Head of School at University of Plymouth

The ability of consumers to adjust their diet in response to resource shifts is a key mechanism allowing the persistence of populations and underlying species adaptive capacity. Yet on coral reefs, one of the marine habitats most vulnerable to global change, the extent to which species alter their diet remains poorly understood. Here, we integrated...

Threatened shark species are caught in large numbers by artisanal and commercial fisheries and traded globally. Monitoring both which shark species are caught and sold in fisheries, and the export of CITES-restricted products, are essential in reducing illegal fishing. Current methods for species identification rely on visual examination by experts...

The coral Madracis myriaster is one of the most important reef builders in deep-water habitats of the Caribbean Sea, offering refuge to numerous species of fish and invertebrates. In this study, we developed genomic resources for M. myriaster. Using a low-coverage short read sequencing strategy, this study estimated the genome size, repetitive geno...

The Greater Bermuda land snail Poecilozonites bermudensis was once thought to be extinct in the wild, however, recent captive population increases have allowed reintroductions to take place. Post-release monitoring of reintroduced individuals is a fundamental component of the reintroduction process and requires individuals or groups to be identifia...

The survival of endangered felids is becoming increasingly dependent on the successful management and breeding of reserve populations in captivity. While most felid species are reported to be solitary in the wild, increasing evidence suggests that some big cats have greater social plasticity than is currently acknowledged. This social plasticity al...

Efforts to define the marine connectivity among populations have been focused overwhelmingly on corals, sponges and fish populations, but are lacking in other well represented marine taxa. The sea urchin Echinometra lucunter lucunter was selected due to its wide distribution throughout the Caribbean Sea and its biological and ecological characteris...

Growth in the global development of cities, and increasing public interest in beekeeping, has led to increase in the numbers of urban apiaries. Towns and cities can provide an excellent diet for managed bees, with a diverse range of nectar and pollen available throughout a long flowering season, and are often more ecologically diverse than the surr...

The shallow coral Madracis auretenra has an important role in the rich diversity of coral reef ecosystems found in the Caribbean Sea, providing habitat and support to different marine species. Improved understanding of the genetic structure of marine species in the region is needed for the design and management of marine reserves, which are usually...

Coral reefs species represent one-third of all marine species described in the ocean. They are also responsible for providing habitat and support to different species. Recently, Caribbean coral reefs ecosystems have suffered an alarming decrease in their populations as a result of overexploitation. Madracis auretenra in particular, is a widespread...

Felids are commonly housed in zoological collections worldwide. While aspects of their behaviour are well studied, there remain questions on best practice husbandry including during reproduction and breeding scenarios. In 2016, the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) London Zoo held a pair of Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) for the purp...

In 2013 Colombia made an important step towards the construction and management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by establishing the first Deep Corals National Park (PNNCP). Inside this MPA, the coral Madracis myriaster (Cnidaria: Pocilloporidae) was found as the main reef builder, offering habitat for many species of fish and invertebrates. In ord...

Environmental degradation has the potential to alter key mutualisms that underlie the structure and function of ecological communities. How microbial communities associated with fishes vary across populations and in relation to habitat characteristics remains largely unknown despite their fundamental roles in host nutrition and immunity. We find si...

Over the last 20 years, ecological restoration of degraded habitats has become common in conservation practice. Mountain hares (Lepus timidus scoticus) were surveyed during 2017-2021 using 830 km of line transects in the Peak District National Park, England. Historically degraded bog areas were previously reported having low hare numbers. Following...

Neotropical black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) is expanding poleward into temperate salt marsh along Atlantic Florida, USA, with field evidence of trait shifts consistent with greater cold tolerance within range-margin populations. However, whether these shifts have a genetic basis remains unanswered. To address this gap, we measured multiple phe...

Human–animal interaction (HAI) can be valuable for captive animals, and many zoo-housed species benefit from interactions with their keepers. There is also an increasing body of evidence that some animal species possess personalities that are temporally consistent. However, the majority of zoo research, particularly on personality and HAI, traditio...

Mangroves form coastal tropical forests in the intertidal zone and are an important component of shoreline protection. In comparison to other tropical forests, mangrove stands are thought to have relatively low genetic diversity with population genetic structure gradually increasing with distance along a coastline. We conducted genetic analyses of...

Personality has been researched in many companion animals and is described as differences in behavioural traits of individuals that often remain consistent over time. In domestic cats many factors have been discovered to influence personality, including breed, coat colour, gender, rearing experience, number of cats within a household, owner age, ow...

Interactions between hosts and their resident microbial communities are a fundamental component of fitness for both agents. Though recent research has highlighted the importance of interactions between animals and their bacterial communities, comparative evidence for fungi is lacking, especially in natural populations. Using data from 49 species, w...

Premise: Host-plant genetic variation can shape associated communities of organisms. These community-genetic effects include (1) genetically similar hosts harboring similar associated communities (i.e., the genetic similarity rule) and (2) host-plant heterozygosity increasing associated community diversity. Community-genetic effects are predicted...

Many species are expanding beyond their distributional range margins in response to a warming planet. Due to marginal environmental conditions and novel selection pressures, range margins may foster unique genetic adaptations that can better enable species to thrive under the extreme climatic conditions at and beyond their current distributional li...

Surveying cryptic, nocturnal animals is logistically challenging. Consequently, density estimates may be imprecise and uncertain. Survey innovations mitigate ecological and observational difficulties contributing to estimation variance. Thus, comparisons of survey techniques are critical to evaluate estimates of abundance. We simultaneously compare...

The congeneric lagomorphs Lepus timidus and L. europaeus share allopatric distributions in many areas of Europe characterised by competitive exclusion and hybridisation. We investigated prospects for these species under climate change in northern England uplands. We created ensemble models predicting niche realisation for these species, influenced...

Big cats are both popular and well represented in zoological collections worldwide, and there is considerable interest in evidence-based studies to develop best practice husbandry guidelines. The majority of big cat species, including the leopard Panthera pardus are typically solitary in the wild, whereas in zoos they are sometimes maintained as...

Amongst the global decline of coral reefs, hope spots such as Cordelia Bank in Honduras, have been identified. This site contains dense, remnant thickets of the endangered species Acropora cervicornis , which local managers and conservation organizations view as a potential source population for coral restoration projects. The aim of this study was...

Adapting coffee production to climate change is a significant challenge requiring a detailed understanding of local climatic change patterns and the consequences, both real and perceived, for coffee production. To this end, we examined changes in precipitation at Mt. Kilimanjaro over the last two decades and conducted twelve focus group discussions...

This review represents a comprehensive analysis on pollutants in elasmobranchs including meta-analysis on the most studied pollutants: mercury, cadmium, PCBs and DDTs, in muscle and liver tissue. Elasmobranchs are particularly vulnerable to pollutant exposure which may pose a risk to the organism as well as humans that consume elasmobranch products...

Environmental degradation has the potential to alter key mutualisms that underline the structure and function of ecological communities. While it is well recognized that the global loss of coral reefs alters fish communities, the effects of habitat degradation on microbial communities associated with fishes remain largely unknown despite their fund...

Better-informed mangrove conservation and management practices are needed as the ecosystem services provided by these intertidal forests continue to be threatened by increasing anthropogenic pressures and climate change. Multiple layers of knowledge are required to achieve this goal, including insights into population genetics of mangrove species....

Understanding population genetic structure can help us to infer dispersal patterns, predict population resilience and design effective management strategies. For sessile species with limited dispersal, this is especially pertinent because genetic diversity and connectivity are key aspects of their resilience to environmental stressors. Here, we des...

The use of a capnometer was evaluated in free-ranging immobilised giraffes for its efficacy as a non-invasive monitoring device. Seven giraffes were captured with etorphine (0.018 mg/kg; Wildlife Pharmaceuticals, South Africa) and azaperone (0.098 mg/kg; Kyron Laboratories, South Africa), and after early reversal with diprenorphine, were consequent...

Etorphine-azaperone (EA) and etorphine-medetomidine-azaperone (EMA) combinations were evaluated for immobilisation of free-ranging buffalos. Twenty buffalos were darted intramuscularly with etorphine (0.010 mg/kg estimated body weight; Wildlife Pharmaceuticals, South Africa) and azaperone (0.11 mg/kg; Kyron Laboratories, South Africa) (EA, n=10) or...

Interactions between hosts and their resident microbial communities are a fundamental component of fitness for both agents. Though recent research has highlighted the importance of interactions between animals and their bacterial communities, comparative evidence for fungi is lacking, especially in natural populations. Using data from 49 species, w...

Expansion of many tree species lags behind climate‐change projections. Extreme storms can rapidly overcome this lag, especially for coastal species, but how will storm‐driven expansion shape intraspecific genetic variation? Do storms provide recruits only from the nearest sources, or from more distant sources? Answers to these questions have ecolog...

The sensitivity of tropical forest carbon to climate is a key uncertainty in predicting global climate change. Although short-term drying and warming are known to affect forests, it is unknown if such effects translate into long-term responses. Here, we analyze 590 permanent plots measured across the tropics to derive the equilibrium climate contro...

The sensitivity of tropical forest carbon to climate is a key uncertainty in predicting global climate change. Although short-term drying and warming are known to affect forests, it is unknown if such effects translate into long-term responses. Here, we analyze 590 permanent plots measured across the tropics to derive the equilibrium climate contro...

The fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra and its relatives) is of increasing priority for ex situ conservation due to the spread of the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans in Europe. In captivity, the species may be maintained on a clinical paper-based or a naturalistic substrate, either of which has its own advantages and disadvant...

Climate-driven range expansion of ecosystem-defining foundation species can have wide-reaching ecological consequences. Expansion may also result in mating system changes in these foundation species because of the ecological characteristics of range margins, such as greater conspecific isolation and reduced pollinator availability. It is important...

Genetic tools can have a key role in informing conservation management of declining populations. Genetic diversity is an important determinant of population fitness and resilience, and can require careful management to ensure sufficient variation is present. In addition, population genetics data reveal patterns of connectivity and gene flow between...

Climate-driven range expansion of ecosystem-defining foundation species can have wide-reaching ecological consequences. Expansion may also result in mating system changes in these foundation species because of the ecological characteristics of range margins, such as greater conspecific isolation and reduced pollinator availability. It is important...

Etorphine-azaperone immobilisation was evaluated for translocation of Masai giraffes. Nine giraffes were darted with 0.012 ± 0.001 mg/kg etorphine and 0.07 ± 0.01 mg/kg azaperone. Once ataxic, giraffes were roped for recumbency and restrained manually. Naltrexone (3 mg/mg etorphine) was immediately given intravenously to reverse etorphine-related s...

The central‐marginal hypothesis (CMH) posits that range margins exhibit less genetic diversity and greater inter‐population genetic differentiation compared to range cores. CMH predictions are based on long‐held ‘abundant‐centre’ assumptions of a decline in ecological conditions and abundances towards range margins. Although much empirical research...

Lake Pátzcuaro (Michoacán, Mexico) has been subject to a dramatic decline of native species and a decrease in environmental functionality due to a variety of anthropogenic pressures. The local economy depends on the success of the fishing industry, tourism activities, and craft manufacturing. Most of these activities are undertake by native Mexican...

Research Highlights: Global coffee production, especially in smallholder farming systems, is vulnerable and must adapt in the face of climate change. To this end, shaded agroforestry systems are a promising strategy. Background and Objectives: Understanding local contexts is a prerequisite for designing locally tailored systems; this can be achieve...

Marine sponges are hosts to large, diverse communities of microorganisms. These microbiomes are distinct among sponge species and from seawater bacterial communities, indicating a key role of host identity in shaping its resident microbial community. However, the factors governing intraspecific microbiome variability are underexplored and may shed...

Bespoke microsatellite marker panels are increasingly affordable and tractable to researchers and conservationists. The rate of microsatellite discovery is very high within a shotgun genomic dataset, but extensive laboratory testing of markers is required for confirmation of amplification and polymorphism. By incorporating shotgun next‐generation s...

La comunidad de peces es considerada indicadora del estado de salud de ecosistemas marinos, convirtiéndola en un excelente diseño de monitoreo. En el caso de los ecosistemas mesofóticos (30-150 m), existe desconocimiento de las especies que conforman las comunidades atribuido a limitaciones tecnológicas y económicas. El Parque Nacional Natural Cora...

1. The ability to define the spatial dynamics of fish stocks is critical to fisheries management. Combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and the regulation of area-based management through physical patrols and port side controls are growing areas of management attention. Augmenting the existing approaches to fisheries management with...

Individuals in groups can suffer costs through interactions with adversarial or unknown conspecifics. Social niche construction allows individuals to buffer such potential costs by only engaging in preferred associations. This may be particularly beneficial in insect aggregations, which are often large and highly fluid. However, little is known reg...

Amphibian populations worldwide are at risk of extinction from infectious diseases, including chytridiomycosis caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Amphibian cutaneous microbiomes interact with Bd and can confer protective benefits to the host. The composition of the microbiome itself is influenced by many environment-...

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Mangroves are declining globally at faster rates than tropical forests and coral reefs, with primary threats in- cluding, aquaculture, agriculture and climate change. Mangroves provide ecosystem services to coastal com- munities of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, which comprise the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) ecoregion. Over the past two decade...

Where there is limited availability of conventional fertilizers, the use of organic materials is considered a viable alternative to increase the productive capacity of soils. Many potential plant residues remain underutilized due to limited research on their use as a nutrient source. In this study, the nitrogen supplying capabilities of ten rarely-...

The white spotted sand bass Paralabrax albomaculatus is a member of the subfamily Serraninae and is endemic to the Galapagos Islands. Locally known as camotillo, it is an important component of the local artisanal fishery that is permitted in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Despite its Endangered status on the IUCN Red List, and its local socio-econo...

Anthropogenic disturbance via resource acquisition, habitat fragmentation and climate change, amongst other factors, has led to catastrophic global biodiversity losses and species extinctions at an accelerating rate. Amphibians are currently one of the worst affected classes with at least a third of species categorised as being threatened with exti...

ZSL, London Zoo herpetofauna species faecal samples. (PDF)

Test for published[31] nematode universal primer efficacy on nematode tissue DNA and cross-reactivity on Platyhelminth tissue DNA. A: Nematode universal primers [31] designed for specific amplification of nematode DNA successfully amplified DNA from the nematodes T. muris (Tm) and T. spiralis (Ts). B, C: Nematode universal primers [31] also demonst...

Test for published[19] nematode universal primer efficacy on nematode tissue DNA and cross-reactivity on Platyhelminth tissue DNA. Nematode universal primers [19] designed for specific amplification of nematode DNA successfully amplified DNA from the nematodes T. spiralis (Ts), A. lumbricoides (Al), N. brasiliensis (Nb), H. polygyrus (Hp) but not T...

Aim A detailed understanding of spatial genetic structure ( SGS ) and the factors driving contemporary patterns of gene flow and genetic diversity are fundamental for developing conservation and management plans for marine fisheries. We performed a detailed study of SGS and genetic diversity throughout the overharvested queen conch ( Lobatus gigas...

This study was conducted to determine how the litter quality and decomposition of nine species (Acacia auriculiformis, Albizia zygia, Azadiractha indica,Baphia nitida, Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena leucocephala, Tithonia diversifolia, Senna spectabilis and Zea mays) influence soil N availability, microbial biomass and β-glucosidase activity during so...

A non-invasive PCR-based methodology for sensitive detection and identification of parasitic nematode DNA released in the faeces of infected amphibians and reptiles as egg or tissue fragments (environmental DNA).A DNA extraction protocol optimised for liberation of DNA from resilient parasite eggs was developed alongside the design of a novel, nema...

Hunting in the neotropics is a widespread form of resource extraction. However, there is increasing concern that current activities are leading to the decline and extirpation of vulnerable species; particulary ateline primates, large ungulates (such as tapirs and white-lipped peccaries) and large birds such as curassows. Hunting patterns are expect...

1. Selection does not only operate in a genotype (G) × environment (E) context, but can also be modulated by the activities of organisms interacting with their environment (G × G × E). 2. The influences of aphid clonal identity and host plant (Vicia faba) intraspecific genetic variation on the performance of five genotypes of pea aphid (Acyrthosiph...

Studying personality in captive animals may enable the development of individual-based management decisions, which may improve animal welfare. Asiatic lions at London Zoo represent an opportunity to research an understudied species’ response to new environments since they have experienced social and physical changes, such as new enclosures and incr...

Three brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) individuals and two sloth bear (Melursus ursinus inornatus) individuals were observed in captivity to produce behavioural profiles for each individual. Data collected through behavioural observations were used to produce activity budgets, and to identify space usage and certain aspects of social behavior. Beha...

Despite a recent surge in the popularity of animal personality studies and their wide-ranging associations with various aspects of behavioural ecology, our understanding of the development of personality over ontogeny remains poorly understood. Stability over time is a central tenet of personality; ecological pressures experienced by an individual...

Sex differential adult behavioural trait correlations. Directions of correlations between PC1 scores across trials 1 and 2 (T1 and T2) for adults, separated by sex, for the three behavioural traits assayed (boldness in a. males and b. females, exploration in c. males and d. females, sociality in e. males and f. females). N = 63 (28 males, 35 female...

Behavioural measure descriptive statistics. Mean and standard error for each behavioural measure for each life stage (“combined mean”), with means and standard errors also presented separately for males and females. All values are in seconds except for the number of sectors explored. Sample sizes are 22 3rd instars (10 male, 12 female) and 63 adult...

Complete dataset containing all raw data used for personality analyses on Diploptera punctata. (XLSX)

Sex differential nymph behavioural trait correlations. Directions of correlations between PC1 scores across trials 1 and 2 (T1 and T2) for nymphs, separated by sex, for the three behavioural traits assayed (boldness in a. males and b. females, exploration in c. males and d. females, sociality in e. males and f. females). N = 22 (10 males, 12 female...

Nymph differential consistency. Plots of Spearman’s rank correlations showing levels of differential consistency in nymph a. boldness, b. exploration and c. sociality. N = 24. (TIF)

Differential consistency across life stages. Plots of Spearman’s rank correlations showing levels of differential consistency in a. boldness, b. exploration and c. sociality across life stages. N = 19. (TIF)

Sex differential behavioural trait correlations across life stages. Directions of correlations between PC1 scores for individuals across life stages, separated by sex, for the three behavioural traits assayed (boldness in a. males and b. females, exploration in c. males and d. females, sociality in e. males and f. females). N = 19 (7 males, 12 fema...

Magnitude of age effects. Bar charts for a. males and b. females showing the mean and standard error change in each behavioural measure from nymph to adult life stages. Behavioural measures quantify boldness (latency for head, B1, and body, B2, to emerge; latency to move antennae, B3 and head, B4; latency to initiate locomotion, B5), exploration (l...

Sex-specific differential consistency analyses and sex-specific age effects analyses. (DOCX)

Adult differential consistency. Plots of Spearman’s rank correlations showing levels of differential consistency in adult a. boldness, b. exploration and c. sociality. N = 63. (TIF)

The compostable biopolymer, poly(lactic) acid (PLA), is increasingly being used as an alternative to conventional plastics for short shelf-life products, disposable bags and packaging, and in agriculture. Despite the increase in the amount of PLA entering composting systems, few studies have examined the impact of PLA degradation on the compost mic...

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a compostable bioplastic manufactured by the polymerisation of lactic acid monomers derived from the fermentation of starch as a feedstock. Since its first commercialisation in the late 1990's, PLA production has grown annually and currently it estimated that worldwide production will reach at least 800,000 tons by 2020 w...