New tracking technologies allow users to collect large amount of data and address entirely new questions. The amt (animal movement tools) R package provides tools to manage telemetry data and to fit step-selection functions and resource-selection functions.

Excluding highly correlated variables does not affect Maxent model performance. Model transfer may lead to novel environment and collinearity shift, while both can negatively affect model performance.

Body size is central focus of evolutionary ecology, but it can be difficult to estimate in fossil organisms, particularly at the extreme limits of size variation. Here, we use population modelling to estimate maximum body size of the familiar Tyrannosaurus rex. We estimate that the largest ever T. rex may have been up to 70% larger than the current largest known specimen, and we explore the implications this might have had for the ecology and biomechanics of the animal.

We present a novel pipeline for sex identification (SeXY) in non-model organisms that lack high-quality genomes, or that lack available comparative genomic data sets. SeXY accurately determines sex when at least 50,000 mapped reads are available, even when using only a highly fragmented assembly as reference (scaffold N50 of 161 kb). When higher-quality reference genome assemblies (scaffold N50 30 Mb) are used, SeXY provides 100% accuracy even down to 1000 mapped reads, bypassing the need for often expensive high-effort shotgun sequencing.

The last widely accepted sighting of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in continental North America occurred in 1944. Here, we present evidence suggesting the presence of this species at our study site in Louisiana. Using multiple lines of evidence, including visual observations, acoustic recordings, trail camera photographs, and drone videos, our data suggest intermittent but repeated presence of multiple individual birds with field marks and behaviors consistent with those of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers.

First occurrence of the Asian southern giant hornet Vespa soror in Europe. We present a detailed description, combining morphological and molecular traits, as well as key information about its identification and current distribution. We discuss the most plausible pathways and vectors of introduction, its potential invasiveness, and subsequent impacts on host localities.

Conflicts with birdlife hamper the development of wind energy worldwide. Mitigation measures that reduce the risk of collision by making the rotor blades more conspicuous therefore need to be thoroughly tested. Using a Before–After–Control–Impact approach employing long-term fatality searches, the annual number of bird carcasses per turbine was significantly reduced at the turbines with a painted blade by over 70%, relative to the neighboring control (i.e., unpainted) turbines.

Reconstructing the body size and form of extinct animals is of vital importance to our understanding of macroevolution and palaeontology. This is often done using anatomical proxies where extinct species are known only from fragmentary remains. However, there are many limitations influencing the selection of proxy taxa that are frequently overlooked. Here, we discuss these limitations and mitigation measures that should be applied to overcome them.