Never Too Much-More talent in football (always) leads to more success.

Though it may appear counterintuitive, certain positive attributes can eventually have negative consequences when taken to an extreme. This concept is exemplified in sports, where an increase in talent among team members initially leads to improved success, but beyond a certain threshold, excessive talent can adversely affect the team. This occurrence is known as the Too Much Talent (TMT) effect, wherein status conflicts among highly skilled players can hinder team performance, particularly in sports that require coordination and cooperation. While early evidence supported the TMT effect in team sports, its validity has recently been challenged. In this study, we analyzed a comprehensive dataset consisting of 780 data points across 42 seasons from seven top European football (soccer) leagues to examine the TMT effect's presence. Our findings reveal that football does not exhibit the TMT effect. Instead, we observed a consistent, positive correlation between the number of skilled players on a team and team success. Additionally, talent did not display diminishing returns, as its impact on success remained stable even at the highest concentrations of talent. We relate our results to existing theories and propose that future research comparing more individualistic and interdependent team sports could further enhance the field.

Singing strategies are linked to perch use on foraging territories in heart-nosed bats.

Acoustic communication allows animals to coordinate and optimize resource utilization in space. Cardioderma cor, the heart-nosed bat, is one of the few species of bats known to sing during nighttime foraging. Previous research found that heart-nosed bats react aggressively to song playback, supporting the territorial defense hypothesis of singing in this species. We further investigated the territorial defense hypothesis from an ecological standpoint, which predicts that singing should be associated with exclusive areas containing a resource, by tracking 14 individuals nightly during the dry seasons in Tanzania. We quantified the singing behavior of individuals at all perches used throughout the night. Using home range analysis tools, we quantified overall use, night ranges and singing ranges, as well as areas used in early and later time periods at night. Males sang back and forth from small ( x ¯  = 3.48 ± 2.71 ha), largely exclusive areas that overlapped with overall night ranges used for gleaning prey. Individuals varied in singing effort; however, all sang significantly more as night progressed. Subsequently, areas used earlier at night and overall use areas were both larger than singing areas. Individuals varied in singing strategies. Some males sang for long periods in particular trees and had smaller core areas, while others moved frequently among singing trees. The most prolific singers used more perches overall. Our results support the hypothesis that acoustic communication repertoires evolved in support of stable foraging territory advertisement and defense in some bats.

Seroprevalence of Leptospira Among Selected Mammals on a Wildlife Management Area in Louisiana, USA.

From August to December 2018, we collected blood samples from 98 individuals of 11 mammal species to examine seroprevalence of leptospirosis at the Sherburne Wildlife Management Area in central Louisiana, US. Overall, 21.4% of individuals tested positive for antibodies of at least one Leptospira interrogans serovar and six individuals were reactive for two or more serovars. The most prevalent serovar we detected was serovar Bratislava (19.4%), followed by serovar Grippotyphosa (6.1%), serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae and serovar Pomona (2.0%), and serovar Canicola and serovar Hardjo (1.0%). We detected the highest prevalence in fox squirrels (Sciurus niger), hispid cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus), and feral swine (Sus scrofa), with serovar Bratislava being the most reactive for these three species. Positive samples returned titer results of 100-400 for all species and serovars, with the exception of one feral swine that returned a titer of 1,600 to serovar Bratislava, indicating an active infection. Although the potential effects of leptospirosis on our study species remains unclear, our data contribute information necessary to understand and manage potential risks of Leptospira exposure to wildlife, domestic animals, and humans.

A before-after control-impact assessment to understand the potential impacts of highway construction noise and activity on an endangered songbird.

Anthropogenic noise associated with highway construction and operation can have individual- and population-level consequences for wildlife (e.g., reduced densities, decreased reproductive success, behavioral changes). We used a before-after control-impact study design to examine the potential impacts of highway construction and traffic noise on endangered golden-cheeked warblers (Setophaga chrysoparia; hereafter warbler) in urban Texas. We mapped and monitored warbler territories before (2009-2011), during (2012-2013), and after (2014) highway construction at three study sites: a treatment site exposed to highway construction and traffic noise, a control site exposed only to traffic noise, and a second control site exposed to neither highway construction or traffic noise. We measured noise levels at varying distances from the highway at sites exposed to construction and traffic noise. We examined how highway construction and traffic noise influenced warbler territory density, territory placement, productivity, and song characteristics. In addition, we conducted a playback experiment within study sites to evaluate acute behavioral responses to highway construction noises. Noise decreased with increasing distance from the highways. However, noise did not differ between the construction and traffic noise sites or across time. Warbler territory density increased over time at all study sites, and we found no differences in warbler territory placement, productivity, behavior, or song characteristics that we can attribute to highway construction or traffic noise. As such, we found no evidence to suggest that highway construction or traffic noise had a negative effect on warblers during our study. Because human population growth will require recurring improvements to transportation infrastructure, understanding wildlife responses to anthropogenic noise associated with the construction and operation of roads is essential for effective management and recovery of prioritized species.

Responses of a Federally Endangered Songbird to Understory Thinning in Oak-Juniper Woodlands.

Wildlife conservation and management on military lands must be accomplished in the context of military readiness, which often includes ground-based training that is perceived to conflict with wildlife needs and environmental regulations. From 2008‒2012, we examined territory density, pairing success, and fledging success of the federally endangered golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia; hereafter warbler) in relation to removal of small-diameter trees from the understory of mature oak-juniper (Quercus-Juniperus) woodland at the 87,890 ha Fort Hood Military Reservation in central Texas. Understory thinning created troop maneuver lanes, but left canopy vegetation intact. Warbler density, pairing success, and fledging success were similar across thinned and control sites. We found that warbler pairing and fledging success were best predicted by Ecological site (hereafter Ecosite), an indicator of hardwood tree species composition. Warbler pairing and fledging success were about 1.5 and 1.6 times higher, respectively, for territories dominated by the Low Stony Hill Ecosite than territories dominated by the Redlands Ecosite. Our results indicate that understory thinning for military training purposes did not have a negative effect on warblers at Fort Hood in the manner tested, and suggest that removal of smaller trees from the understory in a way that replicates historic conditions may elicit neutral responses from this forest-dependent songbird. Quantifying wildlife responses to military activities provides the Department of Defense and US Fish and Wildlife Service with data to guide conservation of threatened and endangered species on Department of Defense facilities while maintaining the military mission, and supports wildlife management efforts on other public and private lands.