Functional Ecology

🚨 New podcast episode available now!

🌳 We speak to recently published People and Nature author Marilisa Herchet about the mental health benefits of urban green 🏙️

🎙️ Listen on Soundcloud ➡️ buff.ly/eK1rfVy
🎙️ Listen on Spotify ➡️ buff.ly/3hWpQn7

An invasive shrub is responsible for most carbon uptake in a New Zealand montane ecosystem Olivia K. Vought, Julie R. Deslippe, Indira V. Leon-Garcia, Janelle A. Veenendaal, Aimée T. Classen This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here…

📰Published📰An invasive shrub is responsible for most carbon uptake in a New Zealand montane ecosystem🏔️

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Fungal partnerships and forest futures: how soil microbes shape tree seedling survival Sarah McCarthy-Neumann, Katherine E. A. Wood, Inés Ibáñez, Richard K. Kobe This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Forests are full of hid…

📰Published📰Fungal partnerships and forest futures: how soil microbes shape tree seedling survival🌱

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Willows use specific scent signals to recruit bodyguards against insect herbivores Priscila Mezzomo, Jing V. Leong, Petr Vodrážka, Martin Moos, Emrah Özcan, David Bina, Leonardo R. Jorge, Tereza Volfová, Václav Pokorný, Martin Volf This is a plain language summary of a Functional…

📰Published📰Willows use specific scent signals to recruit bodyguards against insect herbivores🐛

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Differential effects of agricultural expansion on wild bee taxonomic and functional diversity Manuel López-Aliste, Camila B. García, Pablo Díaz-Siefer, Fernanda Montero-Silva, Angela M. Vargas-Daza, Juan F. Betancurt-Grisales, Michael P. D. Garratt, Luis F. Flores-Prado, Juan L. Celis-Diez,…

📰Published📰Differential effects of agricultural expansion on wild bee taxonomic and functional diversity🐝

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How flexible physiology during torpor helps bats cope with winter across climates Nicholas Wu, Tomás Villada-Cadavid, Christopher Turbill This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Many small mammals, like bats, survive win…

📰Published📰How flexible physiology during torpor helps bats cope with winter across climates🦇

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Rosemary Glos | Trapped, Poked, and Poisoned: Evidence for Defence Synergisms in a Desert Plant In this ‘Behind the Paper’ blog post, Rosemary Glos (she/her, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mi, USA) discusses her research article ‘Separate and Synergistic Anti-Herbivore E…

👀Find out more about the research behind the cover in author Rosemary Glos' 'Behind the Paper' post!

🛼Rosemary discusses synergistic interactions between plant defence traits, using a beard-trimmer in the field, and the joys of roller derby!

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🌷Our March Issue is out now!🌷

📙On the cover: A digitally coloured scanning electron micrograph of barbed defensive trichomes on the underside of a desert stingbush leaf (Credit: Rosemary Glos and Carol Flegler)🔬

Read it here👇️
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🤝 we're recruiting an Associate Blog Editor!
📝 join us in identifying, commissioning, and editing blog posts for Animal Ecology in Focus
🐝 more information on the role and how to apply can be found here: buff.ly/I9Kf6Er

How do you design a camera-trap workflow that is field-resilient and analysis-ready?

Join our webinar as Dr. Hugo Magaldi and Prof. Sabrina Krief discuss camera‑trapping in Uganda and their development of DeepForestVision for AI species labelling and quality control 📸

See here 👇
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Testing the reasons behind why size diversity in a group of insects matters Monica Paniagua Montoya, Nora Underwood, Brian D. Inouye This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Imagine this: You’ve got two groups of be…

📰Published📰Testing the reasons behind why size diversity in a group of insects matters🪲

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How bamboo recruits underground allies to conquer forests Yaoxing Wu, Zhiying Tang, Jiahuan Guo, Lizheng Fang, Huilin Shu, Lin Yu, Gong Zhang, Jun Deng, Lianghua Qi This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be fou…

📰Published📰How bamboo recruits underground allies to conquer forests🌳

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🪲Submit your proposals for our new Special Feature with @jappliedecology.bsky.social & @funecology.bsky.social!

This special feature will focus on how climate change affects plant–antagonist interactions, then click the link 👉️ buff.ly/SFdaRGu

Don't forget to register for our next MEE live!

In this free webinar, we'll hear from Drs Figueiredo and Radchuk about the R package estar 🌍 🧪

Find out more and register here 👉 buff.ly/0hrRYjv

Welcoming our 2026 Associate Editor Mentees! Journal of Applied Ecology offers a two‑year mentoring scheme that helps early career researchers build practical experience as Associate Editors. Each mentee works closely with a Senior Editor and…

We're thrilled to announce that we have 7 new Associate Editor mentees joining us! 📚🧪

Over the next 2 years, they will be mentored by a Senior Editor to develop their knowledge of the peer review process and handle manuscripts 💡🌎

Get to know them below 👇
appliedecologistsblog.com/2026/03/03/w...

Dusanka Vujanovic | Landscapes that choose their butterflies In this week’s ‘Behind the Paper’ blog post, author Dusanka Vujanovic discusses their new research article “Larval diet breadth and wingspan mediate landscape–richness relat…

👀Behind the Paper!👀

Author Dusanka Vujanovic explores variation in butterfly species richness across semi-natural grasslands, focusing on whether landscapes shape not only how many butterfly species occur, but also which types of butterflies thrive🦋

Read it here👇️
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Bergmann’s rule: Why does body size increase with latitude? Kurt M. Ongman, Carl G. Lundblad, Courtney J. Conway This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. In the mid-1800s, Carl Bergmann observed that…

📰Published📰Bergmann’s rule: Why does body size increase with latitude?🦉

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🚨Our cross-journal special feature is open to proposals!🚨

🐛Focus: how climate change affects plant–antagonist interactions, including those involving phytophagous insects, plant pathogens and more

💡Find out more: buff.ly/fFy6ker

@jappliedecology.bsky.social
@journalofecology.bsky.social

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🚨Deadline extension!🚨

💡 You now have until the 8th of March to apply to join us as an Associate Editor!

🔎Find out more and apply here
👉️https://buff.ly/cIwdUMx

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Does early-life environment stress affect future reproductive investment? 🌊🐟
Our new paper found that when raised in fluctuating salinity, mosquitofish females produce eggs with lower protein, while older males had higher ejaculate glycogen content!

Read the full paper here doi.org/10.1111/1365...

Diel thermal variability does not always have detrimental effects on the performance of ectotherms Daniel A. Bastías, Sabrina Clavijo-Baquet This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. The mean temperature has increased by 1.0ºC and it is ex…

📰Published📰Diel thermal variability does not always have detrimental effects on the performance of ectotherms🪲

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Seasonal nitrogen enrichment alters plant community stability–area relationship through decreased biodiversity, species asynchrony, and population stability Yuqiu Zhang, Carly J. Stevens, Weiyu Lu, Xu Chen, Zhengru Ren, Yunhai Zhang This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Human activities relea…

📰Published📰Seasonal nitrogen enrichment alters plant community stability–area relationship through decreased biodiversity, species asynchrony, and population stability🌱

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Diel thermal variability does not always have detrimental effects on the performance of ectotherms Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

New paper 😀 in @funecology.bsky.social, 'Diel thermal variability does not always have detrimental effects on the performance of ectotherms'. Dedicated to the memory of Professor Dr. Francisco Bozinovic. Thanks @britishecologicalsociety.org
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Daily cycles in oxygen availability affect energy demands for a coral reef fish Daniel M. Ripley, Daniele D’Agostino, Daniela Denk, John A. Burt This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. On coral reefs, the amount of ava…

📰Published📰Daily cycles in oxygen availability affect energy demands for a coral reef fish🐟️

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Salty start: How early-life stress and age change future reproductive investment Upama Aich, Khandaker Asif Ahmed, Meng-Han Joseph Chung, Bob B. M. Wong, Michael D. Jennions This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Clima…

📰Published📰Salty start: How early-life stress and age change future reproductive investment🐟️

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Forest management can help or harm trees depending on elevation Soumen Mallick, Clara Wild, Adèle Kieffer, Jorge Salvador Torres Pineda, Kerstin Pierick, Julia Rothacher, Orsi Decker, Ludwig Lettenmaier, Oliver Mitesser, Nico Eisenhauer, Akira S Mori, Christian…

📰Published📰Forest management can help or harm trees depending on elevation🌳

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Hiding in plain sight: Is bee-avoidance by bird-pollinated flowers driven by nectar robbing in Erica? Anina Coetzee, Colleen L Seymour, Claire N Spottiswoode, Michael D Pirie, Timotheüs van der Niet This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. F…

📰Published📰Hiding in plain sight: Is bee-avoidance by bird-pollinated flowers driven by nectar robbing in Erica?🐝

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Fire has both positive and negative impacts on surviving trees Annapurna C. Post-Leon, William R.L. Anderegg This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Warmer temperatures due to climate change are causin…

📰Published📰Fire has both positive and negative impacts on surviving trees🔥

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Our new paper is out! Here’s the lay summary. #Ecology #Pollination #AnimalBehavior #SocialInformation #FloralEcology #BandwagonEffects #Bumblebees

To Stay or to Roam? Behavioral Type Influences Trade-offs in Male Wild Turkey Survival Nick A. Gulotta, Patrick H. Wightman, Nicholas W. Bakner, Bret A. Collier, Michael J. Chamberlain This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. …

📰Published📰To stay or to roam? Behavioral type influences trade-offs in male wild turkey survival 🦃

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