Functional Ecology

Joanna Sudyka | Why do birds cheat? In this week’s blog post, we find out how relationship woes are abundant in the bird community! Through her paper: “Avian extra-pair paternity in the last European primeval forest”, author Joanna S…

👀Behind the Paper!👀

Author Joanna Sudyka answers the question: “Why do birds cheat?”🐦️

Joanna discusses the mating and parental behaviour in blue and great tits, collecting DNA high up in century-old oaks, and her advice for navigating a career in ecology🌳

Read it here👇️
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🚨We're excited to reveal the shortlist for Functional Ecology's 2025 Haldane Prize!🚨

🏅This is awarded to the best paper in the journal by an early career author

💡See the full list below

👉️https://buff.ly/Te56j18

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Extending plant water-use strategies to flowers: evidence from trait coordination across plant organs Dario C. Paiva, Adam B. Roddy This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Plants may look very different from each other, but ecologists have …

📰Published📰Extending plant water-use strategies to flowers: evidence from trait coordination across plant organs🌼

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We have a growing collection of resources for women in ecology that support, celebrate and advocate for women's roles in research and practice. 

Check our collection of resources here 👇
https://f.mtr.cool/gtwczvuefr

New paper in @funecology.bsky.social, where we show how local climate and genetic relatedness influence torpor physiology in a widespread #bat species, demonstrating that phenotypic plasticity drives intraspecific variation.

🔗 doi.org/10.1111/1365...

Nitrogen deposition does not exacerbate phosphorus limitation of rhizosphere microbes in subalpine forests Jipeng Wang, Min Li, Dungang Wang, Huangxin Zhang, Na Li, Huajun Yin This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. When extra nitrogen is added …

📰Published📰Nitrogen deposition does not exacerbate phosphorus limitation of rhizosphere microbes in subalpine forests🌲

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Seed dormancy explains plant response to mass mortality events David S. Mason, Abby K. Jones, Brandon T. Barton, Mike Proctor, Stephen L. Webb, Marcus A. Lashley This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here.…

📰Published📰Seed dormancy explains plant response to mass mortality events🌱

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What hotter fires mean for the seeds in the soil, a hidden diversity of plants Ruby Paroissien, Ryan Tangney, Catherine A. Offord, Mark Ooi This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Fires are changing. Climate change th…

📰Published📰What hotter fires mean for the seeds in the soil, a hidden diversity of plants🔥

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Trout that are more able to produce energy tend to be more dominant Darryl McLennan, Agnieszka Magierecka, Tom Sloan, Neal J. Dawson, Caroline Millet, Neil B. Metcalfe This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here…

📰Published📰Trout that are more able to produce energy tend to be more dominant🐟️

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🚨 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!

👉️ buff.ly/KxbZKMW

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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...