Functional Ecology

🤝Meet the Editor: Blog post out now!

🏵️🕒Associate Editor Robert Rauschkolb delves into his #research, shares how he finds the #editor role with Functional Ecology and shares the advancements in #research and #ecology he hopes to see💡

@rrauschkolb.bsky.social

Read it here👇
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How Hidden Genetic Traits Influence Plant Survival in Real-World Grasslands Chongyi Jiang, Christiane Roscher, Maximilian Broecher, Anne Ebeling, Jochen B.W. Wolf, Holger Schielzeth This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be foun…

📰Published📰How Hidden Genetic Traits Influence Plant Survival in Real-World Grasslands🧬

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In this SF, published across the @animalecology.bsky.social, @journalofecology.bsky.social y.social and @funecology.bsky.social we present a collection of 13 studies that address some of the most pressing knowledge gaps in MHW ecology. 🌊🔥👇

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1...

Our study made the cover! 😁
Proud to see our work featured on the latest issue of @funecology.bsky.social - Special Issue on Marine Heatwaves.
Check out our study here:
dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365...

An army beneath the roots: how native diversity, nutrients, and invader density shape microbial defenses against plant invasion Haokun Li, Yizhuo Deng, Shuwei Zhang, Jeremy Greenberg, Danli Chen, Xiulin Song, Xinze Geng, Yanhui Zhuge, Chongwei Li, Guangyan Ni, Yuping Hou This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecol…

📰Published📰 An army beneath the roots: how native diversity, nutrients, and invader density shape microbial defenses against plant invasion🌱

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🔎 We are looking for new associate editors to join our Biological Flora team!
🌱 Do you have expert, comparative knowledge of one or more aspects of diverse species of vascular plants?
📑 Can you provide detailed & authoritative reviews of submissions?
👉 More info: buff.ly/ulefHX6

Uneven seasons, Unequal effects: Differential Responses of Plant Functional Groups to Seasonal Climate Warming Huanhuan Song, Yanli Feng, Zhenhua Zhang, Jin-Sheng He This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Climate warming is affecting ecosystem stru…

📰Published📰Uneven seasons, Unequal effects: Differential Responses of Plant Functional Groups to Seasonal Climate Warming🌡️

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🌡️This issue features articles in the cross journal 'Marine Heatwaves' Special Feature, all of which can be found here:

👉 buff.ly/qXHEMjS

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☀️August Issue Out Now!☀️

📙South-west Finnish Archipelago, the study site in the article ‘Marine heatwaves amplify benthic community metabolism and solute flux in a seafloor heating experiment’, which features in this issue. Credit: Alf Norkko🌊

💡Read it here:
👉 buff.ly/JTXdj1C

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Surviving in a Vertical World: Trait Trade-offs Shape Moss and Liverwort Communities in a Tropical Montane Cloud Forest Daniel B.L. Tucker, Sybil G Gotsch, Damon Vaughan, Robbert Gradstein, Luisa Moreno, Nancy Shackelford, Brian M Starzomski This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article w…

📰Published📰Surviving in a Vertical World: Trait Trade-offs Shape Moss and Liverwort Communities in a Tropical Montane Cloud Forest🌳

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Tree species vary predictably in when they drop their lower branches Shan Kothari, Jon Urgoiti, Christian Messier, William S. Keeton, Alain Paquette This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Trees can take on …

📰Published📰Tree species vary predictably in when they drop their lower branches🌳

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Desert Shrubs and Their Underground Partners React Very Differently to Warming Ting Xie, Puchao Jia, Yuwei Lin, Xinrong Li This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Imagine tiny fungi living in the soil, partnering with…

📰Published📰Desert Shrubs and Their Underground Partners React Very Differently to Warming 🏜️

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Want to help make a difference to ecological policy & trigger real-world impact?🌏🧪

We're looking for individuals & groups to join our first ever Policy Lab with the aim of answering this crucial question👇

💭What is irreplaceable habitat?💭

More info:

🎯 The aim is to examine state-of-the-art developments in network ecology in order to understand, manage and predict the impacts of human activity on species-interactions at a range of scales and across biomes.
⏲️ Submit your proposals by 28 September here: buff.ly/948l3Uh

🐝 Our latest Special Feature, "Network Ecology in the Anthropocene", is now accepting proposals.
📝 The Special Feature will be accepting submissions to all 7 of our British Ecological Society journals.

I'm so excited to share my master's research! Do pollinators change their foraging behavior depending on floral and ambient temperatures? Do flowers that thermoregulate experience higher rates of pollinator visitation? Check it out below! 🏵️

Jen’s awesome thesis work on flower temperature and pollination out in @funecology.bsky.social !! @omgitsmejenny.bsky.social

Loss of dominant tree‐mycorrhizal mutualism increases soil fungal diversity and alters community structure Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

We're happy to share a new publication led by Lindsay McCulloch and co-authors (including former BRF staff!) in @funecology.bsky.social on the potential for canopy tree 🌳 mortality to affect soil fungal 🍄 diversity. To learn more, read here: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

From pairwise interactions to community structure: A trait‐based approach to inferring assembly mechanisms across spatial scales Click on the article title to read more.

An invited commentary I wrote for @funecology.bsky.social on a new study using using spatial patterns, traits, environmental preferences, and colonization dynamics to better understand how ecological communities form and respond to change.
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besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Methods in Ecology and Evolution | Dr René Steinmann : Decoding the footsteps of the African savanna Methods in Ecology and Evolution author René Steinmann chats to Harriet about his research article 'Decoding the footsteps of the African savanna: Classifying wildlife using seismic signals and machin

Go check out our latest podcast! 🎧

We chat to Dr. René Steinmann about his recently published article 'Decoding the footsteps of the African savanna: Classifying wildlife using seismic signals and machine learning' 👣 🦒

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Bacteria and fungi grow on necromass regardless of isolation habitat, but are limited by distinct cell wall polymers Achala Narayanan, François Maillard, Briana H. Beatty, Jessica K. Novak, Jeffrey G. Gardner, Jonathan S. Schilling, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Peter G. Kennedy This is a plain language summary of a Funct…

📰Published📰 Bacteria and fungi grow on necromass regardless of isolation habitat, but are limited by distinct cell wall polymers🦠

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Loss of dominant tree-mycorrhizal mutualism increases soil fungal diversity and alters community structure Lindsay A. McCulloch, Carina Berlingeri, Nikhil Chari, Lauren Church, Cecilia M. Prada, William Schuster, Katherine P. Terlizzi, Benton N. Taylor This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ec…

📰Published📰 Loss of dominant tree-mycorrhizal mutualism increases soil fungal diversity and alters community structure🌳

buff.ly/cWu3YYw

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Jennifer Apland: does flower temperature affect pollinator behaviour? In this week’s blog post, we learn what’s the buzz about pollinators and their affinity to heat. Through her recently published paper: “Isolating the effects of floral temperature on visitation and…

💡Find out more about this article in this 'Behind the Paper' blog post, written by author Jennifer Apland!

👉https://buff.ly/FTLlHAi

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Modifying floral infrared reflectance reveals how flower temperature impacts pollinator visitation Jennifer S. Apland, Matthew H. Koski. This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology article which can be found here. The sun emits a wide spectrum of light that plants can use to warm up…

📰Published📰 Modifying floral infrared reflectance reveals how flower temperature impacts pollinator visitation🌼

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We are doing a Hackathon! 💻 Together with senior editor @nhcooper123.bsky.social , we'll be discussing and testing a protocol to check whether published data/code is actually reproducible... (1/2)

🍄The Functional traits in primary producers: recent advances and future directions special feature is open for proposals!

🌲The issue will look at approaches in understanding, measuring and predicting traits, and scaling from traits to ecosystem processes buff.ly/VISbRhs%F0%9...

New #zoogeochemistry paper!

We know herbivores shape ecosystems through diet. But what about trampling? We disentangle how moose trampling affects soil environment, microbes, and N cycling in forest vs. heath ecosystems.

Come for the moose trails, stay for the non-trophic animal-ecosystem SEMs🤘

Soil and microbial responses to wild ungulate trampling depend more on ecosystem type than trampling severity G. Adam Meyer, Shawn J. Leroux, Kathryn E. Hargan, Niels van Miltenburg This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Physical trampling is a ub…

📰Published📰 Soil and microbial responses to wild ungulate trampling depend more on ecosystem type than trampling severity🫎

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Senior Editor for Journal of Applied Ecology - British Ecological Society Join the editorial board on Journal of Applied Ecology! Apply by 07 Sep 2025.

We're seeking a new Senior Editor! ⏰

Are you...
👉intrigued by the interface between ecology & biological resource management? 🌎
👉a clear communicator who enjoys working as part of a team? 💬
👉committed to maintaining high editorial standards? 🧪

More info 👇
bit.ly/4lPzaIx

Grassland soils under pressure: How do changing rainfall patterns and nitrogen addition affect soil carbon release? Tianhang Zhao, Xu Yang, Rui He, Baoku Shi, Weifeng Gao, Jianying Ma, Wei Sun This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Soil is alive with mi…

📰Published📰Grassland soils under pressure: How do changing rainfall patterns and nitrogen addition affect soil carbon release? 🌧️

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