Functional Ecology

When one parent leaves: The consequences of mate desertion on offspring survival and physiology Valentina Alaasam, Alejandro Cantarero, Matteo Beccardi, Alejandro Corregidor-Castro, Manuel Fuertes-Recuero, Matteo Schiavinato, Lia Zampa, Alessandro Grapputo, Matteo Griggio, Jenny Q Ouyang, And…

📰Published📰When one parent leaves: The consequences of mate desertion on offspring survival and physiology🪺

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An evolutionary perspective on response and effect traits Maria Stefania Przybylska, Lucie Mahaut, Cyrille Violle, Denis Vile, François Munoz, JF Scheepens, Xavier Le Roux, Elena Kazakou, Moises Exposito-Alonso, Oliver Bossdorf, Detlef Weigel, François Va…

📰Published📰An evolutionary perspective on response and effect traits💡

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Adding beneficial root bacteria to densely planted maize fields improves soil health and boosts yields Ning Wang, Meng Hao, Rui Zhou, Bao-Zhong Wang, Peng-Yang Wang, Hong-Yan Tao, Ying Zhuc, Yan Hu, Hai-Ying Liu, Guang-Fu Huang, Fu-Yan Jiang, Qing-Yuan Huang, Xing-Ming Fan, You-Cai Xiong This is a p…

📰Published📰Adding beneficial root bacteria to densely planted maize fields improves soil health and boosts yields🦠

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My last work about immunity in the wild 🐸🔦⬇️

#lightpollution #ALAN #ecoimmunology

Mark Wong: Bonsaiing mangroves to uncover how traits shape – and flip – ant competition In this ‘Behind the Paper’ blog post, author Mark Wong, a Forrest Fellow at the University of Western Australia, discusses his new article  ‘Functional trait dissimilarity drives arbore…

👀Behind the Paper!👀

🔍Author @markklwong.bsky.social delves into the world of ant community assembly, and discusses overcoming unforeseen obstacles in the field and how his childhood interest has led to a career in insect ecology🐜

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Does nocturnal light pollution impair immune function in a wild-living amphibian? Louise Cheynel, Adeline Dumet, Emmanuelle Gilot-Fromont, Corinne Régis,Eve Ramery, Vanessa Gardette, Benjamin Rey, Thierry Lengagne, Nathalie Mondy This is a plain language summary of a Functional …

📰Published📰Does nocturnal light pollution impair immune function in a wild-living amphibian?🐸

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You may be able to publish your paper in Functional Ecology and our other open access journals at no cost!

Find out more about resources like funding, waivers and agreements – including our own BES waivers – that cover processing and publishing fees

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Scotland’s iconic Red deer threatened by invasive ‘super Sika’ Calum Brown and his team share their findings on managing native and non-native deer species in Scotland and discuss potential solutions. Scotland’s deer numbers are thought to be at an all-time hi…

Learn more about the need for effective management of native and non-native deer species in Scotland in our latest blogpost 🦌🌲

Quarries and garbage dumps inside the Galapagos National Park: How can we restore them? Velasco et al. share their experience assessing the survival of plant species in the Galapagos to inform decision-making amongst stakeholders. When you think of the Galapagos Islands, what comes to…

Check out our latest blogpost where ecologists explored how to restore degraded sites within the Galapagos National Park 🌱🌍🧪

Amy Kirkham: Hormones reflect the impacts of reproductive rest on subsequent pregnancy in a marine predator In this ‘Behind the Paper’ blog post, we’re doing things the Weddell seal way! In her recently published paper: “Hormones reflect the impacts of reproductive rest on subsequ…

👀 Find out more about the research behind this cover in author Amy Kirkham's blog post! Amy discusses optimal birth timings in Weddell seals, shares seal ultrasounds, and stresses the importance of taking good notes!🗒️

Read it here👇
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❄️December issue out now!❄️

📙On the cover: A female Weddell seal rests on the sea ice. Since she skipped having a pup this year, she doesn’t have to expend energy caring for offspring - leaving her with more time to enjoy a nice snow pillow! Credit: Amy Kirkham🦭

Read it here👇
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Why are tropical rain forests so diverse? A hypothesis based on interactions between plants and soils Kanehiro Kitayama, Ryoto Aoyagi, Shin-ichiro Aiba, Rota Wagai, Benjamin L. Turner This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Tropical rain fo…

📰Published📰Why are tropical rainforests so diverse? A hypothesis based on interactions between plants and soils🌱

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Intraspecific plant chemodiversity at plot level has contrasting effects on arthropod functional groups Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

I received a reminder today that our manipulative Tansy plot-level chemodiversity field study has been published in the latest @funecology.bsky.social issue. I already shared Lina's work here before, but a bit of extra attention for her efforts does not hurt:
doi.org/10.1111/1365...

We have a new article type!! 🚨 🌍 🧪

Workflow articles will describe the design testing, and analysis of the performance of complex workflows.

Find our more about workflow articles in our new blog post and in our authors guidelines.

Blog post 👉 buff.ly/R7vcuqT
Author guidelines 👉 buff.ly/VUfAt3x

More conservative water use in mixed forests: Driven by deeper water acquisition and stricter stomatal regulation Xiaofei Wu, Xiaoying Yan, Xinmei Liu, Tianqi Guo, Chenyi Ju, Mingbin Huang This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. In dry regions like the…

📰Published📰 More conservative water use in mixed forests: Driven by deeper water acquisition and stricter stomatal regulation🌳

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Cuticular hydrocarbons and collective response to water stress in a desert ant Florian Menzel, Katherine Fiocca, Erik B. Steiner, Deborah M. Gordon This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Drought conditions are intens…

📰Published📰Cuticular hydrocarbons and collective response to water stress in a desert ant🐜

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Lithology modulates soil priming effects via resource limitations and microbial network complexity Xinyu Hou, Peilei Hu, Juan Li, Kelin Wang, Wei Zhang This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Soil priming effect (PE) is a process where r…

📰Published📰Lithology modulates soil priming effects via resource limitations and microbial network complexity🦠

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Dana Liebke | How spiders respond to changes in the agricultural landscape In this week’s ‘Behind the Paper’ blog post, we’re making a web to catch some knowledge on spiders and their habitats. From their new paper “Landscape diversity can pr…

👀Behind the Paper!👀

🚜Author Dana Liebke uncovers how spiders respond to changes in the agricultural landscapes and shares the planning, pitfall traps and spider identification skills behind the research🕷️

Read it here👇
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AER Live – DIY sensors for high-resolution microclimate monitoring Small-scale environmental conditions have great influence on species responses to global change. Therefore, measuring microclimate is an important challenge, not only in ecology. Most sensors are…

Watch our recent AER Live 'DIY sensors for high-resolution microclimate monitoring: Lessons learnt and future perspectives' 🌱

🎥: buff.ly/XwtD030

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Black T-shirt featuring a collage with a cheetah, toucan, whale, butterfly, and text "British Ecological Society." Background has lightning.

Person smiling by a serene lake with snow-capped mountains and jagged peaks in the background, wearing a "British Ecological Society" t-shirt.

Person in a black "British Ecological Society" shirt stands with arms raised, facing Torres del Paine's snowy peaks and a clear lake.

Cop our new drop 👀

The officially unofficial new BES tshirt is here 🔥

Perfect for #BES2025 or for casual hikes up the Torres del Paine National Park, as modelled here by our CEO Hazel!

Get yours today ⬇️
https://f.mtr.cool/xvdaljqzrd

Long tails compromise flight performance, yet enlarged brains may improve survival in birds Yizhou Zhang, Lin He, Yongfang Yao, Huailiang Xu, Yanzhu Ji, Fumin Lei, Liqing Fan, Ying Xiong This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Elo…

📰Published📰Long tails compromise flight performance, yet enlarged brains may improve survival in birds🐦

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Trait variation and plant performance: interactive effects of diversity and spatial patterning of plants across environmental conditions Shekhar R Biswas, Jialin Li, Ziqing Zhuo, Ke Wang, En-Rong Yan This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. The diversity and spatial arrangeme…

📰Published📰Trait variation and plant performance: interactive effects of diversity and spatial patterning of plants across environmental conditions🌱

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Renewal buds of herbs: What do they tell us about plant spring growth? Renáta Schnablová, Tereza Mašková, Tomáš Koubek, Alena Bartušková, Petr Šmarda, Jitka Klimešová, Tomáš Herben This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be …

📰Published📰Renewal buds of herbs: What do they tell us about plant spring growth?🌼

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Contrasting effects of deadwood and gaps on the trophic structure of forest soil microarthropods Yan Zhang, André Junggebauer, Melanie M. Pollierer, Stefan Scheu, Zheng Zhou This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Forests are full of l…

📰Published📰Contrasting effects of deadwood and gaps on the trophic structure of forest soil microarthropods🪵

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Cover Stories: Dr. Russell Bonduriansky In this week’s blog post, Dr. Russell Bonduriansky, professor at University of New South Wales, discusses the story behind the cover for 2016’s Volume 30, Issue 10 of Functional Ecology. Russ…

📖Cover Stories!📖

📙Dr. Russell Bonduriansky discusses the story behind the cover of Volume 30, Issue 10, published in 2016!

📸Russell shares his memories of capturing neriid flies in combat and how, thanks to a chance encounter on a walk with his son, he came to study them🪰

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High-quality litter drives stronger home-field advantage of leaf decomposition in young plantations Dandan Hu, Guojie Zhu, Panpan Wu, Shudong Zhang, Dongliang Cheng This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. When leaves fall to the ground, t…

📰Published📰High-quality litter drives stronger home-field advantage of leaf decomposition in young plantations🍃

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Herbivore species and patch heterogeneity modulate grazing-induced shifts in soil nematode trophic structure and energy flux Quanhui Ma, Yao Wang, G. F. (Ciska) Veen, Ting Liu, Xue Qing, Yonghuan Yue, Haoran Yu, Deli Wang, Wenjia Wu, Jingjing Yang, Dima Chen, Yu Zhu, Ling Wang This is a plain language summary of a Functi…

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Herbivore species and patch heterogeneity modulate grazing-induced shifts in soil nematode trophic structure and energy flux🌱

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High nitrogen enrichment buffers plant photosynthesis against herbivory damage Yongqiang Zhang, Dashuan Tian, Pengyu Li, Jiawen Li, Tingting Li, Shuli Niu, Tingfa Dong This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Nitrogen …

📰Published📰High nitrogen enrichment buffers plant photosynthesis against herbivory damage🌱

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Lianas and Trees Exhibit Distinct Hydraulic and Functional Traits in a Subtropical Forest Xiaoyu Liu, Pengfei Liao, Xia Li, Zhiqi Hou, Zacchaeus G. Compson, Qingni Song, Fenggang Luan, Xiong Fang, Dongmei Huang, Qingpei Yang, Jun Liu This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecol…

📰Published📰Lianas and trees exhibit distinct hydraulic and functional traits in a subtropical forest🌳

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Team-paper out!
G. Gea led this multidisciplinary study on 2 Mediterranean pines in drought-driven decline. Despite long-term stress, trees still activate strong metabolic defenses under hotter drought. @dendroecologist.bsky.social et al.
@funecology.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/fune...