David Outomuro of University of Pittsburgh delves into the deceptive worlds of insect mimicry and explains why all may not be as it seems This blog is part of our colourful countdown to the holiday season where we’re celebrating the diversity and beauty of the natural world. Click here to read the rest of the colour countdown series Have you ever noticed that bumblebees usually … Continue reading Insect mimicry: more than meets the eye
Jodi Sedlock, photographer and researcher for our December cover story takes us behind her research and reminds us all that even when plans go out the window, there’s still a silver lining! About the paper The high-pitched buzz of katydid mating calls caught my attention while recording the cries of bats swooping and diving over rice paddies in the Philippines. While other researchers were tracking … Continue reading Can ultrasonic katydid choruses degrade foraging habitat for wild bats?
Vianney Denis, Associate Professor at National Taiwan University in Taiwan, discusses his recently accepted paper, “Trophic plasticity of mixtrophic corals under contrasting environments.” About the paper To be picky or to not be picky? That is an important question when it comes to corals’ diet. Our paper explored the trophic plasticity of important mixotrophs -organisms able to blend autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition- at the base … Continue reading Vianney Denis: Trophic plasticity of corals
Wen-Sung Chung of the University of Queensland takes us on a deep dive into the complex and contradictory world of cephalopod vision and colour use. How are colour-blind animals able to display such a flamboyant variety of colours? Read on to find out This blog is part of our colourful countdown to the holiday season where we’re celebrating the diversity and beauty of the natural … Continue reading Can cephalopods see what fishes see?
Ximena Cibils-Stewart recently submitted her doctoral dissertation at The Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, and is currently an adjunct scientist at the Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (http://www.inia.uy/en) in Uruguay. In her doctoral work her main focus was to evaluate how silicon-supplementation in combination with beneficial symbionts (i.e. endophytes) enhances grass resistance to insect pests. In this Behind the Paper, she talks about … Continue reading Silicon or symbionts? Grasses use both types of anti-herbivore defences
Trine Bilde, Professor of Evolutionary Biology in the Department of Biology at Aarhus University, discusses with us her recently accepted paper, “Behavioural and physiological responses to thermal stress in a social spider”. About the paper What’s your paper about? The study investigates behavioural and physiological adaptations to temperature stress in a desert living social spider, specifically behavioural changes in microhabitat use, and whether the wax … Continue reading Trine Bilde: Responses to thermal stress in a social spider
In our new post, Junwei Luan from International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan (China) presents his last work ‘’Litter decomposition affected by bamboo expansion is modulated by litter-mixing and microbial composition’, discusses about the effects of commercial plantations in ecosystems and shares his research career experiences. About the paper Our paper is about how a native woody grass (Moso bamboo, Phyllostachys edulis) expansion alters forest … Continue reading Junwei Luan: accounting for bamboo effects in soil nutrient cycling
Hello! I am so thrilled to be able to write this post and introduce myself to you all! Some of you have surely worked with me in the past several years as I have been a Senior Editor for the journal, Functional Ecology, for about four years now. I am sure I will be getting to know even more of you soon. I am excited … Continue reading We welcome our new Executive Editor, Lara Ferry
lizards use habitat in ways that match their clinging ability In this month’s cover image story we see that lizards vary in their ability to cling to different kinds of surfaces, and how this can lead to species sharing habitat. How can lizards stick to smooth surfaces? Have you ever seen a lizard run up a window and wondered how they do it? Geckos and … Continue reading Amber Wright: Sticky toes and grippy claws
It’s bat week this week, and we’re celebrating with a quiz all about our lovely winged relatives. Bats are some of the most fascinating and diverse groups of mammals, the only mammals to live on every continent on earth (except Antarctica) bats fly using wings that are highly adapted hands. Think you know all about our echolocating friends? Test your knowledge with this quiz then … Continue reading Bat Week Quiz
Functional Ecologists 