Behind the paper

Haldane Prize 2025 | Marion Boisseaux: Shifting trait coordination along a soil-moisture-nutrient gradient in tropical forests

2025 HALDANE PRIZE SHORTLIST: Marion Boisseaux, discusses her paper ‘Shifting trait coordination along a soil-moisture-nutrient gradient in tropical forests’, which has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology’s 2025 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. About the paper Within the framework of the niche theory, the environment acts as a filter, and selects for species in a local community. The concept of environmental filtering explains that not … Continue reading Haldane Prize 2025 | Marion Boisseaux: Shifting trait coordination along a soil-moisture-nutrient gradient in tropical forests

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Haldane Prize 2025 | Jiangnan Li: Linking rock outcrop size and distance to soil multifunctionality in mountain ecosystems

2025 HALDANE PRIZE SHORTLIST: Haldane Prize 2025 | Jiangnan Li discusses the paper “Linking rock outcrop size and distance to soil multifunctionality in mountain ecosystems“, which has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology’s 2025 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. About the Paper In our paper, we investigate how rock outcrop size and distance influence soil multifunctionality in mountain ecosystems. We aim to understand how these … Continue reading Haldane Prize 2025 | Jiangnan Li: Linking rock outcrop size and distance to soil multifunctionality in mountain ecosystems

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Haldane Prize 2025 | Lifeng Wang: Soil fauna trophic multifunctionality mediates the release of elements from decomposing typhoon-generated leaf litter

2024 HALDANE PRIZE SHORTLIST: Lifeng Wang discusses the paper “Soil fauna trophic multifunctionality mediates the release of elements from decomposing typhoon-generated leaf litter“, which has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology’s 2025 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers About the paper Typhoons cause large pulse fluxes of leaves that have not undergone senescence (i.e. green litter) to forest soils, with consequences for biogeochemical cycling. Elements released … Continue reading Haldane Prize 2025 | Lifeng Wang: Soil fauna trophic multifunctionality mediates the release of elements from decomposing typhoon-generated leaf litter

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Haldane Prize 2025 | Jiawei Zhang: Spatial distribution and driving factors of microbial necromass carbon in coastal wetlands of China

2025 HALDANE PRIZE SHORTLIST: Jiawei Zhang discusses the paper “Spatial distribution and driving factors of microbial necromass carbon in coastal wetlands of China“, which has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology’s 2025 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. About the Paper Our paper explores how microbial necromass carbon (MNC)—carbon derived from dead microorganisms—is distributed across China’s coastal wetlands and what drives its accumulation. Coastal wetlands are key … Continue reading Haldane Prize 2025 | Jiawei Zhang: Spatial distribution and driving factors of microbial necromass carbon in coastal wetlands of China

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Haldane Prize 2025 | June Shrestha: Marine protection and environmental forcing influence fish-derived nutrient cycling in kelp forests

2025 HALDANE PRIZE SHORTLIST: June Shrestha discusses her paper “Marine protection and environmental forcing influence fish-derived nutrient cycling in kelp forests“, which has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology’s 2025 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers About the Paper As a foundational species, kelp play an inordinately important role in providing habitat, food, and shelter for entire underwater communities. We often think of nutrient supply in kelp … Continue reading Haldane Prize 2025 | June Shrestha: Marine protection and environmental forcing influence fish-derived nutrient cycling in kelp forests

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Haldane Prize 2025 | Carolina Olguín-Jacobson: Recovery mode: Marine protected areas enhance resilience of invertebrate species from marine heatwave

2025 HALDANE PRIZE SHORTLIST: Carolina Olguín Jacobson discusses her paper “Recovery mode: Marine protected areas enhance resilience of invertebrate species from marine heatwaves”, which has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology’s 2025 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers About the paper Imagine your town was suddenly hit by an extreme heatwave, not for a few days, but for months or even years. And imagine you couldn’t … Continue reading Haldane Prize 2025 | Carolina Olguín-Jacobson: Recovery mode: Marine protected areas enhance resilience of invertebrate species from marine heatwave

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Behind the paper

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 Sudyka provides an explanation for the question: “why do birds cheat?”. Joanna explains the mating and parental behaviour in blue and great tits, building on decades of research in Poland’s Białowieża National Park. Joanna and team found that different paternal DNA in nestlings is the result of an evolutionary behaviour that can persist in both wilderness and … Continue reading Joanna Sudyka | Why do birds cheat?

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haldane prize

2025 Haldane Prize shortlist: Functional Ecology’s Award for Early Career Researchers

The Haldane Prize is awarded annually by the British Ecological Society for the best paper in Functional Ecology by an early career author. We are pleased to present the shortlisted papers for the 2025 award (published in Volume 39): ⭐️ Carolina Olguín-Jacobson: Recovery mode: Marine protected areas enhance climate resilience of invertebrate species to marine heatwaves ⭐️June Shrestha: Marine protection and environmental forcing influence fish-derived nutrient cycling in kelp forests ⭐️Jiawei Zhang: … Continue reading 2025 Haldane Prize shortlist: Functional Ecology’s Award for Early Career Researchers

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Behind the paper

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 Effects of Non-Glandular Trichomes and Leaf Chemistry in a Desert Plant‘, which was recently published in Functional Ecology. Rosemary discusses synergistic interactions between plant defence traits, the utility of a beard-trimmer in the field, and the joys of roller derby! … Continue reading Rosemary Glos | Trapped, Poked, and Poisoned: Evidence for Defence Synergisms in a Desert Plant 

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Behind the paper

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 relationship in butterfly communities“. Dusanka, a Research Associate at BioSense Institute, Serbia, examines what best explains variation in butterfly species richness across semi-natural grasslands: landscape structure, community trait composition, or their interaction. Dusanka focuses on whether landscapes shape not only how many … Continue reading Dusanka Vujanovic | Landscapes that choose their butterflies

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