Author: Functional Ecology

haldane prize

Samantha Bock: A long-standing evolutionary mystery: Why does temperature determine sex in long-lived reptiles?

In this blog post, Samantha Bock, a post-doctoral researcher, discusses her study “Differential early-life survival underlies the adaptive significance of temperature-dependent sex determination in a long-lived reptile“, which has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology’s 2023 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. About the paper: The temperature an animal experiences during development can determine whether it becomes female or male in many reptiles and some fishes. … Continue reading Samantha Bock: A long-standing evolutionary mystery: Why does temperature determine sex in long-lived reptiles?

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haldane prize

Lina Aoyama: Root diversity in grasslands buffers biomass production under drought

In this post, Lina Aoyama, a PhD student at the University of Oregon, discusses their research “Functional diversity buffers biomass production across variable rainfall conditions through different processes above- versus below-ground“, which has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology’s 2023 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. About the paper Water is a strong driver of plant productivity, and which plant species are there and how many … Continue reading Lina Aoyama: Root diversity in grasslands buffers biomass production under drought

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Behind the paper

Guangqi Zhang: A whole-tree perspective on the role of non-structural carbohydrates in resource allocation trade-offs along the tree economics spectrum 

In our latest blog post, Guangqi Zhang, postdoc at INRAE (France), presents his paper “Not all sweetness and light: non-structural carbohydrate storage capacity in tree stems is decoupled from leaf but not root economics”. He discusses the importance of considering multiple traits, shares his happiness for the publication of his research, and encourages ecologists to keep moving with eastern philosophy.  About the paper  Plant functional … Continue reading Guangqi Zhang: A whole-tree perspective on the role of non-structural carbohydrates in resource allocation trade-offs along the tree economics spectrum 

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haldane prize

2023 Haldane Prize Shortlist: Functional Ecology’s Award for Early Career Researchers

The Haldane Prize is awarded by the British Ecological Society each year for the best paper in Functional Ecology written by an early career author. With entries spanning the 37th volume of the journal, our Senior Editors carefully shortlisted the following 12 papers: Lina Aoyama Functional diversity buffers biomass production across variable rainfall conditions through different processes above- versus below-ground Lina found that although biomass was largely … Continue reading 2023 Haldane Prize Shortlist: Functional Ecology’s Award for Early Career Researchers

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International Women's Day

Functional Ecology: International Women’s Day 2024 

To celebrate International Women’s Day 2024, we are excited to share a collection of blog posts showcasing the work of some of our new Associate Editors. In each post, our editors discuss their experiences in ecology, as well as what this year’s theme, ‘Inspire Inclusion‘, means to them.  Dr Iveren Abiem  What work do you do?  I am a lecturer at the University of Jos, … Continue reading Functional Ecology: International Women’s Day 2024 

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Behind the paper

Guoming Qin: Unlocking the Secrets of Soil Carbon Storage in Mangrove Ecosystems 

In this post, Guoming Qin—a postdoc at the South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences—share his recently published paper: “Contributions of Plant- and Microbial-Derived Residues to Mangrove Soil Carbon Stocks: Implications for Blue Carbon Sequestration”. He underscores the importance of this research in advancing our understanding of carbon accumulation in mangrove ecosystems, shares his initial experiences with mangrove sampling, and expresses gratitude to his … Continue reading Guoming Qin: Unlocking the Secrets of Soil Carbon Storage in Mangrove Ecosystems 

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Behind the paper

Ximena Cibils-Stewart: Silicon and endophyte defences in tall fescue reduce feeding and weaken immunity of an insect herbivore.

Ximena Cibils-Stewart completed her doctoral dissertation at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, and works as an adjunct scientist at the Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria in Uruguay. During her doctoral research, her primary focus revolved around assessing the impact of silicon supplementation coupled with beneficial symbionts, such as endophytes, on bolstering grass resistance against insect pests. In this blog post, she … Continue reading Ximena Cibils-Stewart: Silicon and endophyte defences in tall fescue reduce feeding and weaken immunity of an insect herbivore.

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Behind the paper

Myrsky Eero: The warming arctic, herbivore outbreaks and the importance of long-term field studies

In our latest post, Myrsky Eero, a PhD student at the University of Helsinki, presents his work ‘Higher vascular plant abundance associated with decreased ecosystem respiration after 20 years of warming in the forest-tundra -ecotone’. He discusses the importance of long term research, presents the complex trade-offs happening in ecology and shares his passion for cold places. About the Paper The Arctic is warming as … Continue reading Myrsky Eero: The warming arctic, herbivore outbreaks and the importance of long-term field studies

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special feature

Call for Proposals: Cross Journal Special Feature on “Large Scale, Open Data, and a Big Tent: Leveraging collaboration, transparency, and inclusion to advance macrosystems biology”

Functional Ecology, Journal of Animal Ecology, Journal of Ecology, Methods in Ecology and Evolution and People and Nature are seeking proposals for a cross-journal Special Feature on “Large Scale, Open Data, and a Big Tent: Leveraging collaboration, transparency, and inclusion to advance macrosystems biology”  Edited by: Daniel C Allen, Alejandro Cueva, Xiaonan Tai, Matt Heard, Kai Zhu and Brenden McNeil.  The field of macrosystems biology … Continue reading Call for Proposals: Cross Journal Special Feature on “Large Scale, Open Data, and a Big Tent: Leveraging collaboration, transparency, and inclusion to advance macrosystems biology”

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Postcards From The Field

Clara Castellano—Understanding the Impact of Rural Abandonment on Ecological Processes in Mediterranean Ecosystems

In this blog post, Clara Castellano—from the Department of Agrarian and Environmental Science at the University of Zaragoza, Huesca, Spain—discusses working on the ARBIO Project in the Middle Ebro River Valley, the joys of fieldwork, and what the future holds. Profile I’m interested in ecology in general, and specifically in nature conservation and ecological restoration. Throughout my scientific career, I have studied ecosystem services (i.e., … Continue reading Clara Castellano—Understanding the Impact of Rural Abandonment on Ecological Processes in Mediterranean Ecosystems

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