Author: Functional Ecology

Black History Month

Nasiphi Bitani: The ecology behind saving birds

For Black History Month, the British Ecological Society (BES) journals are celebrating the work of Black ecologists from around the world and sharing their stories. The theme for UK Black History Month this year is Time for Change: Action Not Words. Nasiphi Bitani—a PhD researcher from the Centre for Functional Biodiversity, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa—shares her story below. How did you get into ecology? … Continue reading Nasiphi Bitani: The ecology behind saving birds

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Black History Month

Gideon Deme Gywa: The story of a black ecologist growing up in an environment with limited interest in ecology

For Black History Month, the British Ecological Society (BES) journals are celebrating the work of Black ecologists from around the world and sharing their stories. The theme for UK Black History Month this year is Time for Change: Action Not Words. Gideon Deme Gywa (PhD)—a Postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology at Case Western Reserve University, OH, USA—shares his story below. How did you … Continue reading Gideon Deme Gywa: The story of a black ecologist growing up in an environment with limited interest in ecology

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Black History Month

Diego Anjos: The journey of an early career researcher from the global south during the COVID-19 pandemic

For Black History Month, the British Ecological Society (BES) journals are celebrating the work of Black ecologists from around the world and sharing their stories. The theme for UK Black History Month this year is Time for Change: Action Not Words. Diego Anjos—a post-doc ecology researcher studying at Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Brazil—shares his story below. Since my last post during UK Black History Month … Continue reading Diego Anjos: The journey of an early career researcher from the global south during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Behind the paper

Robin Hare: Notes on a pollen-based sexual economy

In our latest blogpost, Dr. Robin Hare, Tutor at the University of Western Australia and Senior Biologist at Bennelongia Environmental Consultants, discusses with us his recently published paper in Functional Ecology: “Evolutionary divergence via sexual selection acting on females in a species with sex role reversal.” About the paper Our paper is about how ecology and evolution uniquely affect females in a species of bushcricket … Continue reading Robin Hare: Notes on a pollen-based sexual economy

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Behind the paper, Translation

Melissa León: Flores rojas de la Cuenca Mediterránea, estrategas del color.

En este post Melissa León, estudiante predoctoral en la Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla, presenta su artículo ‘Desvelando el misterio de las flores rojas de la cuenca mediterránea: ¿Cómo ser llamativas en un ecosistema donde predominan los himenópteros?’ Aquí nos muestra los distintos métodos de las plantas para atraer polinizadores, las implicaciones evolutivas de estos métodos, y su pasión por la ecología. Una versión … Continue reading Melissa León: Flores rojas de la Cuenca Mediterránea, estrategas del color.

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Behind the paper

Melissa León: Red flowers from the Mediterranean Basin, color strategists.

In the present blogpost Melissa León, PhD student at University Pablo Olavide in Spain, presents her research ‘Unravelling the mystery of red flowers in the Mediterranean Basin: How to be conspicuous in a place dominated by hymenopteran pollinators’. She shows the different methods plants use to attract pollinators, potential evolutionary implications of these methods, and her passion for ecological sciences. A Spanish version of this … Continue reading Melissa León: Red flowers from the Mediterranean Basin, color strategists.

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Behind the paper

María Natalia Lescano: The complex role of bottom-up cascading effects: Excess nutrients make aphids less attractive to mutualistic ants

In our latest post, María Natalia Lescano, researcher at CONICET and University of Comahue, discusses their paper ‘Excessive nutrient input induces an ecological cost for aphids by modifying their attractiveness towards mutualist ants’, whilst also showcasing their fantastic tri-trophic study system and discussing the importance of cascading effects in ecosystems. About the paper Ecological stoichiometry considers the balance of energy and elements on organisms and … Continue reading María Natalia Lescano: The complex role of bottom-up cascading effects: Excess nutrients make aphids less attractive to mutualistic ants

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Behind the paper

Natalie K. Rideout: Sifting through the wetland muck to examine links between habitat, disturbance and biodiversity

In our new post, Natalie Rideout from the Canadian River Institute at the University of New Brunswick, presents her MsC research in the paper ‘Environmental filtering of macroinvertebrate traits influences ecosystem functioning in a large river floodplain’. She highlights the importance of floodplains for ecological research, emphasises the need for teamwork to answer research questions, and shares her passion for the natural world. About the … Continue reading Natalie K. Rideout: Sifting through the wetland muck to examine links between habitat, disturbance and biodiversity

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Behind the paper, Translation

Las aves frugívoras ajustan su dieta para alcanzar sus objetivos nutricionales

En nuestra publicación más reciente, el Dr. Pedro Blendinger, profesor de la Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Argentina, analiza su artículo: “Equilibrio de nutrientes y efectividad en la adquisición de energía: ¿las aves ajustan la dieta de frutas para lograr los objetivos de consumo?“. Una versión en inglés de esta entrada de blog está disponible aquí. Acerca del artículo Este es un trabajo inspirado en la … Continue reading Las aves frugívoras ajustan su dieta para alcanzar sus objetivos nutricionales

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Behind the paper

Frugivorous birds adjust their diet to achieve their nutritional goals

In our latest post, Dr. Pedro Blendinger, a professor at the National University of Tucumán, Argentina, discusses their paper: “Nutrient balance and energy-acquisition effectiveness: do birds adjust fruit diet to achieve intake targets?”. A Spanish version of this blogpost is available here. About the paper This work was inspired by cross-collaboration between colleagues with whom we share a common interest in plant-animal interactions. Almost a … Continue reading Frugivorous birds adjust their diet to achieve their nutritional goals

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