Author: Functional Ecology

Author Xibin Sun, PhD Candidate, Sun Yat-sen University
Behind the paper

Xibin Sun: Divergent responses of symbiotic and asymbiotic N2 fixation to seawater additions

In this post Xibin Sun, phd candidate at Sun Yat-sen University, shares the insights of his paper ‘Divergent responses of symbiotic and asymbiotic N2 fixation to seawater additions’, presents his future research plans and shows his love for their study site landscapes.    What’s your paper about? This paper reports responses of symbiotic N2 fixation (SNF) and asymbiotic N2 fixation (ANF) to seawater additions. We … Continue reading Xibin Sun: Divergent responses of symbiotic and asymbiotic N2 fixation to seawater additions

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Vincent Pan sticking more seeds to more things. Photo by Eric LoPresti.
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Vincent Pan: Why are some seeds sticky?

In our latest post from Vincent Pan of Oklahoma State University explored the sticky world of seed mucilage and how it impacts granivory. About the paper Our whole journey down the seed mucilage rabbit hole was started when one summer Eric LoPresti, upon reading Fuller & Hay’s (1983) natural history note on sand coated Salvia columbariae seeds, got his mind blown. It happened that there … Continue reading Vincent Pan: Why are some seeds sticky?

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Anushika with her daughter in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, NSW, Australia
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Anushika Herath: Animal personality drives individual dietary specialisation across multiple dimensions in a mammalian herbivore

In this new post, Anushika. P.H.M. Herath, a post-doctoral research associate from The University of Sydney presents her work on the influence of animal personality of individual diet specialisation and the describes her experience working with Australian native fauna. About the paper Within a species, individuals vary in numerous traits including their sex, personality, and physiology. These traits affect how individuals interact with the environment … Continue reading Anushika Herath: Animal personality drives individual dietary specialisation across multiple dimensions in a mammalian herbivore

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Félicie Dhellemmes floating in a shark bucket holding the last datasheet for the year
Behind the paper

Félicie Dhellemmes: Bridging the gap between animal personality and individual foraging specialisation

In this month’s cover image story, we delve into the lives of juvenile lemon sharks in Bimini Research Station with Félicie Dhellemmes and learn about the complexity of animal personality and behaviour The concepts of animal personality and individual foraging specialisation describe two seemingly related phenomenon: The fact that individuals within populations consistently differ in their behaviour (for the former) and in their foraging habits … Continue reading Félicie Dhellemmes: Bridging the gap between animal personality and individual foraging specialisation

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Bálint Üveges
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Bálint Üveges: Toad poison is a Swiss army knife against multiple enemies

In this post Bàlint Uvëges, postdoc at Bangor University, present his latest work ‘Chemical defence effective against multiple enemies: Does the response to conspecifics alleviate the response to predators?’, discuss the multiple ways animals have to avoid predation and shares his passion for venomous creatures. About the paper Predation is commonplace in nature, so prey animals need to continuously survey their environment and respond to … Continue reading Bálint Üveges: Toad poison is a Swiss army knife against multiple enemies

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Margaux Didion-Gency at the Lago di Nambino, Italy.
Behind the paper

Margaux Didion-Gency: Interactive effects of tree species mixture and climate on foliar and woody trait variation in a widely distributed deciduous tree.

Margaux Didion-Gency, Ph.D. at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) of Birmensdorf (Switzerland), presents her first published paper and discusses the importance of tree species interactions in the context of climate change. About the paper This study was motivated by previous research that reported the positive effect of species richness on grassland resistance to extreme events. However, we noticed that … Continue reading Margaux Didion-Gency: Interactive effects of tree species mixture and climate on foliar and woody trait variation in a widely distributed deciduous tree.

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Behind the paper

Dustin Marshall: Mother-offspring conflicts: Temperature can change selection on offspring size

Professor Dustin Marshall, Australian Research Council Fellow and the Head of the Marine Evolutionary Ecology Research Group / Centre for Geometric Biology at Monash University, discusses with us his recently accepted paper “Temperature-mediated variation in selection on offspring size: a multi-cohort field study.” What is the background to your paper? We know offspring size varies enormously and understanding this variation is a long-standing goal of … Continue reading Dustin Marshall: Mother-offspring conflicts: Temperature can change selection on offspring size

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Libor Zàvorka with a male adult Atlantic salmon during milt and eggs collection.
Behind the paper

Libor Zàvorka: warming shrinks juvenile Atlantic salmon by decreasing their fatty acids

In this blog, postdoc Libor Zàvorka from Inter-University Centre for Aquatic Ecosystem Research (Lunz) discuss his research on climate change effects on salmon diet, shows the relevance of physiological changes in ecosystems and presents his long record as fish catcher.  About the paper The big question: how does variability in content of essential fatty acids in natural prey drive development and evolution of brain and … Continue reading Libor Zàvorka: warming shrinks juvenile Atlantic salmon by decreasing their fatty acids

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Behind the paper

Natalie Oram: how prepared are legumes for climate change?

In our latest post, Natalie Oram recalls her work at the Wageningen University ‘Plant traits of grass and legume species for flood resilience and N2O mitigation’, highlights the importance of diverse plant strategies to cope with flood and suggests there is a limit for how much ABBA a person can listen to. It’s raining, it’s pouring Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of … Continue reading Natalie Oram: how prepared are legumes for climate change?

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Ellen Chenoweth uses a prey mapping robot to measure the distribution of hatchery salmon after a release at Hidden Falls Hatchery in Alaska.
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Ellen Chenoweth: salmon hatcheries are not the best buffet for Baleen whales

In our latest post, Ellen Chenoweth from University of Alaska Fairbanks introduces her work ‘Confronting assumptions about prey selection by lunge-feeding whales using a process-based model’, discusses how the apparently easiest foraging strategy is not always the optimal and presents the diverse set of project she and her colleagues are currently running. About the Research Baleen whales are generalist and innovative predators. They grow to … Continue reading Ellen Chenoweth: salmon hatcheries are not the best buffet for Baleen whales

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