Category: Behind the paper

Behind the paper, haldane prize

Laura Bellec: Inside the feeding behavior of a pollinivore

In this new post, Laura Bellec—a new ecological researcher working at the Univ Rennes 1, Rennes, France—discusses her paper: Factors driving the within-plant patterns of resource exploitation in a herbivore—recently shortlisted for the 2022 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. About the paper Animals need to find food to survive and grow; however, searching for food is energetically expensive. Thus, animals have evolved strategies that … Continue reading Laura Bellec: Inside the feeding behavior of a pollinivore

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Behind the paper, haldane prize

Hugo Sentenac: Biofilms, an underrated yet important way of life

In this new post, Hugo Sentenac, a PhD student at Labaoratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (LEFE), Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, France, discusses his review paper: The significance of biofilms to human, animal, plant and ecosystem health—recently shortlisted for the 2022 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. About the paper Microbes are everywhere: in soil, on rocks, in—and on—us, animals, plants, etc. All this is … Continue reading Hugo Sentenac: Biofilms, an underrated yet important way of life

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Behind the paper, haldane prize

David Villalobos Chaves: Foraging for efficiency—morphological traits provide support for variations in performance of the feeding apparatus in coexisting Neotropical bats

In this new post, David Villalobos Chaves, a PhD student at Department of Biology and Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA, discusses his paper: Craniodental traits predict feeding performance and dietary hardness in a community of Neotropical free-tailed bats (Chiroptera: Molossidae)—recently shortlisted for the 2022 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. About the paper Our research adds support … Continue reading David Villalobos Chaves: Foraging for efficiency—morphological traits provide support for variations in performance of the feeding apparatus in coexisting Neotropical bats

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Behind the paper, haldane prize

Kimberley Lemmen: Surprise! Rapid heritable adaptation can occur without initial standing genetic variation

In this new post, Kimberley Lemmen—a post-doc working at the University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland—discusses her paper: Experimental evidence of rapid heritable adaptation in the absence of initial standing genetic variation—recently shortlisted for the 2022 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. About the paper Environmental change presents a fundamental challenge to populations because the traits that previously allowed individuals to grow, survive, and reproduce may … Continue reading Kimberley Lemmen: Surprise! Rapid heritable adaptation can occur without initial standing genetic variation

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Behind the paper, haldane prize

Joshua Brian: Parasites flex their mussels to influence ecosystem function

In this new post, Joshua Brian, a new ecological researcher working at King’s College London,  UK, discusses his paper: Parasitism dramatically alters the ecosystem services provided by freshwater mussels—recently shortlisted for the 2022 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. About the paper There is increasing awareness of the importance of parasites in ecosystem structure and function. However, there has been very little work done actually … Continue reading Joshua Brian: Parasites flex their mussels to influence ecosystem function

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Behind the paper, haldane prize, Haldane Prize Winner

Aya Permin: Bryophyte-associated nitrogen fixation in a tropical mountain cloud forest—rates and responses to climate change

In this new post, Aya Permin, a new ecological researcher at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, discusses her paper—High nitrogen-fixing rates associated with ground-covering mosses in a tropical mountain cloud forest will decrease drastically in a future climate—which has won the 2022 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers! About the paper Bryophytes (mosses, hornworts, and liverworts) are known to host nitrogen (N2)-fixing bacteria. These bacteria … Continue reading Aya Permin: Bryophyte-associated nitrogen fixation in a tropical mountain cloud forest—rates and responses to climate change

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Behind the paper, haldane prize

Alice Walker: Indirect control of decomposition by an invertebrate predator

In this new post, Alice Walker, a new ecological researcher at the School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK, discusses her paper: Indirect control of decomposition by an invertebrate predator—recently shortlisted for the 2022 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. About the paper Most people have probably heard of vicious the “battles” that go on between ants and termites, thanks to the 1998 DreamWorks … Continue reading Alice Walker: Indirect control of decomposition by an invertebrate predator

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Behind the paper

Matthew Gilbert: Flowers of a South African succulent plant predict tomorrow’s weather, synchronizing flower opening with pollinator activity

In this new post Matthew Gilbert—Associate Professor at University of California, Davis, CA, USA—presents his recently published paper “Flowers of a South African succulent plant predict tomorrow’s weather, synchronizing flower opening with pollinator activity“. He discusses the connection between phenology and weather, shows how inspiration can come from anywhere, and highlights the importance of observing nature to find interesting research questions. About the paper It’s … Continue reading Matthew Gilbert: Flowers of a South African succulent plant predict tomorrow’s weather, synchronizing flower opening with pollinator activity

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Behind the paper, Podcast transcripts

Flower patterns improve foraging efficiency in bumblebees by guiding approach flight and landing: Podcast Transcript

In this podcast for Functional Ecology, Assistant Editor, Frank Harris, sits down with Anna Stöckl—a Group Leader at Konstanz University, Germany—to discuss her recently published paper ‘Flower patterns improve foraging efficiency in bumblebees by guiding approach flight and landing’. Anna’s paper shows that flower patterns reduced flower handling time by up to 30%, without a reduction in nectar discovery time. Instead, the patterns were involved … Continue reading Flower patterns improve foraging efficiency in bumblebees by guiding approach flight and landing: Podcast Transcript

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Behind the paper

Hana Skálová: Cations make a difference: Soil nutrient patches and fine-scale root abundance of individual species in a mountain grassland

Alt: Stable nutrient patches in the field seem attractive for plant roots In this new post Hana Skálová, from the Institute of Botany in Průhonice (Czech Republic), presents her recently published article “Cations make a difference: Soil nutrient patches and fine-scale root abundance of individual species in a mountain grassland.” She discusses the importance of overlooked nutrients on plant roots, highlights how new technology enables … Continue reading Hana Skálová: Cations make a difference: Soil nutrient patches and fine-scale root abundance of individual species in a mountain grassland

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