Category: Behind the paper

Behind the paper

Kristiina Visakorpi: The future of Alpine meadows: Can we predict winners and losers in a warmer climate?

In this new post Kristiina Visakorpi—a postdoc at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology—discusses her last research ‘Eco-physiological and morphological traits explain alpine plant species’ response to warming’. She considers the connections between functional traits and climate change, highlights the importance of eco-physiological traits, and provides some thoughts to fight apathy towards our current environmental crises. About the paper In our paper we investigated … Continue reading Kristiina Visakorpi: The future of Alpine meadows: Can we predict winners and losers in a warmer climate?

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Behind the paper

Rebecca Hewitt: A focus on root-associated fungi informs predictions of plant-soil feedbacks in the boreal forest after fire

In our new post Rebecca Hewitt—Assistant Professor at Amherst College, MA, USA—presents her work ‘Wildfire impacts on root-associated fungi and predicted plant-soil feedbacks in the boreal forest: research progress and recommendations’. She discusses the importance of plant-fungal interactions to cope with fire disturbance and shares her fascination for environmental research. About the paper We wrote a review paper that synthesizes what is currently known about … Continue reading Rebecca Hewitt: A focus on root-associated fungi informs predictions of plant-soil feedbacks in the boreal forest after fire

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Behind the paper

Daniel Zuleta: Do small-scale changes in topography affect functional trait variability in an aseasonal Amazon forest?

In our newest post Daniel Zuleta—a postdoc researcher at Smithsonian ForestGEO—presents his last work ‘Interspecific and intraspecific variation of tree branch, leaf, and stomatal traits in relation to topography in an aseasonal Amazon forest’. He presents the huge Amacayacu Forest Dynamics Plot, findings about the major impact that tree size exerts on tree functional traits, and how he changed his interests from forest plantations industry … Continue reading Daniel Zuleta: Do small-scale changes in topography affect functional trait variability in an aseasonal Amazon forest?

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Behind the paper

Luca Carisio: How much nectar is produced when the effect of flower-visiting insects is considered?

About the paper Our paper describes how to estimate the nutritional contribution of plants to pollinators and to other flower-visiting insects. The nutritional contribution of plants to pollinators is usually estimated by measuring—using a mesh bag—the nectar volume produced by flowers isolated for a 24 h period from flower-visiting insects. Many studies adopted this 24 h measure as a proxy of plant nectar production. When … Continue reading Luca Carisio: How much nectar is produced when the effect of flower-visiting insects is considered?

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Behind the paper

Juliano Morais: What is the fate of coral colonies after death? An Investigation into the erosion of dead coral colonies

In our latest post, Juliano Morais—a PhD candidate at James Cook University, Australia—presents his new work ‘On the fate of dead coral colonies’. In this blogpost, Juliano discusses the importance of erosion for coral reef survival and encourages non-native language speakers to be bold and start a career in ecology.   About the paper Carbonate budgets dynamically balance production and loss of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) … Continue reading Juliano Morais: What is the fate of coral colonies after death? An Investigation into the erosion of dead coral colonies

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Behind the paper

Filipa Coutinho Soares: Island bird communities are becoming similar after extinctions and introductions

In this new post, Dr. Filipa Coutinho Soares—a recent Ph.D. graduate from the University of Lisbon, Portugal—discusses her recently accepted paper, “Bird extinctions and introductions are causing taxonomic and functional homogenization in oceanic islands”. About the paper In our paper, we explore if bird extinctions and introductions driven by human activities are causing bird communities of oceanic islands to become taxonomically and functionally homogenized. In … Continue reading Filipa Coutinho Soares: Island bird communities are becoming similar after extinctions and introductions

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Behind the paper

Carla Vázquez González: Deciphering the context-dependency of plant communication: How does drought stress affect plant-plant signalling by volatile organic compounds?

In our latest post, Carla Vázquez González—a postdoctoral researcher from the University of California-Irvine—presents her last work ‘Effect of water availability on volatile-mediated communication between potato plants in response to insect herbivory’. In this post, she sheds new light on how plants communicate to overcome adversity, discusses the striking results in her paper, and shares her thought about the rough path early-career ecologists currently face. … Continue reading Carla Vázquez González: Deciphering the context-dependency of plant communication: How does drought stress affect plant-plant signalling by volatile organic compounds?

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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

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, 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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