Category: Behind the paper

Photo: A nest of the African social spider Stegodyphus dumicola in Namibia. The nest consists of thick silk layers with multiple entry holes underneath the nest, facing the ground. A large capture web extends from the nest, and a few spiders can be seen active on the web. The spiders are predominantly inactive during the day and remain inside the nest, unless they attack prey intercepted in the web. The spiders move to the area immediate below the nest to cool down at peak summer temperatures. They are active in web maintenance activities at dusk and dawn. (Photo Trine Bilde).
Behind the paper

Trine Bilde: Responses to thermal stress in a social spider

Trine Bilde, Professor of Evolutionary Biology in the Department of Biology at Aarhus University, discusses with us her recently accepted paper, “Behavioural and physiological responses to thermal stress in a social spider”. About the paper What’s your paper about? The study investigates behavioural and physiological adaptations to temperature stress in a desert living social spider, specifically behavioural changes in microhabitat use, and whether the wax … Continue reading Trine Bilde: Responses to thermal stress in a social spider

Unknown's avatarBritish Ecological SocietyLeave a comment
Luan (left) and Prof. Shirong Liu (right) visit a cloud forest close to Curitiba in Brazil during 2019 IUFRO XXV congress.
Behind the paper

Junwei Luan: accounting for bamboo effects in soil nutrient cycling

In our new post, Junwei Luan from International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan (China) presents his last work ‘’Litter decomposition affected by bamboo expansion is modulated by litter-mixing and microbial composition’, discusses about the effects of commercial plantations in ecosystems and shares his research career experiences.   About the paper Our paper is about how a native woody grass (Moso bamboo, Phyllostachys edulis­) expansion alters forest … Continue reading Junwei Luan: accounting for bamboo effects in soil nutrient cycling

Unknown's avatarBritish Ecological SocietyLeave a comment
Amber Wright - Photo by Laci Gerhart-Barley
Behind the paper

Amber Wright: Sticky toes and grippy claws

lizards use habitat in ways that match their clinging ability In this month’s cover image story we see that lizards vary in their ability to cling to different kinds of surfaces, and how this can lead to species sharing habitat.  How can lizards stick to smooth surfaces? Have you ever seen a lizard run up a window and wondered how they do it? Geckos and … Continue reading Amber Wright: Sticky toes and grippy claws

Unknown's avatarBritish Ecological Society1 Comment
Figure: Me and my daughter on one of our little hikes with family. The photo has been taken a while ago because now I very rarely happen to be in front of the camera, but am mostly the one behind the camera taking the photos of the moments in our life.
Behind the paper

Tsipe Aavik: The role of interactions must not be ignored during ecological restoration

In this post, assistant professor Tsipe Aavik from University of Tartu presents her collaborative perspective paper ‘The joint effect of host plant genetic diversity and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities on restoration success’. She discusses the importance of looking at invisible components of biodiversity to improve restoration, the necessity of doing collaborative studies and her proud on transmitting science to general public.    About the paper … Continue reading Tsipe Aavik: The role of interactions must not be ignored during ecological restoration

Unknown's avatarBritish Ecological SocietyLeave a comment
Victoria outside their grandmother's house in Nyssa, OR, USA
Behind the paper, Uncategorized

Victoria Luizzi: Is it worth it to smell nice? Allocation cost of plants floral fragrance under nutrient stress

In this post Victoria Luizzi, PhD candidate at University of Arizona, presents their work ‘Phenotypic plasticity in floral scent in response to nutrient, but not water, availability in the perennial plant Arabis alpina (Brassicaceae)’, discuss the importance phenotypic plasticity for plants and revisit their experience at Sweden before starting their PhD. About the paper Animal-pollinated plants use a variety of strategies to attract pollinators to … Continue reading Victoria Luizzi: Is it worth it to smell nice? Allocation cost of plants floral fragrance under nutrient stress

Unknown's avatarBritish Ecological SocietyLeave a comment
Marco Chiminazzo
Behind the paper

Marco Chiminazzo: ‘your best buds are worth protecting’, plant strategies to cope with fire in Cerrado (Brazil)

In our latest post PhD candidate at Universidade Estadual Paulista, Marco Chiminazzo, presents his work ‘Your best buds are worth protecting: woody species exhibit different types of bud protection’, discuss about the importance of plant traits to cope with fire and shares how he got inspiration from Punk music to pursue his research career. About the paper In this paper we analysed how bud traits … Continue reading Marco Chiminazzo: ‘your best buds are worth protecting’, plant strategies to cope with fire in Cerrado (Brazil)

Unknown's avatarBritish Ecological SocietyLeave a comment
George Perry conducting research.
Behind the paper

George Perry: So, how far might extinct birds have moved seeds?

In this instalment of “Behind the Paper”, Professor George Perry (he/him/his) of the University of Auckland shares with us the background of the paper “Reconstructing ecological functions provided by extinct fauna using allometrically informed simulation models: an in silico framework for ‘movement paleoecology”. About the paper Imagine if you could attach a high-resolution biotelemetric tracker on a dinosaur or a moa or a giant ground … Continue reading George Perry: So, how far might extinct birds have moved seeds?

Unknown's avatarBritish Ecological SocietyLeave a comment
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

Unknown's avatarBritish Ecological SocietyLeave a comment
Vincent Pan sticking more seeds to more things. Photo by Eric LoPresti.
Behind the paper

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?

Unknown's avatarBritish Ecological SocietyLeave a comment
Anushika with her daughter in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, NSW, Australia
Behind the paper

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

Unknown's avatarBritish Ecological Society1 Comment