In Insights we discover the story – and the people- behind a recent publication in Functional Ecology. What inspired the authors and how did the project develop leading to the final publication? And what are the implications of their research for the scientific community and society in general? In this week’s Insights, Rebecca Koch, post-doc from Monash University, Australia talks about her work and her recent Review paper with Geoffrey Hill, on the resource trade-off hypothesis in avian ornamental coloration.

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In Insights we discover the story behind a recent publication in Functional Ecology: what inspired the authors to do the research, how did the project develop and what wider impact might the work have?

This week, Bjorn talks with Wilco Verberk about his recent paper, Thermal limits in native and alien freshwater peracarid Crustacea: The role of habitat use and oxygen limitation. Wilco is affiliated with the Radboud University in the Netherlands, where he works in the Department of Animal Ecology and Ecophysiology. With his Dutch-German research team, Wilco’s paper is the result of an impressive laboratory experiment that aimed to study the heat tolerance of four native and four alien crustaceans under different levels of oxygenation. Wilco’s work was the result of a Marie-Curie Fellowship, funded though the European Research Council.

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In Insights we discover the story behind and beyond a recent publication in Functional Ecology. What inspired the authors to do the research, and how did the project develop leading to the final publication? What implications might their results have on the scientific community and on society?

This week, Bjorn talks to Martijn Vandegehuchte about his paper, Mammalian herbivores affect leafhoppers associated with specific plant functional types at different timescales (plain language summary here.) Martin recently moved from WSL (the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research) to Ghent University in Belgium. With his colleagues in Switzerland, Martijn studied multitrophic herbivory interactions in the Swiss National Park.

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In Insights we discover the story behind a recent publication in Functional Ecology: what inspired the authors to do the research, how did the project develop and what wider impact might the work have?

This week Bjorn talks to Angela Prendin about her article,  Axial xylem architecture of Larix decidua exposed to CO2 enrichment and soil warming at the tree line. Angela is affiliated with the Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry (TESAF) of the University of Padova, Italy. With her collaborators at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), she studied the xylem architecture of Larch in response to CO₂ fertilisation and soil warming. You can also read the free plain language summary here: The treetop is the hotspot determining growth in larch trees

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In Insights we discover the story behind a recent publication in Functional Ecology. What inspired the authors to do the research and how did the project develop before the publication? and what wider impact might their work have?

This week, Anamarija Žagar talks to Bjorn about her paper on the performance of two co-existing lizards in Slovenia and the role of functional and morphological traits. Anamarija currently works at the National institute of Biology in Slovenia, and is also affiliated as a research associate to the CIBIO Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources at the University of Porto in Portugal.

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In Insights we discover the story behind and beyond a recent publication in Functional Ecology. What inspired the authors to do the research, how did the project develop and what implications might their results have on the scientific community and on society?

This week, we talk to Florian Altermatt from Eawag (the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology) in Dübendorf, Switzerland, and the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and corresponding author on Leaf litter diversity and structure of microbial decomposer communities modulate litter decomposition in aquatic systems (plain language summary here.)

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In Insights we discover the story behind and beyond a recent publication in Functional Ecology. What inspired the authors to do the research, how did the project develop and what implications might their results have on the scientific community and on society?

This week, Sasha Greenspan, at the James Cook University at Townsville, Queensland, Australia, discusses her recent paper on the interaction between Spotted Treefrogs and a fungal pathogen and the role of temperature thereon (read the free plain language summary here).

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In Insights we discover the story behind and beyond a recent publication in Functional Ecology. What inspired the authors to do the research, how did the project develop and what implications might their results have on the scientific community and on society?

This week, Kimberley Simpson of the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield will provide some more detail on her paper on the implication of selection plant trade-offs.

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In Insights we discover the story behind and beyond a recent publication in Functional Ecology. What inspired the authors to do the research, how did the project develop and what implications might their results have on the scientific community and on society?

This week, Dr Gail Schofield from the Centre of Integrative Ecology at Deakin University, Warrnambool in Australia talks about her paper on the use of drones to detect mating patterns in loggerhead sea turtles.

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