Austin Allison: Ground squirrels hibernate to avoid predation, but not at the expense of reproductive opportunities

Austin Allison—a PhD student at Colorado State University and recent MS graduate from the University of Idaho—discusses his recently accepted paper: “Why hibernate? Tests of four hypotheses to explain intraspecific variation in hibernation phenology.” About the Paper Why do animals hibernate? I—like many people—assumed I knew the answer to that question. Animals obviously hibernate to avoid seasonally unsuitable environmental conditions such as freezing temperatures and … Continue reading Austin Allison: Ground squirrels hibernate to avoid predation, but not at the expense of reproductive opportunities

Acoustic signature reveals blue whales tune life history transitions to oceanographic conditions: Podcast Transcript

In this podcast for Functional Ecology, Assistant Editor, Frank Harris, sits down with William K. Oestreich—a postdoctoral fellow at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, USA—to discuss his recently published paper ‘Acoustic signature reveals blue whales tune life history transitions to oceanographic conditions’. Will’s paper suggests that blue whales use flexible cues, perhaps including individual sensing of food availability and social information from other individuals (blue … Continue reading Acoustic signature reveals blue whales tune life history transitions to oceanographic conditions: Podcast Transcript

Thierry Grandmont: Le stress expérimental dans la migration influence la décision de se reproduire ou non

Dans cette nouvelle publication, Thierry Grandmont, un étudiant au doctorat à l’Université Laval, discute de son article récemment accepté “Should I breed or should I go? Manipulating individual state during migration influences breeding decisions in a long-lived bird species”. Il discute du lien entre la reproduction et la migration, des défis (et opportunités!) d’effectuer de la recherche pendant la pandémie et de comment l’observation d’oiseaux … Continue reading Thierry Grandmont: Le stress expérimental dans la migration influence la décision de se reproduire ou non

Thierry Grandmont: Experimental stress in migration influences decision to breed or not

In this new post, Thierry Grandmont—a Ph.D. candidate at Laval University, Quebec, Canda—discusses with us his recently accepted paper, “Should I breed or should I go? Manipulating individual state during migration influences breeding decisions in a long-lived bird species.” He talks about the link between breeding and migration, challenges (and opportunities!) of conducting research during the pandemic, and how birdwatching was a formative experience. Une … Continue reading Thierry Grandmont: Experimental stress in migration influences decision to breed or not

Hannah Meier: Transgenerational behavioral plasticity in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (German translation)

Hannah Meier, Reed College, Portland USA, erläutert in diesem Artikel ihre Arbeit zu “Temperature mediated transgenerational plasticity influences movement behavior in the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.” Dabei hebt sie die Bedeutung der Erfahrungen- am Beispiel der Algen – aus der Vergangenheit für unsere Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten in der Gegenwart hervor und zeigt die Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf. An English version of this blogpost is available here! Über … Continue reading Hannah Meier: Transgenerational behavioral plasticity in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (German translation)

Hannah Meier: Transgenerational behavioral plasticity in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

In this new post, Hannah Meier from Reed College (USA), presents her work ‘Temperature mediated transgenerational plasticity influences movement behavior in the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii’. She highlights the importance of historical effects on organisms, discusses the implications of climate change, and emphasizes the importance of good mentorship in STEM. Eine Deutsche übersetzung dieses artikels ist hier verfügbar! About the Paper In this paper we … Continue reading Hannah Meier: Transgenerational behavioral plasticity in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

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

Martha Muñoz: Vulnerability of tropical anoles to environmental warming

In this blog post, Dr. Martha Muñoz, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University, USA, discusses her recent paper, “The multidimensional (and contrasting) effects of environmental warming on a group of montane tropical lizards.” Este blog también está disponible en español aquí. About the paper Our study centred around exploring vulnerability to environmental warming in a group of montane tropical anoles (lizards) … Continue reading Martha Muñoz: Vulnerability of tropical anoles to environmental warming

Martha Muñoz: Vulnerabilidad de los anolis tropicales al calentamiento ambiental

En esta publicación de blog, la Dra. Martha Muñoz, profesora asistente de Ecología y Biología Evolutiva en la Universidad de Yale, EE. UU., analiza su artículo reciente, “The multidimensional (and contrasting) effects of environmental warming on a group of montane tropical lizards.” Una versión en inglés de esta publicación de blog está disponible para leer aquí. Sobre el papel Nuestro estudio se centró en la … Continue reading Martha Muñoz: Vulnerabilidad de los anolis tropicales al calentamiento ambiental

Alexander Walton with paper wasp workers, temporarily individually housed in deli cups.

Alexander Walton: Nutritional environment is an important regulator of aggression in paper wasps

 Dr. Alexander Walton, a Postdoctoral Researcher working collaboratively at Iowa State University and Cornell University, discusses with us his recent paper, “Resource limitation, intragroup aggression, and brain neuropeptide expression in a social wasp.” Nourishment can affect behaviour in many ways, including social behaviours. In this study, my co-author and I explored the link between a social animal’s nutritional environment and how cooperative or aggressive they … Continue reading Alexander Walton: Nutritional environment is an important regulator of aggression in paper wasps