Tag: biodiversity

Behind the paper

Tesa Madsen-Hepp: Plant functional traits lend predictability to idiosyncratic range shifts

In this new post, Tesa Madsen-Hepp—PhD candidate at the University of California Riverside, USA—presents her latest research ‘Plant functional traits predict heterogeneous distributional shifts in response to climate change’. She highlights the high value of the Deep Canyon Transect, discusses the response of diverse dryland plant communities to long-term climate change, and shares the challenges in intense field campaigns. About the paper Our paper investigates … Continue reading Tesa Madsen-Hepp: Plant functional traits lend predictability to idiosyncratic range shifts

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Behind the paper

Gianalberto Losapio: A roadmap for restoring functional ecosystems using ecosystem engineers

Dr. Gianalberto Losapio from the University of Lausanne and University of Milan discusses with us their recently accepted paper “Monitoring and modelling the effects of ecosystem engineers on ecosystem functioning,” as well as their interest and roots in the field of ecology. About the paper Our review paper aims at developing a toolkit for the assessment of ecosystem functioning, which includes ecological processes arising from … Continue reading Gianalberto Losapio: A roadmap for restoring functional ecosystems using ecosystem engineers

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Behind the paper, haldane prize

Natalie Rideout: The floodplain wetland puzzle

In this new post, Natalie Rideout, a new ecological researcher working at the University of New Brunswick, Canada, discusses her paper: Environmental filtering of macroinvertebrate traits influences ecosystem functioning in a large river floodplain—recently shortlisted for the 2022 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. Natalie has already provided a blogpost which discusses the particulars of her paper and research experience. Check it out HERE! About … Continue reading Natalie Rideout: The floodplain wetland puzzle

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Behind the paper

Sam Ross: Listening for the answers to fundamental questions

In this new post, Sam Ross—a Postdoc at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan—presents his review paper ‘Passive acoustic monitoring provides a fresh perspective on fundamental ecological questions’. He discusses how acoustic monitoring isn’t just for applied ecology and conservation, and some of developments on the horizon. About the paper From a bleary-eyed dawn chorus, to magnificent symphonies of whale song, … Continue reading Sam Ross: Listening for the answers to fundamental questions

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Behind the paper

Natalie K. Rideout: Sifting through the wetland muck to examine links between habitat, disturbance and biodiversity

In our new post, Natalie Rideout from the Canadian River Institute at the University of New Brunswick, presents her MsC research in the paper ‘Environmental filtering of macroinvertebrate traits influences ecosystem functioning in a large river floodplain’. She highlights the importance of floodplains for ecological research, emphasises the need for teamwork to answer research questions, and shares her passion for the natural world. About the … Continue reading Natalie K. Rideout: Sifting through the wetland muck to examine links between habitat, disturbance and biodiversity

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Podcast transcripts

Using functional traits to identify conservation priorities for the world’s crocodylians: Podcast transcript

In this podcast for Functional Ecology, Assistant Editor, Frank Harris, sits down with Phoebe Griffith—a researcher from the Institute of Zoology, London, and the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Oxford University—to discuss her recently published paper ‘Using functional traits to identify conservation priorities for the world’s crocodylians.’ To understand better the functional diversity of crocodylians, Griffiths et al. collected a database of functional traits of all … Continue reading Using functional traits to identify conservation priorities for the world’s crocodylians: Podcast transcript

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Rainbow Research

Kyle McCulloch: Harmony

To celebrate UK Pride Month, the British Ecological Society journals have re-launched ‘Rainbow Research’ – a blog series which aims to promote the visibility of STEM researchers from the LGBTQ+ community by connecting each post to a theme represented by one of the colours shown in the Progress Pride flag. In this new post, Kyle McCulloch, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Minnesota, USA, … Continue reading Kyle McCulloch: Harmony

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Behind the paper

Régis Céréghino: Functional redundancy is an insurance against the effects of precipitation change on Neotropical invertebrate communities

In this new post, Professor Régis Céréghino, from University Paul Sabatier (Toulouse, France), presents his paper ‘Functional redundancy dampens precipitation change impacts on species-rich invertebrate communities across the Neotropics’, discusses the importance of collaboration for answering general ecological questions and highlights the necessity to know your study system. About the paper The aim of this study was to understand how biogeographic contexts influence invertebrate community … Continue reading Régis Céréghino: Functional redundancy is an insurance against the effects of precipitation change on Neotropical invertebrate communities

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Author Dianye Zhang, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Behind the paper

Dianye Zhang: Nitrogen-induced changes in biodiversity and plant community composition affect soil respiration

Dr. Dianye Zhang, a postdoc from Prof. Yuanhe Yang’s Lab in the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, discusses his recent paper “Changes in above-/below-ground biodiversity and plant functional composition mediate soil respiration response to nitrogen input” published in Functional Ecology. What is the background behind your paper? Intensified human activities accelerate the deposition of reactive nitrogen (N) into terrestrial ecosystems. Reactive N enrichment, … Continue reading Dianye Zhang: Nitrogen-induced changes in biodiversity and plant community composition affect soil respiration

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Li-ting Zheng, PhD Candidate, East China Normal University
Behind the paper

Li-ting Zheng: Functionally diverse tree stands with intensive canopy packing reduce herbaceous diversity and productivity

In this post Li-ting Zheng, a PhD candidate at East China Normal University, presents her recently accepted paper “Functionally diverse tree stands reduce herbaceous diversity and productivity via canopy packing.” She discusses the importance of tree functional diversity in shaping the dynamics of the understorey herbaceous community during the early successional period, and the importance of communication for those pursuing a research career. About the … Continue reading Li-ting Zheng: Functionally diverse tree stands with intensive canopy packing reduce herbaceous diversity and productivity

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