Climate Change SIG Annual Meeting 2026 | Stella Wimmer on the conditions affecting arthropod communities during deadwood decomposition

In this blog post, we hear from Stella Wimmer, winner of Functional Ecology’s prize for best presentation by an Early Career Researcher at the BES’ Climate Change and Ecosystem Dynamics Special Interest Group Annual Meeting 2026! Stella discusses the conditions affecting arthropod communities during deadwood decomposition, completing the trip from Germany to the UK by train, and having fun at your first conference! A German … Continue reading Climate Change SIG Annual Meeting 2026 | Stella Wimmer on the conditions affecting arthropod communities during deadwood decomposition

Climate Change SIG Annual Meeting 2026 | Stella Wimmer: die Faktoren aus, die für die totholz-assoziierten Gemeinschaften eine Rolle spielen

Wenn wir über Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf den Wald sprechen und der Gemeinschaften, die ihn bewohnen, dann sprechen wir meist von Veränderungen in einem großen Maßstab: Erderwärmung, die Veränderung der globalen Niederschlagsregimes, eine zunehmende Häufung der Wetterextreme. Doch diese großen Veränderungen entsprechen nicht zwangsläufig den Bedingungen, die von einer Käferlarve wahrgenommen werden, welche sich im Totholz entwickelt. Für sie mag das Makro-Klima nicht die größte … Continue reading Climate Change SIG Annual Meeting 2026 | Stella Wimmer: die Faktoren aus, die für die totholz-assoziierten Gemeinschaften eine Rolle spielen

Haldane Prize 2025 | James Mouton: Behavioural co-option of plant secondary compounds by a cavity-nesting bird is an adaptation against competition and predation

2025 HALDANE PRIZE SHORTLIST: James Mouton discusses the paper “Behavioural co-option of plant secondary compounds by a cavity-nesting bird is an adaptation against competition and predation“, which has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology’s 2025 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. About the paper Plants and other organisms produce many unique chemical compounds that can be useful for animals. Humans are great at taking advantage of … Continue reading Haldane Prize 2025 | James Mouton: Behavioural co-option of plant secondary compounds by a cavity-nesting bird is an adaptation against competition and predation

Caroline Isaksson: Combined light & traffic noise exposure enhances songbirds’ antioxidant capacity & lowers damage

In our latest post, author Caroline Isaksson explores the impacts of urban pollutants on songbirds! In their recent paper: “Effects of short-term multi-pollutant exposure on the oxidative stress status of captive songbirds”, Caroline investigates how three urban pollutants impacts Zebra finches physiologically. Caroline also shares the surprising results that will promote deeper research into this dynamic. Amid her experiments, Caroline imparts advice we all need … Continue reading Caroline Isaksson: Combined light & traffic noise exposure enhances songbirds’ antioxidant capacity & lowers damage

James Mouton: Red-breasted nuthatches smear sap around their nest entrances to protect against predators

James and team tap into the behavioural dynamics of red-breasted nuthatches and their use of conifer resin (sap). In their paper “Behavioural co-option of plant secondary compounds by a cavity-nesting bird is an adaptation against competition and predation”, James studies the how and why of nuthatch nesting behaviour and their apparent love for sticky, smelly conifer resin! On top of a delightful explanation on the … Continue reading James Mouton: Red-breasted nuthatches smear sap around their nest entrances to protect against predators

Black History Month 2024: Dr Saheed Olaide Jimoh

For Black History Month 2024, the British Ecological Society (BES) journals are celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world and sharing their stories. In this blog, Dr Saheed Olaide Jimoh shares his story. Biography Name: Saheed Olaide Jimoh Pronouns: He/Him Affiliation: Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Wyoming, USA Website/social media links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimoh-saheedolaide/ https://x.com/sahjim05 Ecology interests in three keywords: 1. Functional ecology  … Continue reading Black History Month 2024: Dr Saheed Olaide Jimoh

Camille Bernery & Clara Marino: Exploring the profile of fish invaders in order to better understand their dynamics

In this new post, Camille Bernery and Clara Marino—a Post doctorate and PhD student, respectively, at the Ecology, Systematic and Evolution (ESE) lab, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Gif-sur-Yvette, France—share their recently published paper titled: Relative importance of exotic species traits in determining invasiveness across levels of establishment: Example of freshwater fish. They discuss the characteristics that explain differences in invasion success of freshwater fish, challenges … Continue reading Camille Bernery & Clara Marino: Exploring the profile of fish invaders in order to better understand their dynamics

Camille Bernery & Clara Marino : Explorer le profil des poissons envahissants pour mieux comprendre leur dynamique

Dans cet article, Camille Bernery et Clara Marino, respectivement post-doctorante et doctorante au laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution (ESE) (Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech), partagent leur article récemment publié intitulé : Relative importance of exotic species traits in determining invasiveness across levels of establishment : Example of freshwater fish. Elles discutent des caractéristiques qui expliquent les différences dans le succès d’invasion des poissons d’eau douce, des … Continue reading Camille Bernery & Clara Marino : Explorer le profil des poissons envahissants pour mieux comprendre leur dynamique

Eva Janíková: How to find species potentially able to withstand the specific conditions of a site?

In this new post, Eva Janíková—a postdoc at the University of South Bohemia (Czech Republic)—presents her latest work: ‘Methods of species pool determination as predictors of survival in seeding and transplanting experiments’. She discusses the mechanisms behind species community composition, highlights the complexity of ecological research, and shares how working in ecology is the perfect match for her love for nature. About the paper When … Continue reading Eva Janíková: How to find species potentially able to withstand the specific conditions of a site?

Changjin Cheng: A novel perspective when assessing the effect of plant community structure on productivity—The spatial aggregation of individual neighborhoods

In this new post, Changjin Cheng—a PhD candidate from the School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, China—presents his latest work ‘Spatial Assembly of Grassland Communities and Interrelationships with Productivity’. Changjin discusses the critical role of spatial aggregation in predicting the effects of environmental change and their journey towards becoming an ecologist. 此博文的中文版本可在此处获得 About the paper The assembly mechanism of plant diversity and … Continue reading Changjin Cheng: A novel perspective when assessing the effect of plant community structure on productivity—The spatial aggregation of individual neighborhoods