Tag: nature

Behind the paper

Mario Vallejo-Marín | The buzz of pollination and how plants stave off greedy bees 

In this week’s blog post, we’re learning all about buzz pollination between Bombus terrestris and Solanum rostratum! Author Mario Vallejo-Marín explains one of the most striking examples of evolutionary convergence in floral form – buzz pollinated flowers: “Gradual pollen release in a buzz-pollinated plant: Investigating pollen presentation theory under bee visitation”.   1. About the Paper In this paper, we used nectarless, buzz pollinated flowers, … Continue reading Mario Vallejo-Marín | The buzz of pollination and how plants stave off greedy bees 

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Behind the paper

Ricardo Sánchez Martín | Functional generalism in plant-hummingbird interactions: causes and consequences from a plant perspective

In this week’s blog post, we’re learning all about the causes and consequences of functional generalism! Author Ricardo Sánchez Martín explains the fascinating fit between hummingbirds and the plants they pollinate: “Functional generalism in plant-hummingbird interactions: causes and consequences from a plant perspective”. 1. About the Paper Scientists have long been fascinated by the apparent tight fit between hummingbirds and the flowers they pollinate: long-billed … Continue reading Ricardo Sánchez Martín | Functional generalism in plant-hummingbird interactions: causes and consequences from a plant perspective

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Behind the Special Feature

Vision in Challenging Environments – from Darkness to Dazzling Light

Zuzana Musilova and Sara Mae Stieb When animals look out into their world, they don’t all see the same thing. For some, light is abundant, even overwhelming. For others, it is vanishingly scarce. Vision is one of the most adaptable sensory systems, and in this Special Feature we explore how it is shaped and challenged by environments at their most extreme. Too little light From … Continue reading Vision in Challenging Environments – from Darkness to Dazzling Light

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Behind the paper

Jennifer Apland: does flower temperature affect pollinator behaviour?

In this week’s blog post, we learn what’s the buzz about pollinators and their affinity to heat. Through her recently published paper: “Isolating the effects of floral temperature on visitation and behavior of wild bee and fly pollinators”, Jennifer explores how traits and behaviours of insect pollinators can shift according to varying flower temperatures under different environmental conditions. This work is crucial to help us … Continue reading Jennifer Apland: does flower temperature affect pollinator behaviour?

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Rainbow Research

Rainbow Research: Contribute to our Pride Month Blog Series!

To celebrate Pride Month in June, we are relaunching our Rainbow Research blog series! This series aims to promote the visibility and inclusion of ecologists and evolutionary biologists from the LGBTQIA+ community. Each post will be connected to a theme represented by one of the colours shown in the Progress Pride Flag:  Posts can link to any of these themes, whether it connects to your … Continue reading Rainbow Research: Contribute to our Pride Month Blog Series!

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Behind the paper

Tim Forrester: Weight loss in female birds – an adaptive strategy

In this blog post, Tim Forrester helps answer a weighty question: Does weight loss help or hurt nesting birds? Based on his recent paper with Tom Martin, “Observational and experimental evidence that rapid mass loss is consistent with the flight efficiency hypothesis and not caused by reproductive effort in three passerine bird species”, Tim shares the fascinating physiological adaptations undergone by songbirds in anticipation of … Continue reading Tim Forrester: Weight loss in female birds – an adaptive strategy

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Postcards From The Field

Diana Tataru: Studying at my Dream Site

In this ‘Postcards from the Field’ blog post, Dr Diana Tataru – based at Tulane University – discusses their work on monkeyflowers in the beautiful Yosemite National Park, California! Diana shares plant-level perspectives, top tips for fieldwork, and future studies in the Eastern Sierra Nevadas. Profile I am interested in how plants adapt and survive in changing environments! I’m especially interested in extreme environments, like … Continue reading Diana Tataru: Studying at my Dream Site

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Behind the paper

Pablo Urbaneja-Bernat: A herbivore-induced defense-related plant protein in honeydew enhances natural enemy fitness

In this post, Pablo Urbaneja-Bernat, tenure track at Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (Spain), presents his work ‘Not just candy: A herbivore-induced defense-related plant protein in honeydew enhances natural enemy fitness’. He talks about unexpected interactions in ecological communities, the application of ecological research to agricultural management and the importance of inclusivity to overcome the many challenges in the path of research.  About the … Continue reading Pablo Urbaneja-Bernat: A herbivore-induced defense-related plant protein in honeydew enhances natural enemy fitness

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Behind the paper

Rebecca Oester : Disentangling how riparian forests shape trophic interactions in detritus-based stream food webs

Authors Rebecca Oester, Florian Altermatt and Andreas Bruder take a cold dip into Riparian forests and how they influence trophic interactions. In this blog post, lead author Rebecca, a PhD student at the University of Zurich, EAWAG and SUPSI Switzerland, shares insight behind their paper: “Riparian forests shape trophic interactions in detrital stream food webs”. She explains just how fascinating (and important!) freshwater and terrestrial … Continue reading Rebecca Oester : Disentangling how riparian forests shape trophic interactions in detritus-based stream food webs

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Behind the paper

Caicai Zhang: Growth-mortality trade-off in tropical tree seedlings is determined by stem elongation and soil fertility.

In this new post Caicai Zhang, from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research at Dali University, shares insights from her recently published paper, ‘Functional traits and ecological niches as correlates of the interspecific growth–mortality trade-off among seedlings of 14 tropical tree species‘. She emphasizes the importance of biomass allocation traits, particularly specific stem length (SSL) and … Continue reading Caicai Zhang: Growth-mortality trade-off in tropical tree seedlings is determined by stem elongation and soil fertility.

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