Tag: plant-animal interactions

haldane prize

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

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Behind the paper

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

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Behind the paper

Laura Figueroa: Bees, flowers, and beyond—One researcher’s path to understanding and promoting pollinator health

Dr. Laura Figueroa—currently an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow and incoming Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA—shares her recently accepted paper: “Sunflower spines and beyond: mechanisms and breadth of pollen that reduce gut pathogen infection in the common eastern bumble bee.” About the paper Flowers provide foraging bees with a broad diversity of key resources, including pollen … Continue reading Laura Figueroa: Bees, flowers, and beyond—One researcher’s path to understanding and promoting pollinator health

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Behind the paper

Matthew Gilbert: Flowers of a South African succulent plant predict tomorrow’s weather, synchronizing flower opening with pollinator activity

In this new post Matthew Gilbert—Associate Professor at University of California, Davis, CA, USA—presents his recently published paper “Flowers of a South African succulent plant predict tomorrow’s weather, synchronizing flower opening with pollinator activity“. He discusses the connection between phenology and weather, shows how inspiration can come from anywhere, and highlights the importance of observing nature to find interesting research questions. About the paper It’s … Continue reading Matthew Gilbert: Flowers of a South African succulent plant predict tomorrow’s weather, synchronizing flower opening with pollinator activity

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Behind the paper, Podcast transcripts

Flower patterns improve foraging efficiency in bumblebees by guiding approach flight and landing: Podcast Transcript

In this podcast for Functional Ecology, Assistant Editor, Frank Harris, sits down with Anna Stöckl—a Group Leader at Konstanz University, Germany—to discuss her recently published paper ‘Flower patterns improve foraging efficiency in bumblebees by guiding approach flight and landing’. Anna’s paper shows that flower patterns reduced flower handling time by up to 30%, without a reduction in nectar discovery time. Instead, the patterns were involved … Continue reading Flower patterns improve foraging efficiency in bumblebees by guiding approach flight and landing: Podcast Transcript

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Behind the paper

Aoife Cantwell-Jones: How Arctic bees interact with plants depends on body size variation and spatiotemporal context

Aoife Cantwell-Jones—a PhD student at Imperial College London, UK—shares with us the background behind her recently accepted paper, “Mapping trait versus species turnover reveals spatiotemporal variation in functional redundancy and network robustness in a plant-pollinator community.” She discusses nuances of bumblebee-plant interactions and the importance of researching mutualistic interactions to solve global change issues, as well as celebrating teamwork. About the paper The intricate interdependencies … Continue reading Aoife Cantwell-Jones: How Arctic bees interact with plants depends on body size variation and spatiotemporal context

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Behind the paper

Tao Sun: A noteworthy element when assessing the effect of habitat loss on plant reproduction: The movement strategy of pollinators

In our new post, Professor Tao Sun—from the School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, China—presents his latest work ‘Density-dependent dispersal strategy of pollinator moderates the adverse effect of habitat loss on plant reproduction: An integrated model based on pollinators’ behavioural response’. He discusses the importance of looking at details to understand animal behavior, shows the development of his model, and elucidates his research interest in … Continue reading Tao Sun: A noteworthy element when assessing the effect of habitat loss on plant reproduction: The movement strategy of pollinators

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Behind the Special Feature

Animal Functional Traits: A Functional Ecology Special Focus

In this post, Functional Ecology provides an introduction to each article that can be found in our Animal Functional Traits Special Focus. This collection of studies shows how precise measurements of morphological or physiological traits can increase mechanistic understanding of community assembly across trophic levels, particularly of the mechanisms underpinning large-scale biodiversity patterns. Further, a clearer picture is emerging of systematic animal responses to environmental … Continue reading Animal Functional Traits: A Functional Ecology Special Focus

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Behind the paper

Luca Carisio: How much nectar is produced when the effect of flower-visiting insects is considered?

About the paper Our paper describes how to estimate the nutritional contribution of plants to pollinators and to other flower-visiting insects. The nutritional contribution of plants to pollinators is usually estimated by measuring—using a mesh bag—the nectar volume produced by flowers isolated for a 24 h period from flower-visiting insects. Many studies adopted this 24 h measure as a proxy of plant nectar production. When … Continue reading Luca Carisio: How much nectar is produced when the effect of flower-visiting insects is considered?

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Behind the paper, Translation

Melissa León: Flores rojas de la Cuenca Mediterránea, estrategas del color.

En este post Melissa León, estudiante predoctoral en la Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla, presenta su artículo ‘Desvelando el misterio de las flores rojas de la cuenca mediterránea: ¿Cómo ser llamativas en un ecosistema donde predominan los himenópteros?’ Aquí nos muestra los distintos métodos de las plantas para atraer polinizadores, las implicaciones evolutivas de estos métodos, y su pasión por la ecología. Una versión … Continue reading Melissa León: Flores rojas de la Cuenca Mediterránea, estrategas del color.

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