Kelsey Byers – Functional Ecologists

Happy Pride Month! Join the British Ecological Society in this annual, global celebration as we share stories from STEM researchers who belong to the LGBTQ+ community.  This post is by…

What are the potential single and combined effects of heatwaves and extremes in water availability on microbe-plant interactions and the consequences that may leave on posterior plant-insect interactions?   – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, Oriana Sánchez-Mahecha – a PhD student from the Technical University of Munich, Germany – presents her work “Microbe-induced plant resistance against insect pests depends on timing…

The effects of long-term in situ N addition on the Korean pine plantation soil microbes and their regulation of soil priming effect  – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, Professor Fuqiang Song of Heilongjiang University presents his work ‘Nitrogen addition suppresses soil positive priming effect in temperate plantations: evidence from an 8-year in situ field…

Congratulations to Indra Boving, winner of the 2023 Haldane Prize! – Functional Ecologists

Functional Ecology is delighted to announce that the winner of the 2023 Haldane Prize is Indra Boving! The Haldane Prize is awarded annually for the best paper published in the…

Flowers receive and transmit electrical signals from pollinators

Flowering plants may have a secret power for knowing when to lure pollinators. They could act as antennas for bees’ electrical signals and transmit those signals through the soil, biophysicist…

Mycorrhizal fungi alter root exudation to cultivate a beneficial microbiome for plant growth – Functional Ecologists

In this blog post, Yunxian Xu discusses his study “Mycorrhizal fungi alter root exudation to cultivate a beneficial microbiome for plant growth“, which has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology’s 2023…

Fine-scale thermal heterogeneity drives summertime limpet distributions – Functional Ecologists

In this blog post, Spencer Virgin, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, discusses his study “Behavioural thermoregulation and food availability drive fine-scale seasonal habitat partitioning in…

Importance of tissue, trophic level, and diet source in shaping variation in isotopic trophic discrimination factors – Functional Ecologists

In this post, Ryan Stephens, an ecologist at East Tennessee State University, discusses his review paper “Meta-analysis and critical review of trophic discrimination factors (Δ13C and Δ15N): Importance of tissue,…

Navigating the ecological traits of insect societies – Functional Ecologists

In this blog post, Leo Ohyama, a PhD candidate, discusses his study “Ecological traits of social insects: Colony, queen and worker size relationships reveal a nexus trait with broad ecological…

Cell Size is More Important in Conditions of Low Oxygen – Functional Ecologists

In this post, Félix P. Leiva, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Germany, discusses his article “The role of cell size in shaping responses to oxygen and temperature in…