Marjorie Weber explores plant-protecting ants and other wonders of evolution

A crack team of arthropod bodyguards may be defending that cherry tree in your backyard or the maple across the street. Mites protect plants by acting like herds of grazing…

A global synthesis of nutrient resorption control in terrestrial plants – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, Xibin Sun—a PhD candidate at Sun Yat-sen University, China—presents his work ‘Widespread controls of leaf nutrient resorption by nutrient limitation and stoichiometry’. Xibin discusses were the…

Plant functional traits lend predictability to idiosyncratic range shifts – Functional Ecologists

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…

Functional Ecology welcomes 20 new Associate Editors – Functional Ecologists

Functional Ecology is delighted to announce 20 new Associate Editors who have joined the Editorial Board following our latest open call across all seven BES journals. Find out more about…

A roadmap for restoring functional ecosystems using ecosystem engineers – Functional Ecologists

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,”…

Aging in the Arctic—Insights from a study on woody shrubs – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, Jackson Drew—a PhD candidate in Alaska—presents his work ‘Age Matters: older Alnus viridis ssp. fruticosa are more sensitive to summer temperatures in the Alaskan Arctic‘. Here…

Ground squirrels hibernate to avoid predation, but not at the expense of reproductive opportunities – Functional Ecologists

Austin Allison—a PhD student at Colorado State University and recent MS graduate from the University of Idaho—discusses his recently accepted paper: “Why hibernate? Tests of four hypotheses to explain intraspecific…

Bees, flowers, and beyond—One researcher’s path to understanding and promoting pollinator health – Functional Ecologists

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…

Closely tropical herbs have similar tolerance to high temperatures – Functional Ecologists

In our newest post Georgia Hernández Corrales—PhD candidate at University of Connecticut, USA—presents her work ‘Evolutionary history constrains heat tolerance of native and exotic tropical Zingiberales’. She discusses the importance…

The floodplain wetland puzzle – Functional Ecologists

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…