The journey of a conservation biologist – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, Ikegwu Chukwudi Michael—from the Faculty of Biology, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Indonesia—discusses seeking opportunities to implement the theories concerning biological principles and practices, and working to develop…

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…

Grasses adjust their root traits during drought to reduce the negative impacts on aboveground productivity – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, Manjunatha H. Chandregowda—a new ecological researcher working at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Australia—discusses his paper: Root trait shifts towards an avoidance…

A long-term precipitation manipulation field experiment in a shrub-encroached grassland in Inner Mongolia, China – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, Yankun Zhu—Associate Professor at Sanming University, China—discusses his paper: Increased precipitation attenuates shrub encroachment by facilitating herbaceous growth in a Mongolian grassland—recently shortlisted for the 2022…

Inside the feeding behavior of a pollinivore – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, Laura Bellec—a new ecological researcher working at the Univ Rennes 1, Rennes, France—discusses her paper: Factors driving the within-plant patterns of resource exploitation in a herbivore—recently…

Biofilms, an underrated yet important way of life – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, Hugo Sentenac, a PhD student at Labaoratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (LEFE), Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, France, discusses his review paper: The significance of biofilms…

Foraging for efficiency—morphological traits provide support for variations in performance of the feeding apparatus in coexisting Neotropical bats – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, David Villalobos Chaves, a PhD student at Department of Biology and Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA, discusses his…

Surprise! Rapid heritable adaptation can occur without initial standing genetic variation – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, Kimberley Lemmen—a post-doc working at the University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland—discusses her paper: Experimental evidence of rapid heritable adaptation in the absence of initial standing genetic…

Parasites flex their mussels to influence ecosystem function – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, Joshua Brian, a new ecological researcher working at King’s College London,  UK, discusses his paper: Parasitism dramatically alters the ecosystem services provided by freshwater mussels—recently shortlisted…

Bryophyte-associated nitrogen fixation in a tropical mountain cloud forest—rates and responses to climate change – Functional Ecologists

In this new post, Aya Permin, a new ecological researcher at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, discusses her paper—High nitrogen-fixing rates associated with ground-covering mosses in a tropical mountain cloud…