Author: Functional Ecology

Green-veined white pupae by Philipp Lehmann
animal physiological ecology

Longer and warmer prewinter dormancy reduces fitness and survival after winter in a butterfly

Matthew Nielsen, Philipp Lehmann, and Karl Gotthard This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which is published here. Many animals survive harsh seasons like winter by becoming dormant, a state in which activity and development nearly or entirely stop. Animals, especially insects, often become dormant long before winter itself begins, in autumn or even summer. The length of this prewinter … Continue reading Longer and warmer prewinter dormancy reduces fitness and survival after winter in a butterfly

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Six plant species (Phleum phleoides, Prunella grandiflora, Filipendula vulgaris, Plantago media, Festuca rubra, and Centaurea jacea) growing together in each experimental microcosm. Photo is taken at the end of the experiment (after 4 months).
community ecology, plant physiological ecology

Old meadow microbial community supports sensitive plants

Masoud M. Ardestani, Ondřej Mudrák, Jakub Vicena, Daquan Sun, Hana Veselá, Jan Frouz This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which is published here. Meadows are one of the most species rich ecosystem on the world, but despite this, their large area was ploughed in the past, converted to arable land or destroyed in other way. Current activities of their … Continue reading Old meadow microbial community supports sensitive plants

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Schematic diagram of bruchid beetles on a lima bean pod and a parasitoid on a lima bean seed. Drawing by Thomas Degen.
plant-animal interaction

Bean plants growing from seeds eaten by beetles are less impacted when beetles are parasitized by parasitic wasps

Maximilien A.C. Cuny, Diana la Forgia, Gaylord A. Desurmont, Carlos Bustos-Segura, Gaetan Glauser and Betty Benrey This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which is published here. Seeds are often eaten by insects, such as tiny bruchid beetles that glue their eggs onto the surface of the seed. Once the eggs hatch, the beetle larvae bury into the seed where … Continue reading Bean plants growing from seeds eaten by beetles are less impacted when beetles are parasitized by parasitic wasps

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Anastrepha ludens female ovipositing in grapefruit (left panel), and an experimental diet with a high larval density treatment (right panel). Photo credit: Erick Enciso and Carlos Pascacio-Villafán.
animal physiological ecology

Large numbers of fruit fly larvae can overcome extreme nutritional imbalances of their food

Carlos Pascacio-Villafán, Nicoletta Righini, David Nestel, Andrea Birke, Larissa Guillén, Martín Aluja This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which is published here. The quality of the diet consumed during early stages of life, and the presence and abundance of individuals of the same species feeding on the same food resource, are critical factors that affect the development and life … Continue reading Large numbers of fruit fly larvae can overcome extreme nutritional imbalances of their food

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In the scanning electron microscope are soil bacteria living on the surface of a mineral grain in the rhizosphere of an annual grass plant. As these microbes die, their dead biomass may sorb to the mineral surface, and form mineral-associated organic matter – one of the largest carbon pools on the planet. Understanding the plant and microbial traits that control mineral-associated organic matter formation – and their response to climate change – is a major current research priority. (Details on the project that supported the image below, and related work: https://sc-programs.llnl.gov/biological-and-environmental-research-at-llnl/soil-microbiome) Photo Credit: Noah Sokol/Christy Ramon
ecosystems ecology, Reviews, soil carbon storage and climate change, Special Features

What will happen to the massive store of carbon in Earth’s mineral soils as our climate changes?

Noah W. Sokol, Emily D. Whalen, Andrea Jilling, Cynthia Kallenbach, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Katerina Georgiou This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which is published here. Earth’s soils hold a massive amount of carbon – more than the world’s vegetation and atmosphere combined. But the fate of this carbon is uncertain – particularly the portion that is bound up in close … Continue reading What will happen to the massive store of carbon in Earth’s mineral soils as our climate changes?

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Mouse in a cage: Experimental design to filter arthropod access to small carrion on the forest floor. Image: Sabine S. Nooten
community ecology

Body size mediates role and function in carrion decomposer communities

Sabine S. Nooten, Kin H. Chan, Patrick Schultheiss, Taylor A. Bogar and Benoit Guénard This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which is published here. Rapid and selective loss of biodiversity, with a disproportionate loss of large species, has deep impacts on ecological processes, and prompted considerable interest in linking functional traits with ecological processes. Body size is a key … Continue reading Body size mediates role and function in carrion decomposer communities

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A male condor in the first plane while the rest of the flock feed on a dead camelid in the Andes. Photo by Paula Perrig.
ecosystems ecology

Carcasses are more than just meat to obligate scavengers

Gonzalo Barceló, Paula L. Perrig, Prarthana Dharampal, Emiliano Donadio, Shawn A. Steffan and Jonathan N. Pauli This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which is published here. Vertebrate carcasses – generally regarded as a simple and homogeneous resource – harbor a composite of species spanning trophic positions: plants (in the gut of the carrion), herbivores (the carrion itself), and microbes … Continue reading Carcasses are more than just meat to obligate scavengers

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Field site to assess the intensity of the soil priming effect in situ along a one year period (photo from PA Maron, ANR DIMIMOS project)
community ecology, Reviews, soil carbon storage and climate change, Special Features

What is the Priming effect, how is it generated and how will it impact soil carbon sequestration in a future submitted to global change?

Laetitia Bernard, Isabelle Basile-Doelsch, Delphine Derrien, Nicolas Fanin, Sébastien Fontaine, Bertrand Guenet, Battle Karimi, Claire Marsden, and Pierre-Alain Maron This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which is published here. The priming effect corresponds to a change in the rate of degradation of soil organic matter induced by a new supply of fresh organic matter. It was first observed in … Continue reading What is the Priming effect, how is it generated and how will it impact soil carbon sequestration in a future submitted to global change?

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Four scales at which models consider soil microbes: the Earth system, ecosystem, community, and physiological scales.
Reviews, soil carbon storage and climate change, Special Features

Understanding the role of microbes in the Earth’s carbon cycle

Joe Wan, Thomas W. Crowther This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which is published here. Soil microbes release massive amounts of carbon from organic compounds in soil. However, this flow of carbon is a major source of uncertainty in the models we currently use to predict Earth’s climate. This article reviews how researchers who develop mathematical models can address … Continue reading Understanding the role of microbes in the Earth’s carbon cycle

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Protaphorura fimata (Gisin, 1952), a springtail showing the typical aspect of a species adapted to live at deep soil layers. Image courtesy of Aarhus University.
community ecology

Regional aridity and local drought differently shape European springtail communities

Miquel Ferrín, Laura Márquez, Henning Petersen, Sandrine Salmon, JeanFrançois Ponge, Miquel Arnedo, Bridget Emmett, Claus Beier, Inger K. Schmidt, Albert Tietema, Paolo de Angelis, Dario Liberati, Edit Kovács-Láng, György Kröel-Dulay, Marc Estiarte, Mireia Bartrons, Josep Peñuelas, Guille Peguero This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which is published here. Ecologists for long have been trying to predict the effects of … Continue reading Regional aridity and local drought differently shape European springtail communities

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