Tuula E. Hollmen, Paul L. Flint, Sadie E.G. Ulman, Heather M. Wilson, Courtney L. Amundson, Erik E. Osnas This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. In Alaska, many waterfowl mothers raise their young on coastal tundra wetlands, where ducklings have access to fresh water and ample foods for healthy growth. However, times may be changing … Continue reading Salty Ducks!
Cornelia W. Twining, J. Ryan Shipley, Marshall D. McCue, Ivan Pokrovsky, Arnaud Gregoire, Bruno Faivre, Martin Wikelski, and Jesko Partecke This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Migration is often an endurance event that requires sufficient fuel. While human athletes that fail to eat optimally may cost themselves Olympic medals, wild animals that fail to … Continue reading Russian and French blackbirds in Germany maintain aspects of migration strategies, but follow locals in timing
Albert Calbet and Enric Saiz This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. It is well known that organisms inhabiting warmer habitats are smaller than those from colder ones. For cold-blooded organisms, including unicellular ones, the rule also applies when conducting experiments in which they are exposed to different temperatures during their development. This is known … Continue reading Do marine protozoans decrease size with warming?
Siobhan Paget, Adrian C. Gleiss, Gerald Kuchling, Nicola J. Mitchell This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. The western swamp turtle is a critically endangered freshwater turtle from Western Australia, and one of the world’s rarest reptiles. Swamp turtles occupy seasonal wetlands that fill in winter, during which time turtles are active and feed. In … Continue reading Seeking a ‘just right’ site for the Western Swamp Turtle
Xuezhen Ge, Cortland K. Griswold, Jonathan A. Newman This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Climate change will greatly impact the growth and development of cold-blooded animals, such as insects, which in turn will impact species interactions such as predator-prey relationships. The direct and indirect effects of climate change on interacting species lead to complex … Continue reading Warmer and more-seasonal climates reduce the effect of top- down population control
Alisha A. Shah, Scott Hotaling, Anthony B. Lapsansky, Rachel L. Malison, Jackson H. Birrell, Tylor Keeley, J. Joseph Giersch, Lusha M. Tronstad, H. Arthur Woods This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. In high mountain regions worldwide, climate change is causing rapid recession of glaciers. Downstream, these changes are altering patterns of water flow and … Continue reading Warming undermines emergence success in a threatened alpine stonefly: A multi-trait perspective on vulnerability to climate change
Félix P. Leiva, Jeroen G.J. Boerrigter, Wilco C.E.P. Verberk This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Ectotherms whose functioning depends on the ambient temperature-represent about 99% of species worldwide. Warming and low oxygen availability cause ectotherms to mature at a smaller body size, but what causes this phenomenon is still unknown. Understanding the drivers of … Continue reading Cell size is more important in conditions of limited oxygen
Jesse M. Alston, Douglas A. Keinath, Craig K.R. Willis, Cori L. Lausen, Joy M. O’Keefe, Janet D. Tyburec, Hugh G. Broders, Paul R. Moosman, Timothy C. Carter, Carol L. Chambers, Erin H. Gillam, Keith Geluso, Theodore J. Weller, Douglas W. Burles, Quinn E. Fletcher, Kaleigh J.O. Norquay, Jacob R. Goheen This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be … Continue reading Temperature and resource availability influence body size in North American bats
Alice Risely, Dominik Schmid, Pablo Capilla-Lasheras, Davide Dominoni, Nadine Müller-Klein, Simone Sommer This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology perspective which can be found here. Seasonal rhythms in animal physiology and ecology are well understood (e.g., bird migration or seasonal reproduction). In contrast, daily (circadian) rhythms in animal physiology, behaviour and species interactions are often subtler and require advanced methods such as … Continue reading Rhythmic bacteria: How measuring daily oscillations of the gut microbiome can help us understand its function
Henrika J. Bosua, Christopher W. Weldon, John S. Terblanche This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. There is pronounced geographic range size variation even among closely related terrestrial insect species. Such variation in species’ geographic distributions may result from differences in physiological traits, such as the ability to withstand dry conditions (also known as ‘desiccation … Continue reading Phenotypic plasticity in desiccation physiology of geographically range restricted and broadly distributed fruit fly species
Functional Ecology: Plain Language Summaries 