Tag: functional traits

Animal Functional Traits

Predicted extinctions target the planet’s most unique bird species

Jarome R. Ali, Benjamin W. Blonder, Alex L. Pigot, Joseph A. Tobias This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Extinction rates are projected to increase worldwide, but it remains unclear how this loss of biodiversity might affect the way ecosystems function. Since ecological processes are hard to quantify at global scales, morphological traits can provide … Continue reading Predicted extinctions target the planet’s most unique bird species

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Animal Functional Traits

Plant-animal interactions: The search for general interaction rules brings energetic traits into focus

Alexander Neu, Huw Cooksley, Karen J. Esler, Anton Pauw, Francois Roets, Frank M. Schurr, Matthias Schleuning This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Plants and animals interact in different ways with each other. Interactions can be positive for both partners (e.g., mutualistic interactions between plants and their pollinators), or they can be positive for one … Continue reading Plant-animal interactions: The search for general interaction rules brings energetic traits into focus

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ecosystems ecology

Functional traits of a widespread plant species fingerprint ecosystem productivity

Shalik Ram Sigdel, Eryuan Liang,Maan Bahadur Rokaya, Samresh Rai, Nita Dyola, Jian Sun, Lin Zhang, Haifeng Zhu, Nakul Chettri, Ram Prasad Chaudhary, J. Julio Camarero, Josep Peñuelas This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Variation in intraspecific traits and its link to ecosystem functioning are key topics in ecology. Elevational gradients with diverse biotic and … Continue reading Functional traits of a widespread plant species fingerprint ecosystem productivity

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plant physiological ecology

Maladaptation versus smart acclimation to expected climate change in wooded pasture grasses

Pierre Vollenweider, Géraldine Hildbrand, Davide De Masi, Konstantin Gavazov, Vivian Zufferey, Alexandre Buttler, Georg von Arx This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Mountain grasslands are characterized by high biodiversity, low management intensity and plant species adapted to cool and moist climate conditions. With climate warming, however, they may undergo losses in biodiversity. Investigating the … Continue reading Maladaptation versus smart acclimation to expected climate change in wooded pasture grasses

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community ecology

Widespread variation in functional trait-vital rate relationships in tropical tree seedlings across a precipitation and soil phosphorus gradient

Luke Browne, Lars Markesteijn, Eric Manzané-Pinzón, S. Joseph Wright, Robert Bagchi, Bettina M. J. Engelbrecht, F. Andrew Jones, Liza S. Comita This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Imagine there was a way to quickly and easily measure the basic characteristics of a plant, like the size of its leaves or the density of its … Continue reading Widespread variation in functional trait-vital rate relationships in tropical tree seedlings across a precipitation and soil phosphorus gradient

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plant physiological ecology

Functional traits and tree demographic properties: a case study in subtropical monsoon forests

Pengcheng He, Juyu Lian, Qing Ye, Hui Liu, Yi Zheng, Kailiang Yu, Shidan Zhu, Ronghua Li, Deyi Yin, Wanhui Ye, Ian J. Wright This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Functional traits are plant attributes that can reflect plant life-history processes such as carbon acquisition, water transport and nutrient cycling, and include features associated with … Continue reading Functional traits and tree demographic properties: a case study in subtropical monsoon forests

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Animal Functional Traits

Changes in forest structure favour wood-living beetle species with certain traits

Lukas Drag, Ryan C. Burner, Jörg G. Stephan, Tone Birkemoe, Inken Doerfler, Martin M. Gossner, Paul Magdon, Otso Ovaskainen, Mária Potterf, Peter Schall, Tord Snäll, Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, Wolfgang Weisser, Jörg Müller This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Global climate change is slowly affecting the structure of forests around the world. We know that these … Continue reading Changes in forest structure favour wood-living beetle species with certain traits

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community ecology

Environmental conditions at different spatial scales determine the composition of deadwood beetle assemblages

Felix Neff, Jonas Hagge, Rafael Achury, Didem Ambarlı, Christian Ammer, Peter Schall, Sebastian Seibold, Michael Staab, Wolfgang W. Weisser, Martin M. Gossner This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. How environmental conditions shape assemblages of species is a question at the very core of ecology. Environmental conditions change at different spatial scales and thus affect … Continue reading Environmental conditions at different spatial scales determine the composition of deadwood beetle assemblages

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Animal Functional Traits

Rather than being flexible, it’s all about ant communities adapting to new conditions living in extreme environments

Javier Ibarra-Isassi, Ira Tanya Handa, Jean-Philippe Lessard This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Looking at how traits relate to environmental variables can improve our understanding of what processes are behind where certain organisms occur. We can obtain valuable insights into the influence these processes have from analyses that involve whole communities of organisms, specially … Continue reading Rather than being flexible, it’s all about ant communities adapting to new conditions living in extreme environments

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plant physiological ecology

Differences in growth and physiology favor invasive weeds over native wildflowers

Justin M. Valliere, Rhay G. Flores, Branden J. Cason, Mayra J. Hernández This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology research article which can be found here. Humans have altered ecosystems worldwide through the introduction of weedy, nonnative plant species that are sometimes able to outcompete native plant species. Other human activities may also contribute to the spread of such invasive plants and … Continue reading Differences in growth and physiology favor invasive weeds over native wildflowers

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