Author: Julie Sheard

#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Bee declines: what’s the stress all about?

This blog post is provided by Aoife Cantwell-Jones and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Signatures of increasing environmental stress in bumblebee wings over the past century: Insights from museum specimens”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. The authors looked at how bumblebee wing asymmetry has changed over the 20th century. They found that wing asymmetry started increasing around 1925 and … Continue reading Bee declines: what’s the stress all about?

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#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Artificial selection in human-wildlife feeding interactions.

This blog post is provided by Laura L. Griffin and tells the #StoryBehindthePaper for the paper “Artificial selection in human-wildlife feeding interactions“, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. In their study, they link human-wildlife feeding interactions with the production of heavier offspring, identifying these interactions as a driver for artificial selection. Here, author Laura L. Griffin tells us more. Humans are … Continue reading Artificial selection in human-wildlife feeding interactions.

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#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Mountain lion predation on wild donkeys rewires an ancient food web

This blog post is provided by Erick Lundgren and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “A novel trophic cascade between cougars and feral donkeys shapes desert wetlands“, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Contrary to popular belief, they find that mountain lions are capable of hunting wild donkeys, positively affecting wetlands due to changes in donkey activity levels. Around 12,000 years … Continue reading Mountain lion predation on wild donkeys rewires an ancient food web

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#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post, Special features

Which genes and functions respond to environmental change?

This blog post is provided by Katharina Wollenberg Valero and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Functional genomics of abiotic environmental adaptation in lacertid lizards and other vertebrates“, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. This paper is part of the Journal of Animal Ecology Special Feature: “Understanding climate change response in the age of genomics”. In their study, they investigate which … Continue reading Which genes and functions respond to environmental change?

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Podcast, Special features

SPECIAL FEATURE: Understanding climate change response in the age of genomics

The June issue of Journal of Animal Ecology is out now and includes a Special feature, Understanding climate change response in the age of genomics. As global temperatures continue to rise, there is a major threat to species and ecosystems worldwide. In order to develop conservation and mitigation strategies, an understanding of how animal populations respond to changing environments is crucial. This Special Feature highlights … Continue reading SPECIAL FEATURE: Understanding climate change response in the age of genomics

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#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Songbird parents coordinate in space and time

This blog post is provided by Davide Baldan and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Songbird parents coordinate offspring provisioning at fine spatio-temporal scales“, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Being a parent is certainly not an easy job. It takes a considerable amount of time and energy to successfully raise offspring. That is why each parent would like, if possible, … Continue reading Songbird parents coordinate in space and time

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#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Could apex predators limit the seed dispersal of fleshy-fruit plants? A rewilding scenario involving mammal carnivores.

This blog post is provided by Tamara Burgos and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Predation risk can modify the foraging behaviour of frugivorous carnivores: implications of rewilding apex predators in plant-animal mutualisms”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Tamara Burgos is carrying out her PhD in Ecology at the University Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain. Her research interests focus on … Continue reading Could apex predators limit the seed dispersal of fleshy-fruit plants? A rewilding scenario involving mammal carnivores.

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#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

How high can you fly: butterflies fly according to the vertical distribution of their plant resources

This blog post is provided by Denise Dalbosco Dell’Aglio, Sebastián Mena, Rémi Mauxion, W. Owen McMillan and Stephen H. Montgomery and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Divergence in Heliconius flight behaviour is associated with local adaptation to different forest structures”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Butterflies are found everywhere in a tropical forest. Some are found very high in … Continue reading How high can you fly: butterflies fly according to the vertical distribution of their plant resources

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#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Why do the buffalo roam? Determining what drives seasonal strategies in large mammalian herbivores

This blog post is provided by Joel O. Abraham and A. Carla Staver and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Seasonal strategies differ between tropical and extratropical herbivores”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. The idea for this project came from a project several of us worked on a few years ago, examining the responses of savanna herbivores to drought (published … Continue reading Why do the buffalo roam? Determining what drives seasonal strategies in large mammalian herbivores

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#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Long days but little time: Goslings grow faster at high latitudes

This blog post is provided by Michiel Boom and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Postnatal growth rate varies with latitude in range-expanding geese – the role of plasticity and day length”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. While some species are clearly struggling to adapt to this rapidly changing world, the barnacle goose seems to be prospering. Contrary to other … Continue reading Long days but little time: Goslings grow faster at high latitudes

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