Category: Guest post

#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Bold fish get eaten, but ocean acidification is not to blame

In this blog post, Dominique Roche and colleagues tell the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “No effect of short-term exposure to ocean acidification on individual-level variation in behaviour and susceptibility to predation in a Great Barrier Reef damselfish“, recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Their study looked past group averages, asking instead whether ocean acidification changes how individual reef fish differ from one another … Continue reading Bold fish get eaten, but ocean acidification is not to blame

Unknown's avatarRowan KuminskiLeave a comment
#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Why don’t all birds lay early? What makes a Manx Shearwater early or late?

This blog post is provided by Katrina Siddiqi-Davies and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article, “Why don’t all birds lay early? Causes and consequences of breeding timing for a long-lived migratory seabird“. This study investigated why some birds consistently return to their breeding colonies and lay their eggs earlier than others, finding that individual differences in migration timing, breeding partners and seasonal food availability all … Continue reading Why don’t all birds lay early? What makes a Manx Shearwater early or late?

Unknown's avatarLaura HemminghamLeave a comment
#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

City Park Squirrels, Public Data, and My Bicycle 

In this blog post, Francis Quang-Hai Dinh tell the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Fine-scale spatial variation in eastern grey squirrel melanism across a complex urban landscape“, recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. This study utilised surveys of 197 parks and citizen science observations to examine spatial variation in eastern grey squirrel coat colour morphs across Montreal. During my time off from my student … Continue reading City Park Squirrels, Public Data, and My Bicycle 

Unknown's avatarRowan KuminskiLeave a comment
#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Not-so-great tit: early-life conditions are making Wytham’s great tits a bit less great

This blog post is provided by David López-Idiáquez and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Early-life environment drives long-term decrease in adult body mass in a wild bird population“, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology. This study explored temporal changes in body mass of adult and nestling great tits, as well as the effect of several environmental variables. Change is inherent to … Continue reading Not-so-great tit: early-life conditions are making Wytham’s great tits a bit less great

Unknown's avatarRowan KuminskiLeave a comment
#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

A Fair (Enough) Warning: Contextually Conspicuous Snake Species Are More Likely to Be Venomous!

This blog post is provided by Amy Duclaux and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article, “Contextually conspicuous species are more likely to be venomous: Habitat-dependent aposematic colouration found throughout snakes”, co-authored with Michel Dugon and Kevin Healy. This study explored whether venomous snakes are more likely to stand out from their natural environments, finding links between venom, conspicuous colouration, red colouration and banded patterns. Born … Continue reading A Fair (Enough) Warning: Contextually Conspicuous Snake Species Are More Likely to Be Venomous!

Unknown's avatarLaura HemminghamLeave a comment
#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Elements on the move: Tracking migratory red deer to understand nitrogen transport in the Alps

In this blog post, Kristy Ferraro tell the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Elements on the move: How ungulate migration expands Alpine biogeochemical footprints“, recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. This study explored how local- and landscape-scale movement of migratory vs. resident red deer influenced nitrogen distribution across an alpine landscape. Animal migration is one of the most fascinating aspects of animal life. When … Continue reading Elements on the move: Tracking migratory red deer to understand nitrogen transport in the Alps

Unknown's avatarRowan KuminskiLeave a comment
#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Do variable environments erode the value of parental coordination in albatrosses?

In this blog post, Natasha Gillies tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Contrasting associations between parental coordination and breeding success in albatrosses across differing environmental contexts“, recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. This study explored how parental effort and coordination in different environmental contexts influenced breeding success in two albatross species. Any parent will tell you the importance of an involved partner – … Continue reading Do variable environments erode the value of parental coordination in albatrosses?

Unknown's avatarRowan KuminskiLeave a comment
#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Fur, focus, and lizards: the hush of friendship woven in field days

This blog post is provided by Qiong Zhang and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Sex-specific responses to warming: A longitudinal study linking life-history variation to telomere dynamics, telomerase expression and oxidative stress“, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology. This study examined how climate warming influences sex-specific life history trajectories of toad-headed agamas by monitoring growth, survival, telomere dynamics, telomerase expression, and … Continue reading Fur, focus, and lizards: the hush of friendship woven in field days

Unknown's avatarRowan KuminskiLeave a comment
Credit: Grégoire Delanos, Recherche sans filtre, Sorbonne Université, 2024.
#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Paler within the city: Across Europe, great tits (Parus major) are paler in more impervious neighbourhoods.

This blog post is provided by Nicolas Bekka and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Paler within the city: carotenoid-based colouration covaries negatively with the proportion of impervious surface in great tit (Parus major) territories across Europe”, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology. In their study, Bekka and colleagues explore how fine-scale urbanisation shapes plumage colour in great tits across six European … Continue reading Paler within the city: Across Europe, great tits (Parus major) are paler in more impervious neighbourhoods.

Unknown's avatarLaura HemminghamLeave a comment
#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

The Value of Reproductive Value

This blog post is provided by Jean-Dominique Lebreton and Madan K. Oli and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Reproductive value as a key concept in ecology and evolutionary biology”, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology. In their study, Lebreton, Oli and colleagues break down the meaning of reproductive value, an idea first proposed by R. A. Fisher almost a century ago to … Continue reading The Value of Reproductive Value

Unknown's avatarEdie AbrahamsLeave a comment