Flexible or Familiar? Migrating Gulls are both!

This blog post is provided by Morgan Brown and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Long‐distance migrants vary migratory behaviour as much as short‐distance migrants: An individual‐level comparison from a seabird species with diverse migration strategies”, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology. Morgan Brown is a PhD candidate with Prof. Judy Shamoun-Baranes and Prof. Willem Bouten in the Institute for Biodiversity and … Continue reading Flexible or Familiar? Migrating Gulls are both!

Indirect interactions through shared predation can drive food-web responses to environmental change: lessons learnt from a lake mesocosm experiment

This blog post is provided by Fernando Chaguaceda and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Short-term apparent mutualism drives responses of aquatic prey to increasing productivity“, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology. Mobile generalist predators that feed on more than one prey are common in nature, from the majestic whales that spread their feeding habitats from pole to pole to small animals … Continue reading Indirect interactions through shared predation can drive food-web responses to environmental change: lessons learnt from a lake mesocosm experiment

Natural selection in action on seasonal migration during extreme storms

This blog post is provided by Paul Acker, Francis Daunt, Sarah Burthe, Mark Newell, & Jane Reid and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Strong survival selection on seasonal migration versus residence induced by extreme climatic events“, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology. Ongoing global changes are causing rapid and substantial alterations of environments to which species had previously adapted. Resulting mismatches between individuals and their … Continue reading Natural selection in action on seasonal migration during extreme storms

Hidden, but not insignificant – appreciating parasites in stream ecology

This blog post is provided Tamara Layden with edits by Dan Preston and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Trematode parasites exceed aquatic insect biomass in Oregon stream food webs”, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology. As far as animals go, it is probably safe to say that parasites, such as trematodes, fall into the “lesser loved” category. Why? First, they are … Continue reading Hidden, but not insignificant – appreciating parasites in stream ecology

Too many, too few, or empty: The number of passengers determines whether nematodes will hitchhike on a vehicle

This blog post is provided by Satyajeet Gupta and Renee M Borges from the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Hopping on: Conspecific traveller density within a vehicle regulates parasitic hitchhiking between ephemeral microcosms“, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Tiny organisms that are unable to move far by themselves or assisted by water … Continue reading Too many, too few, or empty: The number of passengers determines whether nematodes will hitchhike on a vehicle

Big brains, low densities

This blog post is provided by Manuela González-Suárez and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “The role of brain size on mammalian population densities”, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology. An area near my home has an active sett occupied by a badger family. I have also seen a handful of deer, and dozens and dozens of squirrels. This difference in the … Continue reading Big brains, low densities