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

Fighting mongooses! How war can impact social relationships

The third in the behind-the-scenes series for the Journal of Animal Ecology’s Animal Social Network Special Issue, this blog post is provided by Beth Preston and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Network‐level consequences of outgroup threats in banded mongooses: Grooming and aggression between the sexes“, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology Animal Social Networks Special Issue. Social networks are a … Continue reading Fighting mongooses! How war can impact social relationships

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

How animals fuel their reproduction: a new approach

This blog post is provided by John Whiteman and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Quantifying capital vs. income breeding: new promise with stable isotope measurements of individual amino acids“, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. It is an intensive process to grow and support offspring – just ask anyone who has raised children. For wild animals, supporting rapidly-developing, new organisms creates many challenges, whether … Continue reading How animals fuel their reproduction: a new approach

Investigating imperfect mimicry in natural populations

This blog post is provided by David Outomuro and Alberto Corral-Lopez and tells their #StoryBehindthePaper for the article “Field evidence for colour mimicry overshadowing morphological mimicry”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Intuitively, to gain higher protection from predators, mimic species should evolve to be mirror images of their models. However, mimic species with very poor resemblance to their models are … Continue reading Investigating imperfect mimicry in natural populations