Long-term research on elephant seals offers opportunities for undergraduates

This blog post is provided by PhD candidate Allison Payne and tells the #StoryBehindthePaper for the paper “Reproductive success and offspring survival decline for female elephant seals past prime age”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Payne discusses how her research on reproductive senescence emerged from an unconventional setting – an undergraduate field class at UC Santa Cruz. The Northern elephant … Continue reading Long-term research on elephant seals offers opportunities for undergraduates

How extreme weather is impacting the romantic lives of birds

This blog post is provided by Frigg Speelman and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Rainfall is associated with divorce in the socially monogamous Seychelles warbler”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. In their study, Speelman and colleagues analysed a 16-year dataset and found that probability of divorce for Seychelles warblers was closely related to the amount of rainfall received during … Continue reading How extreme weather is impacting the romantic lives of birds

Mediterranean corals: storytellers of the past, clairvoyants of the future

This blog post is provided by Marina J. Vergotti, Juan Pablo D’Olivo, and Diego K. Kersting, and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Reconstruction of long-term sublethal effects of warming on a temperate coral in a climate change hotspot”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. In their study, Vergotti and colleagues analysed the skeletons of the Mediterranean coral C. caespitosa and … Continue reading Mediterranean corals: storytellers of the past, clairvoyants of the future

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Plant Metabolites and Sawfly Social Lives: Uncovering Nature’s Secret Networks

This blog post is provided by Pragya Singh and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Plant metabolites modulate social networks and lifespan in a sawfly” which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Together with colleagues, Pragya explores how turnip sawflies acquire plant chemicals from non-food plants that not only boost their defenses but also, depending on group compositions concerning chemical access, reshape … Continue reading Plant Metabolites and Sawfly Social Lives: Uncovering Nature’s Secret Networks

Terrestrial birds mediating their responses to droughts through biological traits

This blog post is provided by Lyu Bing Zhang and Yang Liu and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Biological traits and biome features mediate responses of terrestrial bird demography to droughts”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. In their study, Lyu Bing, Yang and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of 204 species to find that droughts generally have a negative impact … Continue reading Terrestrial birds mediating their responses to droughts through biological traits

Homesick insects

This blog post is provided by Charlotte Taelman and Garben Logghe and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Unravelling arthropod movement in natural landscapes: small-scale effects of body size and weather conditions”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Together with colleagues, they track and study the ability of over 200 insect species to find their way home. Home is a place … Continue reading Homesick insects

Seed dispersers see the rainforest in 3D

This blog post is provided by Nicholas Russo and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Three-dimensional vegetation structure drives patterns of seed dispersal by African hornbills” which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Together with colleagues, Nicholas shows how vegetation structure and weather affect the behaviour and habitat preference of two hornbill species and how this, in turn, may influence seed dispersal. … Continue reading Seed dispersers see the rainforest in 3D

Temporal Variability in Host Availability Alters the Outcome of Competition Between Two Parasitoid Species

This blog post is contributed by Hua Wang, Tiantian Liu, Shucun Sun, Owen T. Lewis, and Xinqiang Xi, sharing the #StoryBehindThePaper for their article “Temporal variability in host availability alters the outcome of competition between two parasitoid species”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. In their study, Wang and colleagues found that temporal variability in host availability had significant effects on … Continue reading Temporal Variability in Host Availability Alters the Outcome of Competition Between Two Parasitoid Species

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The Road to Recovery

This blog post is provided by John Donohue, Petri Piiroinen and Adam Kane and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Predicted short-term mesoscavenger release gives way to apex-scavenger dominance” which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. In their study, they explore whether and how vultures would recover from near extirpation. Most, if not all, modern-day ecosystems bear the hallmarks of human disturbance … Continue reading The Road to Recovery

Adapting to Scarcity: How Drought Impacts Large Carnivore Movement

This blog post is provided by Leigh West and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Droughts reshape apex predator space use and intraguild overlap” which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Together with colleagues, Leigh explores how drought influences the movements and competitive dynamics of four key predators in Botswana’s Okavango Delta: lions, leopards, African wild dogs, and cheetahs. In the dynamic … Continue reading Adapting to Scarcity: How Drought Impacts Large Carnivore Movement