A Migratory Bird’s Journey from the Andes of Colombia to North America: leave early and take it easy or leave late and migrate fast?

This blog post is provided by Ana M. González and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Earlier and slower or later and faster: Spring migration pace linked to departure time in a Neotropical migrant songbird”. Several species of migratory birds, many populations of which are in steep decline, spend the winter exclusively in montane forest in the Andes of northern South America between 1000-2500 m … Continue reading A Migratory Bird’s Journey from the Andes of Colombia to North America: leave early and take it easy or leave late and migrate fast?

We are recruiting for a Blog Associate Editor

We’re really excited to be advertising for a new Associate Editor for the blog. This is a great opportunity for an active ecologist with a passion for helping researchers communicate important new findings in animal ecology. After three fantastic years leading and growing the blog our current Editor, Sarah Marley is stepping down. Here is what Sarah had to say about the role: It is … Continue reading We are recruiting for a Blog Associate Editor

2019 Elton Prize Winner: Uriah Daugaard

The Elton Prize is awarded annually for the best paper published in Journal of Animal Ecology by an Early Career Researcher. We’re delighted to announce that the 2019 winner is Uriah Daugaard, for his article ‘Warming can destabilize predator–prey interactions by shifting the functional response from Type III to Type II’. A topical challenge in ecology is to understand how temperature affects the complex ways … Continue reading 2019 Elton Prize Winner: Uriah Daugaard

Dodgy gut? Have a lemur cuddle!

According to new research published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, physical contact may be good for your health.  Well, at least if you’re a lemur. Scientists have found a direct link between physical contact and gut bacteria in red-bellied lemurs (Eulemur rubriventer).  The study aim was to better understand causes of diversity within the animal’s gut microbiome.  These communities of belly bacteria play a key … Continue reading Dodgy gut? Have a lemur cuddle!

Otterly Awesome

Everyone loves sea otters – not to would be ‘otter’ nonsense!  But how much do you know about them?  The last week of September is ‘otterwise’ known as Sea Otter Awareness Week, offering a perfect chance to learn more! Dr Sylvia Parsons*, a Research Associate at the Centre for Marine Science and Technology (CMST) at Curtin University, shares some ‘otterly’ amazing facts about these marine … Continue reading Otterly Awesome

Why Mark Twain was wrong about lizards

In the many discussions regarding Mark Twain, relatively few probably relate to his opinion on lizards.  However, this is the focus of our guest post by Professor Shai Meiri from Tel Aviv University, which aptly marks World Lizard Day (14th August)! One of humanities greatest wits – and one of the first modern tourists – Mark Twain, visited the Holy Land some 150 years ago … Continue reading Why Mark Twain was wrong about lizards

Giving a hoot about owl populations

International Owl Day – who gives a hoot?  Dr Sarah Hoy sure does!  Sarah completed her PhD at the University of Aberdeen, which studied how the demography and dynamics of tawny owls have changed over the last 30 years in response to changing environmental conditions.  She is now a researcher in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science at Michigan Technological University, working with the … Continue reading Giving a hoot about owl populations

Social networks and disease transmission – A story of giraffes

World Giraffe Day celebrates the longest-necked animal on the longest day (or night, depending on your hemisphere!) of the year – 21st June.  Yet many aspects of giraffe ecology remain poorly studied.  Dr Kim VanderWaal, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, studies how animal social behaviour translates into contact networks and pathogen transmission patterns.  To mark World Giraffe Day, she tells us about her … Continue reading Social networks and disease transmission – A story of giraffes

What makes a great paper for Journal of Animal Ecology?

In this video Executive Editor Ken Wilson discusses what he is looking for from a great paper for Journal of Animal Ecology. The message from Ken is that papers must have a clear structure, clear message, clear narrative & be genuinely novel. Ken goes onto discuss our popular feature papers including Synthesis and ‘How to…’ papers. Ken discusses how synthesis papers are reviews focused on … Continue reading What makes a great paper for Journal of Animal Ecology?

We are recruiting for a blog editor

86_1_coverWe are looking for an Associate Editor for this blog. The aim of the blog is to provide the latest journal updates and, in particular, to serve as a forum for informative and stimulating discussion of topics in the field of animal ecology. Posts are variously contributed by the Senior Editors, the Assistant Editor and other members of the Editorial board.

The Blog Editor will be responsible for commissioning content for the blog and will work closely with the rest of the Journal’s editorial board and editorial office to determine regular content. We aim to publish 3–4 posts per month. In the rare cases where there is disagreement regarding content, all final Editorial decisions will rest with the Editorial Office. Continue reading “We are recruiting for a blog editor”