Tag: Genetics

#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Small details affect the big picture: The response of populations to changing environments depends more on individual organisms than we can see in classical models

This blog post is provided by Mark Rademaker, Anieke van Leeuwen and Isabel Smallegange and tells the #StoryBehindthePaper for the paper “Why we cannot always expect life history strategies to directly inform on sensitivity to environmental change“, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology. In their paper, they explore individual-level tradeoffs, and how these affect trait patterns and population responses, finding that compared … Continue reading Small details affect the big picture: The response of populations to changing environments depends more on individual organisms than we can see in classical models

Unknown's avatarBeth PrestonLeave a comment
Guest post

A Colourful Distribution

Skinks come in a variety of colours and patterns. But why and how are these colour polymorphisms maintained? Genevieve Matthews, a PhD student at Monash University, has been studying skinks for four years. Her research examines the maintenance of genetic variation in the form of colour pattern polymorphism in the delicate skink, and the costs associated with sexual conflict. Here, Genevieve summarises her recent publication … Continue reading A Colourful Distribution

Unknown's avatarSarah MarleyLeave a comment
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Disease Ecology: The Lion’s Share

For the 2017 Elton Prize, the Editors selected one winning paper and two highly-commended papers. Last month we featured a blog post about prize winner Natalie Clay, and now we are proud to feature a post by highly-commended author Nick Fountain-Jones. Nick is a postdoc with the Department of Veterinary Population Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Read on to hear the #StoryBehindThePaper Understanding disease transmission … Continue reading Disease Ecology: The Lion’s Share

Unknown's avatarSarah MarleyLeave a comment
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Glimpsing evolutionary instability in mountains

There are many challenging environments on the planet, and the Andes Mountains are no exception. Animals living at height need to overcome a range of extremes – but how do they achieve this and what impact does it have on their evolution? Chauncey Gadek is a Masters student at the University of New Mexico, and his research with Dr Christopher Witt examines the impact of … Continue reading Glimpsing evolutionary instability in mountains

Unknown's avatarSarah MarleyLeave a comment
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When Some Choughs Do Better Than Others

Red-billed choughs are a species of conservation concern, as discussed a recent Journal of Animal Ecology publication investigating their effective population size.  Amanda Trask, lead author of the study, recently finished her PhD at the University of Aberdeen on conservation genetics and demographics of one of the last remaining red-billed chough populations in Scotland, and is currently working as a Research Ecologist with the British Trust for … Continue reading When Some Choughs Do Better Than Others

Unknown's avatarSarah Marley1 Comment