Sharing a Sunny Spot: How Microclimate Shapes Lizard Coexistence Along An Altitudinal Gradient

This blog post is provided by Urban Dajčman and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Microclimate variability impacts the coexistence of highland and lowland ectotherms“, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. In their study, Dajčman and colleagues investigate how two Slovenian lizard species respond differently to environmental conditions in locations where they occur together or separately. When hiking in the forests and … Continue reading Sharing a Sunny Spot: How Microclimate Shapes Lizard Coexistence Along An Altitudinal Gradient

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

Lizard population responses to climate and fire regimes: new pathways to ecological resilience

This blog post is provided by Heitor Sousa and Rob Salguero-Gómez and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Severe fire regimes decrease resilience of ectothermic populations”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. In their study, Heitor, Rob and colleagues found that intermediate fire regimes may be the most conducive to resistance for several Cerrado lizard species, and that variation in life … Continue reading Lizard population responses to climate and fire regimes: new pathways to ecological resilience

Daylength is an ultimate factor of migration

This blog post is provided by Ivan Pokrovsky, Andrea Kölzsch, Sherub Sherub, Wolfgang Fiedler, Peter Glazov, Olga Kulikova, Martin Wikelski and Andrea Flack and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Longer days enable higher diurnal activity for migratory birds“, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology. In general, animals attempt to live in conditions that fit them best. Species’ fitness results from a tradeoff between … Continue reading Daylength is an ultimate factor of migration

Personality and pace-of-life in free-ranging lemon sharks: a field recipe

This blog post is provided by Félicie Dhellemmes and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Personality‐driven life history trade‐offs differ in two subpopulations of free‐ranging predators”. Ingredients: Two (or more) wild populations of juvenile lemon sharks which are known to differ in their predator abundance 15 to 23 people who are ready to fish for twelve exceptionally long nights (every year, since 1993 (or start A.S.A.P.)), to … Continue reading Personality and pace-of-life in free-ranging lemon sharks: a field recipe