Sticky post

When species can decide whether to disperse or not

This blog post is provided by Xiaozhou Ye and tells the #StoryBehindthePaper for the paper “Maintenance of biodiversity in multitrophic metacommunities: dispersal mode matters”, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology. In their paper they investigate whether distinct dispersal modes (such as random or fitness-dependent dispersal) impact residing metacommunity biodiversity. The answer is yes. Read on to find out more. Does species-level dispersal mode … Continue reading When species can decide whether to disperse or not

Why do the buffalo roam? Determining what drives seasonal strategies in large mammalian herbivores

This blog post is provided by Joel O. Abraham and A. Carla Staver and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Seasonal strategies differ between tropical and extratropical herbivores”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. The idea for this project came from a project several of us worked on a few years ago, examining the responses of savanna herbivores to drought (published … Continue reading Why do the buffalo roam? Determining what drives seasonal strategies in large mammalian herbivores

Long days but little time: Goslings grow faster at high latitudes

This blog post is provided by Michiel Boom and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Postnatal growth rate varies with latitude in range-expanding geese – the role of plasticity and day length”, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. While some species are clearly struggling to adapt to this rapidly changing world, the barnacle goose seems to be prospering. Contrary to other … Continue reading Long days but little time: Goslings grow faster at high latitudes

When, where, and why are soaring migrants dying? Geographic differences in the survival of the globally threatened Egyptian vulture

This blog post is provided by Evan Buechley, Ron Efrat and Steffen Oppel and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for their article “Differential survival throughout the full annual cycle of a migratory bird presents a life history trade-off“, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Evan Buechley received his PhD from the University of Utah with a thesis focused on the movement ecology and … Continue reading When, where, and why are soaring migrants dying? Geographic differences in the survival of the globally threatened Egyptian vulture

Stay home order: why do some ungulates return to the same places?

This blog post is provided by Thomas Morrison from the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Drivers of site fidelity in ungulates“, which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. In a classic study, inauspiciously titled “A lesson in the limitations of field experiments: shrubsteppe birds and habitat alteration”, John Wiens … Continue reading Stay home order: why do some ungulates return to the same places?

Flexible or Familiar? Migrating Gulls are both!

This blog post is provided by Morgan Brown and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the article “Long‐distance migrants vary migratory behaviour as much as short‐distance migrants: An individual‐level comparison from a seabird species with diverse migration strategies”, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology. Morgan Brown is a PhD candidate with Prof. Judy Shamoun-Baranes and Prof. Willem Bouten in the Institute for Biodiversity and … Continue reading Flexible or Familiar? Migrating Gulls are both!

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

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?

Light‐Level Geolocator Analyses: A user’s guide

In the biologging Special Issue of the journal, we have new ‘How to…’ paper lead by Simeon Lisovski from the Swiss Ornithological Institute on Light‐Level Geolocator Analyses. In this blog Simeon walks us through the history of the development of the light-level geolocator, discusses how to choose the best tools for analyzing the date and presents future directions of their usage. Simeon is a Geo.X Young … Continue reading Light‐Level Geolocator Analyses: A user’s guide

Stopovers for sickly songbirds

The understanding of the interplay of movement, behaviour and physiology that biologging offers has applied relevance for a range of fields, including evolutionary ecology, wildlife conservation and behavioural ecology. In recognition of this, the Journal of Animal Ecology has an upcoming Special Feature on Biologging  (submissions due 20th September). This blog posts is written to accompany a recent publication in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Lead-author Dr Arne … Continue reading Stopovers for sickly songbirds