British Ecological Society Journals

In conversation with Paulina Arancibia, one of our shortlisted candidates for the 2023 Elton Prize with Journal of Animal Ecology.

Audio Abstract for recently published research paper: Disgust in animals and the application of disease avoidance to wildlife management and conservation. Article: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13903

Audio Abstract - French Translation for recently published research paper Disgust in animals and the application of disease avoidance to wildlife management and conservation. Article: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13903

In this podcast episode for Journal of Applied Ecology, Publishing Assistant Lydia Groves, is joined by Tercia Strydom, Izak Smit and Brian van Wilgen to discuss their newly published research article entitled 'High-intensity fires may have limited medium-term effectiveness for reversing woody plant encroachment in an African savanna'. Article: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14362

In this podcast for Functional Ecology, Assistant Editor, Frank Harris, sits down with Anna Stöckl—a Group Leader at Konstanz University, Germany—to discuss her recently published paper: Flower patterns improve foraging efficiency in bumblebees by guiding approach flight and landing Anna’s paper shows that flower patterns reduced flower handling time by up to 30%, without a reduction in nectar discovery time. Instead, the patterns were involved in guiding approach flight, landing and departure decisions. Anna et al. revealed these effects on flower-experienced foragers. Since these represent the majority of active pollinators, the nectary-independent impact of flower patterns must be considered fundamental to plant–pollinator interactions under natural conditions. * Article: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2435.14262 * Plain language summary: https://fesummaries.wordpress.com/2023/01/10/flower-patterns-improve-foraging-efficiency-in-bumblebees-by-guiding-approach-flight-and

In this podcast for Functional Ecology, Assistant Editor, Frank Harris, sits down with William K. Oestreich—a postdoctoral fellow at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, USA—to discuss his recently published paper ‘Acoustic signature reveals blue whales tune life history transitions to oceanographic conditions’. Will’s paper suggests that blue whales use flexible cues, perhaps including individual sensing of food availability and social information from other individuals (blue whale songs are audible over hundreds of kilometres) to match timing of feeding and migration with ecosystem processes. This flexibility could be key to survival of this endangered population in an era of rapid global change Article: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.14013 Plain language summary: https://fesummaries.wordpress.com/2022/02/02/blue-whales-flexibly-time-feeding-and-migration-to-match-ocean-conditions/ Transcript: https://functionalecologists.com/2023/03/15/acoustic-signature-reveals-

In this podcast for Functional Ecology, Assistant Editor, Frank Harris, sits down with Thomas Chouvenc—Assistant Editor at the University of Florida—to discuss his recently published paper ‘Eusociality and the transition from biparental to alloparental care in termites.' Thomas’ paper shows that, in eusocial insects, colony foundation is a critical bottleneck, where the founding individuals must engage in a temporary (but obligatory) parental care phase that may ultimately reflect on the family unit conditions of their sub-social ancestors. Article: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.14183 Podcast Transcript: https://functionalecologists.com/2023/03/01/eusociality-and-the-transition-from-biparental-to-alloparental-care-in-termites-podcast-transcript/ PLS: https://fesummaries.wordpress.com/2022/09/20/parental-care-behaviors-shifted-from-parents-to-offspring-in-social-insects/

For Black History Month, the British Ecological Society (BES) journals are celebrating the work of Black ecologists from around the world and sharing their stories. The theme for UK Black History Month this year is Time for Change: Action Not Words. In this very special podcast episode, British Ecological Society Journals podcast is collaborating with Anne Chisa, host of The Root Of The Science Podcast, to produce a panel discussion for Black History Month 2022! Do follow their Twitter account and support Anne however you can! In this podcast, we discuss the journeys of our guests, talk through the challenges that black ecologists (and scientists) face, and look at actions that can be taken to foster a more diverse and inclusive academic landscape. A transcript of this podcast is available here: https://functionalecologists.com/2022/11/07/bes-collaborates-with-the-root-of-the-science-podcast-for-a-special-panel-discussion-with-daniel-pauly-nasiphi-bitani-and-mthokosizi-moyo-for-bhm-2022 Check out all of the

For Black History Month, the British Ecological Society (BES) journals are celebrating the work of Black ecologists from around the world and sharing their stories. The theme for UK Black History Month this year is Time for Change: Action Not Words. Sandra is a PhD candidate in the Xenopoulos Aquatic Ecology Lab, Canada. In this podcast, we sit down to discuss being an 'aFISHionado', growing up as a global citizen of the world, the need to explore and consider the great ecological research coming out of the African continent, and how to go about creating a fairer and more diverse ecosystem in ecology and academia. A transcript of this recording is available here: https://functionalecologists.com/2022/10/24/sandra-klemet-nguessan-discusses-how-to-cultivate-a-more-equitable-and-diverse-landscape-in-ecology-and-academia-with-frank-harris-podcast-transcript Check out Sandra's website to stay up-to-date with her journey and research: https://sandraklemetnguessan.wordpress.com/ Check out all of the British Ecolo

The latest Methods in Ecology and Evolution brought to you in 3 minutes… more or less! In this episode we interview Roland Kays about his recent publication 'The Movebank system for studying global animal movement and demography'. Read the full article here: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/2041-210X.13767 You can also check out Roland's podcast 'Wild Animals' for crazy stories about animals by the people who study them. For more exclusive content check out the MEE blog and social media. Music: “You’re no help” by Silent Partner (CC BY-SA 3.0).

The latest Methods in Ecology and Evolution brought to you in 3 minutes… more or less! In this episode we interview Dr Josh Cullen about their recent publication titled "Identifying latent behavioral states in animal movement with M4, a non-parametric Bayesian method". Read the full article here: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/2041-210X.13745 For more exclusive content check out the MEE blog and social media. Music: “You’re no help” by Silent Partner (CC BY-SA 3.0).

The latest Methods in Ecology and Evolution brought to you in 3 minutes… more or less! In this episode we interview Cassandra Konecny and Graham Brownlee about their recent publication titled “Adapting a propane turkey fryer to manipulate temperature in aquatic environments”. Read the full article here: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/2041-210X.13662 For more exclusive content check out the MEE blog and social media. Music: “You’re no help” by Silent Partner (CC BY-SA 3.0).

The latest Methods in Ecology and Evolution brought to you in 3 minutes… more or less! In this episode we interview Dr Ana Sequeira about their recent publication titled “A standardisation framework for bio-logging data to advance ecological research and conservation”. You can read the full article here: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/2041-210X.13593 For more exclusive content check out the MEE blog and social media. Music: “You’re no help” by Silent Partner (CC BY-SA 3.0).

In this podcast for Functional Ecology, Assistant Editor, Frank Harris, sits down with Phoebe Griffith—a researcher from the Institute of Zoology, London, and the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Oxford University—to discuss her recently published paper ‘Using functional traits to identify conservation priorities for the world's crocodylians.’ To understand better the functional diversity of crocodylians, Griffiths et al. collected a database of functional traits of all species of crocodylians. These traits are measurable qualities – such as skull shape or saltwater tolerance – that allow us to understand the different ecological role of species, and how similar and different species are from one another. Read the paper here: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2435.14140 For those that are hard of hearing, a transcript of the interview is available here: https://fesummaries.wordpress.com/2022/08/05/conserving-the-ecological-diversity-of-crocodylians/ Check out Phoebe's Ed

Listen to MEEin3 to hear the latest methods in ecology and evolution in just three minutes...more or less! In this episode, find out about Dr Chloe Robinson's method 'Propylene glycol-based antifreeze is an effective preservative for DNA metabarcoding of benthic arthropods' https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/712232

Associate Editor Sharif Mukul and Stuart W. Smith discuss this month's Editor’s Choice paper.

In this podcast for Functional Ecology, Assistant Editor, Frank Harris, sits down with Jack J. Devlin—an early career researcher from the University of Kentucky—to discuss his recently published paper ‘Simulated winter warming negatively impacts survival of Antarctica's only endemic insect.’ Read the paper here: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.14089 Read a transcript of this interview here: https://functionalecologists.com/2022/07/12/simulated-winter-warming-negatively-impacts-survival-of-antarcticas-only-endemic-insect-podcast-transcript/ A plain language summary of this study is available here: https://fesummaries.wordpress.com/2022/05/20/simulated-winter-warming-negatively-impacts-survival-of-antarcticas-only-endemic-insect/ Antarctic winters are challenging for terrestrial invertebrates, and species that live there have specialised adaptations to conserve energy and protect against cold injury in the winter. However, rapidly occurring climate change in these regions

In this podcast for Functional Ecology, Assistant Editor, Frank Harris, sits down with two Guest Editors—Pablo García-Palacios and Ji Chen— to discuss our recently published Special Feature on soil carbon storage. Read the Special Feature for free here: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/13652435/2022/36/6 A transcript of this podcast is available to read here: https://functionalecologists.com/2022/06/30/emerging-relationships-among-microbes-soil-carbon-storage-and-climate-change-podcast-transcript/ The Guest Editors' Functional Ecology blogpost can be read here: https://functionalecologists.com/2022/06/07/pablo-garcia-palacios-ji-chen-emerging-relationships-among-soil-microbes-carbon-dynamics-and-climate-change/ The Special Feature identifies emerging findings from soil microbial ecology and climate change research that can reduce uncertainty if incorporated into theory and models. The contributions span from novel perspectives on the priming effect and soil microbial enzymes, to understudi

Blog Associate Editor, Julie Koch Sheard, sits down with the Guest Editors of Journal of Animal Ecology's Special Feature, Understanding climate change response in the age of genomics. As global temperatures continue to rise, there is a major threat to species and ecosystems worldwide. In order to develop conservation and mitigation strategies, and understanding of how animal populations respond to changing environments is crucial. Recent genomics-based studies have begun to shed light on the mechanisms by which animal populations respond to climate change and offer methods to predict how they will respond in the future. This Special Feature highlights emerging genomics approaches and their applications across a diverse range of animal species; exploring range shifts, phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation of animal populations. By connecting these topics and their ecological implications, this feature aids researchers in using genomics to understanding climate change response.

JOURNAL CLUB: Jane Catford interviews Prof. David Tilman about his mini-review: Extinction, climate change and the ecology of Homo sapiens. Listen to the podcast, and then join Dave online for a live Twitter discussion! (full details below) • 00:00 Introductions and a summary of the paper. • 03:12 What’s led you from the start of your career, to asking these big questions around the impacts of agriculture, fossil fuels, and the intersection of human health and the environment? • 06:25 You say in your abstract that ‘ecology needs to become a more mechanistic and predictive science’ - how can we achieve that, and what do you think has been holding us back? • 08:42 If we had more mechanistic predictive models, do you think we could have better anticipated those unintended consequences that came out from mandating that we use maize for fuel? • 12:13 You make a strong argument that we need to be doing more multi-disciplinary thinking and working - in practice, how do we do that? • 19:10 Which strategies should