British Ecological Society Journals

Functional Ecology author Adam Devenish chats to Amelia Macho about his research article, 'Mutualistic interactions facilitate invasive species spread' Adam's study explored the impact of invasive Argentine ants on seed dispersal involving both native and invasive plants. Through field experiments comparing invaded and non-invaded areas, he observed shifts in seed dispersal patterns and examined how traits like seed size and chemical composition affected ant-seed preferences. Adam's findings, that in areas invaded by Argentine ants, seeds from invasive plants were three times more likely to be dispersed than native seeds, highlight that impact of invaders may be greater than initially perceived, driving losses in both biological and functional plant diversity. Read the full research article here: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14688 You can view images of Adam's research, mentioned in this podcast, in the article's plain language summary: https://fesummaries.wordpress.com/2024/10/15/how-invasive-argenti

For our ‘Editor Expertise’ series, we will be meeting with each of our Senior Editors, who will share the reason they went into animal ecology, their current and future research focus, and their experience working as an editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology. Our aim is to spread awareness of their research area and give you a chance to get to know the editors behind the journal. This month’s guest is Professor Jean-Michel Gaillard, Senior Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology. (0:00) – British Ecological Society intro (0:33) – Podcast introduction (01:15) – Jean-Michel's journey into animal ecology (02:58) – Jean-Michel's current and future research focus (07:20) – Shoutouts to past supervisors and colleagues (08:50) – Jean-Michel's experience as Senior Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology (12:40) – Jean-Michel's editorial highlights and challenges during his time with the journal (15:40) – Advice for people who want to become editors / are thinking of a career in ecology (17:32) – British Ecologic

As part of our 'Community' series, we’re launching the Emerging Leadership Management (ELM) Network, hosted by Rob Brooker, Thorunn Helgason, and Pen Holland. This is the podcast for people who love to lead or one day might emerge as a leader. In this episode, they interview Jane K Hill, Professor of Ecology at the University of York, former BES Trustee and chair of the publications committee. Tune in to hear Jane discuss her thoughts on leadership, including different leadership styles and exploring what motivations to lead can look like. #leadership #management #ecology #science #emergingleader #leader #manager

We spoke with Dr Alex Maisey, author of "Foraging activity by an ecosystem engineer, the superb lyrebird, ‘farms’ its invertebrate prey", to hear the story behind the paper. Alex also shared his personal journey into animal ecology and some unexpected sounds from a local lyrebird. You can read Alex's full paper, co-authored by Angie Haslem and Andrew F. Bennett, here: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2656.70009

Functional Ecology author Ella Plumanns Pouton chats to Amelia Macho about her research article, 'How do intervals between fires influence canopy seed production and viability?' Ella's study sought to understand how the frequency of fire shaped the quantity of available cones and the seeds within those cones. Her findings, in the context of expected increases in wildfire frequency and droughts in Mediterranean ecosystems, suggest that serotinous species' reproduction and recruitment will be differentially impacted depending on a suite of functional traits. Read the full research article here: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14619

As part of our 'Community' series, we’re launching a new series called the Emerging Leadership Management (ELM) Network, hosted by Professor Rob Brooker, Professor Thorunn Helgason, and Professor Pen Holland. The new BES ELM network is born out of a shared vision to help and celebrate researchers' transitions into management and leadership roles. In this episode, they interview Yadvinder Malhi, a former BES president and Professor of Ecosystem Science at the Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, and Senior Research Fellow at Oriel College. Tune in to hear Yadvinder discuss transitioning into a leadership role and the key aspects of managing and leading a team. ELM Network | What leadership looks like with Professor Yadvinder Malhi By British Ecological Society is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Host Rob Brooker, Head of Ecological Sciences at The James Hutton Institute and Honorary Secretary at the British Ecological Society. Host Thorunn Helgason, Chair

For our ‘Editor Expertise’ series, we will be meeting with each of our Senior Editors, who will share the reason they went into animal ecology, their current and future research focus, and their experience working as an editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology. Our aim is to spread awareness of their research area and give you a chance to get to know the editors behind the journal. This month’s guest is Dr Lesley Lancaster, Senior Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology. (0:00) – British Ecological Society intro (0:25) – Podcast introduction (1:03) – Lesley’s journey into animal ecology (04:00) – Lesley’s current and future research focus (16:50) – Shoutouts to past supervisors and colleagues (19:40) – Lesley’s experience as Senior Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology (23:00) – Advice for people who want to become journal editors / are thinking of a career in ecology (27:59) – British Ecological Society outro

For Black History Month UK 2024, the British Ecological Society is celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world. In this episode, Mthokozisi Moyo shares his experience in ecology and academia. Mthokozisi previously shared a blog post on The Applied Ecologist in 2022 detailing his background in African Ecosystems, Seasonality, and Functional Traits, and his thoughts on Black History Month (see link below). We are pleased to have the opportunity to catch up with him! Blog post: https://appliedecologistsblog.com/2022/10/19/mthokozisi-moyo-accidental-ecologist-to-seasonality-expert/ Mthokozisi's contact details: Twitter: https://x.com/mtho_moyo Email: mottomoyoza@gmail.com

For Black History Month 2024, the British Ecological Society is celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world. In this episode, Dr Damilola Grace Olanipon speaks to Amelia Macho about her experiences in the field, working on plant-mycorrhizal relationships in forest ecosystems. Damilola discusses the importance of reclaiming narratives for Black ecologists in Africa, as well as the importance of equal opportunities. You can find Damilola on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damilola-olanipon-86b9ab76/ Check out all of the British Ecological Society's BHM 2024 blog posts and podcasts here: https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/membership-community/black-history-month/

Amelia Macho chats to Functional Ecology author Patrick Finnerty about his recently published research article "Odour information enables patch choice by mammalian herbivores from afar, leading to predictable plant associational effects". The team demonstrated that elephants can make patch choice decisions from afar using plant odour cues alone, and that these decisions lead to predictable associational effects on the susceptibility of high-quality focal plants to be being eaten. They also used a new method to reduce an entire complex odour profile of a low-quality plant species and reproduce this odour information artificially. This simplified odour set was as effective as real low-quality neighbours in shaping elephant patch choice and subsequently providing associational refuge to the focal plant. This research could offer a new tool to influence herbivore foraging decisions, with implications for wildlife management and conservation, including plant protection. Read the full research article here: htt

As part of our 'Community' series, we’re bringing together a global community of ecologists to discuss their experience and relation to ecology. In this episode, we chatted with Nina Bosch, a PhD student from the University of York and a valuable member of the BES. Nina’s research focuses on the recovery of landscapes after fire disturbance in alpine heathlands with an emphasis on the partnership between plants and fungi. Tune in to understand how attending the BES Annual Meeting has helped Nina to network and build friendships as a young ecologist.

As part of our 'Community' series, we’re bringing together a global community of ecologists to discuss their experience and relation to ecology. In this episode, Lydia Groves is joined by eight committee members of the newly-launched Rewilding Special Interest Group. A range of topics are discussed, including what rewilding is, how it can be used effectively, and what the committee hopes to achieve through the SIG. You can find out more about the BES Rewilding SIG here: https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/membership-community/special-interest-groups/rewilding-group/ And join their mailing list here: https://britishecologicalsociety.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=b3fd69e742034d545c02c0932&id=e4ee09c0cb

As part of our 'Community' series, we’re bringing together a global community of ecologists to discuss their experience and relation to ecology. In this episode, we are focusing on the most exciting event on the BES’s calendar – our Annual Meeting with renowned ecologist and a longstanding BES member Dr. Rob Brooker. Tune in to understand what makes this event such a special one for the ecological community.

For our ‘Editor Expertise’ series, we will be meeting with each of our Senior Editors, who will share the reason they went into animal ecology, their current and future research focus, and experience of working as an editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology. Our aim is to spread awareness of their research area and give you a chance to get to know the editors behind the journal. Our first guest is Dr Nathan J Sanders, Executive Editor. (0:38) – Introduction (1:03) – Nate’s journey into animal ecology (10:15) – Nate’s current and future research focus (20:00) – Nate’s experience as Executive Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology

Amelia Macho speaks with André Luza, whose review article "Going across taxa in functional ecology: Review and perspectives of an emerging field" has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology's 2023 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. André’s review mapped the limitations of current research in functional ecology involving multiple taxa, presented ecological questions to a functional cross-taxa research and showed directions to pushing the limits of this research field. It aimed to encourage researchers in the field of functional ecology to move beyond single taxa and traits, and to integrate more branches and dimensions of the Tree of Life in their research.

Lydia Groves, publishing assistant for Journal of Applied Ecology, sits down with Dominic McAfee to discuss the research article 'Soundscape enrichment enhances recruitment and habitat building on new oyster reef restorations'. Dominic is the author of one of the shortlisted research articles for the Southwood Prize 2023, celebrating early career ecologists. You can read Dominic's research article here: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14307 You can find out more about the Southwood Prize here: https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/publications/best-paper-by-an-early-career-researcher/southwood-prize/

In this podcast, Ximena Cibils discusses her research "Silicon and Epichloë-endophyte defences in a model temperate grass reduce feeding efficiency and immunity of an insect folivore”, which has been nominated for Functional Ecology's Haldane Prize for early career researchers. Ximena presented the first report of silicon defences and Epichloë-endophyte derived alkaloids compromising insect immunity via reduced melanisation response. Deploying both physical and chemical defences against multiple insect herbivore traits, including feeding efficiency, growth and immunity, may be a successful defence strategy in temperate grasses.

For Black History Month 2023, the British Ecological Society is celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world. In this episode, Jeanelle Brisbane joins Amelia Macho. Jeanelle is an Assistant Forest Officer at Dominica’s Forestry, Wildlife & Parks Division, and the founder of WildDominique, a conservation organization. Here, she speaks about her early experiences of nature growing up in Dominica, her international studies, and the impact of Hurricane Maria on both Dominica's ecology and her career. You can read Jeanelle's 2022 blog post here: https://functionalecologists.com/2022/10/28/jeanelle-brisbane-building-on-island-capacity-as-the-foundation-for-conservation-success/ Check out all of the British Ecological Society's BHM 2023 blog posts and podcasts here: https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/membership-community/black-history-month-2023/

In this podcast for Functional Ecology, Frank Harris sits down with Samuel Ross and Darren O’Connell to discuss their recently published review article in Functional Ecology—Passive acoustic monitoring provides a fresh perspective on fundamental ecological questions. Sam and Darren hope their review paper motivates the use of passive acoustic monitoring approaches to think about blue-skies research and the grand challenges affecting our planet, because much of what we can learn by recording and experiencing natural soundscapes is fundamental to our knowledge of life on earth. - Paper: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2435.14275 - PLS: https://fesummaries.wordpress.com/2023/01/23/passive-acoustic-monitoring-provides-a-fresh-perspective-on-fundamental-ecological-questions/ - Sam's website: https://samuelrpjross.com/ - Darren's website: https://people.ucd.ie/darren.oconnell

For Black History Month 2023, the British Ecological Society is celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world. In this episode, Jhan Salazar joins Frank Harris to discuss his early fascination with nature and the importance of representation in academia. Jhan is fifth-year graduate working on understanding patterns of evolution and adaptation of species to mountain environments in the Neotropics. Jhan is doing this research in Dr. Jonathan Losos' Lab in the Department of Biology and Biomedical Sciences at Washington University, St. Louis, USA. Check out all of the British Ecological Society's BHM 2023 blog posts and podcasts here: https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/membership-community/black-history-month-2023/