Functional Ecology

A Journal of the British Ecological Society

Edited by: Duncan Irschick, Charles Fox, Ken Thompson and Alan Knapp with Liz Baker

ISI Journal Citation Reports^® Ranking:
2010: 18/129 (Ecology) Impact Factor: 4.65
Read papers published in the journal on Wiley Online Library

Latest Videos & podcasts

Behaviour & stress physiology in fish

Gabrielle Archard and colleagues describe their study with freshwater fish, the Panamanian bishop (Brachyrhaphis episcopi), in which they predicted that individuals from populations with predators would release less stress hormone and be behaviourally more robust than those with no predators.

To access the paper click here: Archard, G. A., Earley, R. L., Hanninen, A. F. and Braithwaite, V. A. (2012), Correlated behaviour and stress physiology in fish exposed to different levels of predation pressure.

Listen to the latest podcast here.

Ryan Sponseller describes how he & his colleagues evaluated patterns of stem growth by the shrub, creosotebush, over a 5-year period to learn how desert plants respond to different aspects of the annual precipitation regime, including variation in the amount and characteristics of rainfall in different seasons.
To access the paper click: Sponseller, R. A., Hall, S. J., Huber, D. P., Grimm, N. B., Kaye, J. P., Clark, C. M. and Collins, S. L. (2012), Variation in monsoon precipitation drives spatial and temporal patterns of Larrea tridentata growth in the Sonoran Desert.

Does ecotourism influence shark behavior?

Hammerschlag and colleagues describe their work with tiger sharks.

To access the paper click here: Hammerschlag, N., Gallagher, A. J., Wester, J., Luo, J. and Ault, J. S. (2012), Don’t bite the hand that feeds: assessing ecological impacts of provisioning ecotourism on an apex marine predator.

Haldane Prize Winner 2011 podcast

Julia Cooke is the Haldane Prize Winner for 2011. In this podcast, Alan Knapp, Editor, Functional Ecology interviews Julia Cooke about her paper: Silicon concentration and leaf longevity: is silicon a player in the leaf dry mass spectrum? To access the paper, click here.

Setting the trap

Thornham et al describe in this video highlight how ants' cleaning behaviour maintains the effectiveness of a pitcher plant's prey capture mechanism in a novel form of myrmecotrophic mutualism.

To access the paper click here: Thornham, D. G., Smith, J. M., Ulmar Grafe, T. and Federle, W. (2011), Setting the trap: cleaning behaviour of Camponotus schmitzi ants increases long-term capture efficiency of their pitcher plant host, Nepenthes bicalcarata.

RECENTLY ACCEPTED PAPERS

Wilson et al Is honesty the best policy? Testing signal reliability in fiddler crabs when receiver-dependent costs are high

Amarasekare et al Elucidating the temperature response of survivorship in insects

Ragland et al Fattening up for a long rest: the benefits of feeding on a new plant can offset the costs of changes in seasonality

Sundt-Hansen et al Growth hormone reduces growth in free-living Atlantic salmon fry

Boyle et al Nesting Tree Swallows "decide" how much weight to lose before they even gain it

Jacquin et al The effects of egg yolk and crop milk on the immunity of young pigeons

Orwin et al How do different mosses affect peatland carbon cycles?

Ardia et al Costs of immunity in insects: an induced immune response increases metabolic rate and decreases antimicrobial activity

Gunderson et al Geographic variation in vulnerability to climate warming in a tropical Caribbean lizard

Collins et al Long-term water addition has limited effects on plant community structure in native tallgrass prairie

SPECIAL FEATURES & VIRTUAL ISSUES

Latest 2012 virtual issue
Plant function in a rapidly changing world, edited by Alan Knapp. A selection of papers that increase our understanding of basic plant functioning in an ecological context.

Volume 25, Issue 2 was devoted to papers on Evolutionary Ecology of Plant Defences against Herbivores. Guest edited by Marc Johnson. Read the introductory editorial.

Ecological Immunology
Volume 25, Issue 1 featured papers guest edited by Lynn B Martin, Dana Hawley & Dan Ardia on the rapidly growing field of ecological immunology. The articles synthesize the as yet most intensively studied areas in the field. Read the introductory editorial.

2012 virtual issue
Life after death: the role of litter in ecosystems. Edited by Ken Thompson. A collection of papers on the importance of litter diversity in decomposition.