Functional EcologyBritish Ecological Society
 

Latest Videos



Setting the trap



The foraging tight-rope



Life in the really slow lane



Do nectar guides influence foraging?



Does the immune system change with age?



A micro-view of thermal stress in snails


 
Ageing in lizards



Bats heads and jaws in 3D


Reproduction and death in beetles



Whale Sharks do the math to avoid sinking



Fish shrink in winter



Grasshopper escape performance



Modelling bat feeding

 

Setting the trap

Uploaded 30 November 2011


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. 


The foraging tight-rope

Uploaded 10 November 2011


The foraging tight-rope is a matter of concentration for free-ranging bushbabies choosing the right plants to eat whilst avoiding their enemies. In this video McArthur and colleagues explain strategies used by bushbabies to keep safe.

To access the paper click here: McArthur,C., Orlando,P., Banks, P.B. and Brown,J.S. (2011) The foraging tightrope between predation risk and plant toxins: a matter of concentration

 

Life in the really slow lane

Uploaded 11 October 2011

In this video Scott et al talk about how they researched the age of maturity for loggerhead sea turtles by tracking the journey of young juveniles across the North Atlantic and measuring their growth rate.

To access the paper click here:
Scott, R., Marsh, R. and Hays, G. C. (2011), Life in the really slow lane: loggerhead sea turtles mature late relative to other reptiles.

 

Do nectar guides influence foraging?

Uploaded 6 July 2011


This video by Anne Leonard and Daniel Papaj describes their recent research on whether nectar traps guide the foraging preferences of bumblebees,

To access the paper click here: Leonard, A. S. and Papaj, D. R. (2011), ‘X’ marks the spot: The possible benefits of nectar guides to bees and plants.

 

Does the immune system change with age?

Uploaded 1 June 2011

An audio slideshow from a recent paper by Ujvari and Madsen published in Functional Ecology. This paper shows how the common assumption of a decline in the immune system with age does not hold true in Australian Pythons. Rather, some components of the immune system improve with age, whereas other aspects decline, suggesting a complex interplay between age and the physiological strategies that these snakes use to maintain health.

To access the paper click here:
Ujvari, B. and Madsen, T. (2011), Do natural antibodies compensate for humoral immunosenescence in tropical pythons?

 


A micro-view of thermal stress in snails

Uploaded 10 May 2011


Recent research by Chapperon and Seuront shows how snails experience significant and variable thermal stress in shoreline habitats.  Their audio slide show and lay summary explain their findings.

To access the paper click here:
Chapperon, C. and Seuront, L. (2011) Space–time variability in environmental thermal properties and snail thermoregulatory behaviour


Ageing in lizards

Uploaded 8 March 2011

In this study published in Functional Ecology, Massot et al use a wild population of common lizards to show ageing variation in females. Integrative studies are a challenge in free-living populations and here 14 years of study are used to report on multiple aspects of female maturation.

To access the paper click here: Massot, M., Clobert, J., Montes-Poloni, L., Haussy, C., Cubo, J. and Meylan, S. (2011) An integrative study of ageing in a wild population of common lizards..


Bats Heads and Jaws in 3-D

Uploaded 15 February 2011

A CT-SCAN movie showing morphological variation among bat species in their jaw, head and teeth dimensions. This is based on a recent paper by Santana, Strait and Dumont recently published online in Functional Ecology. This paper shows that teeth complexity, measured using sophisticated mapping techniques, varied according to diet in bats, suggesting that evolution has proceeded to more complex morphology in some species as a function of dietary choices.

To access the paper click here: Santana, S. E., Strait, S. and Dumont, E. R. (2011), The better to eat you with: functional correlates of tooth structure in bats.



Reproduction and death in beetles

Uploaded 20 January 2011

Video highlights for a recent article in Functional Ecology by Cotter et al. examining relationships between reproduction and death in beetles. A great read!

To access the paper click here:
Cotter, S. C., Ward, R. J. S. and Kilner, R. M. (2010) , Age-specific reproductive investment in female burying beetles: independent effects of state and risk of death.



Whale Sharks do the math to avoid sinking

Uploaded 25 November 2010

Video highlights from a recent paper by Gleiss et al published in Functional Ecology. This important new work shows how the majestic whale shark uses basic geometry to minimize energy expenditure during swimming

To access the paper click here:
Gleiss, A. C., Norman, B. and Wilson, R. P. (2010), Moved by that sinking feeling: variable diving geometry underlies movement strategies in whale sharks



Fish shrink in winter

Uploaded 26 November 2010

Video highlights of a recent study by Huusko et al published in Functional Ecology

To access the paper click here:
Huusko, A., Maki-Petays, A., Stickler, M. and Mykr , H. (2010), Fish can shrink under harsh living conditions



Grasshopper escape performance

Uploaded 28 September 2010

A visual summary of research on grasshopper jumping and development.
To access the paper click here:
Hawlena, D., Kress, H., Dufresne, E. R. and Schmitz, O. J. (2010) Grasshoppers alter jumping biomechanics to enhance escape performance under chronic risk of spider predation



Modelling bat feeding

Uploaded 28 September 2010

A CT-SCAN movie showing morphological variation among bat species in their jaw, head and teeth dimensions. This is based on a recent paper by Santana, Strait and Dumont recently published online in Functional Ecology. This paper shows that teeth complexity, measured using sophisticated mapping techniques, varied according to diet in bats, suggesting that evolution has proceeded to more complex morphology in some species as a function of dietary choices.

To access the paper click here:
Santana, S. E., Dumont, E. R. and Davis, J. L. (2010), Mechanics of bite force production and its relationship to diet in bats

 

 

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