Search

Government policies attempting to slow the spread of COVID‐19 have reduced access to research laboratories and shifted many scholars to working from home. These disruptions will likely influence submissions to scholarly journals, and affect the time available for editors and reviewers to participate in peer review.In this editorial we examine how journal submissions, and editorial and peer review processes, have been influenced by the pandemic at six journals published by the British Ecological Society (BES).We find no evidence of a change in the geographic pattern of submissions from across the globe. We also find no evidence that submission of manuscripts by women has been more affected by pandemic disruptions than have submissions by men—the proportion of papers authored by women during the COVID period of 2020 has not changed relative to the same period in 2019.Editors handled papers just as quickly, and reviewers have agreed to review just as often, during the pandemic compared to pre‐pandemic. The one notable change in peer review during the pandemic is that reviewers replied more quickly to emails inviting them to review (albeit only 4% sooner), and those who agreed to review returned their reviews more quickly (17% sooner), during the pandemic.We thus find no evidence at these six ecology journals that submissions and peer review processes have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. Also, contrary to analyses in other disciplines, we do not find evidence that there have been disproportionate impacts of the pandemic on female authors and reviewers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The successful movement of individuals is fundamental to life. Facilitating these movements by promoting ecological connectivity has become a central theme in ecology and conservation. Urban areas contain more than half of the world's human population, and their potential to support biodiversity and to connect their citizens to nature is increasingly recognized. Promoting ecological connectivity within these areas is essential to reaching this potential. However, our current understanding of ecological connectivity within urban areas appears limited., We reviewed the published scientific literature to assess the state-of-the-art of ecological connectivity research in urban areas, summarized trends in study attributes and highlighted knowledge gaps., We found 174 papers that investigated ecological connectivity within urban areas. These papers addressed either structural (48) or functional connectivity (111), and some addressed both (15), but contained substantial geographic and taxonomic biases. These papers rarely defined the aspect of connectivity they were investigating and objective descriptions of the local urban context were uncommon. Formulated hypotheses or a priori predictions were typically unstated and many papers used suboptimal study designs and methods., We suggest future studies explicitly consider and quantify the landscape within their analyses and make greater use of available and rapidly developing tools and methods for measuring functional connectivity (e.g. biotelemetry or landscape genetics). We also highlight the need for studies to clearly define how the terms ' urban' and ' connectivity' have been applied., Knowledge gaps in ecological connectivity in urban areas remain, partly because the field is still in its infancy and partly because we must better capitalize on the state-of-the-art technological and analytical techniques that are increasingly available. Well-designed studies that employed high-resolution data and powerful analytical techniques highlight our abilities to quantify ecological connectivity in urban areas. These studies are exemplary, setting the standards for future research to facilitate data-driven and evidence-based biodiversity-friendly infrastructure planning in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides instructions for contributors of articles in the journals of the British Ecological Society (BES). Copyright of all papers and manuscripts submitted the BES; Arrangement of typescript of articles; Specifications.

1. The Neotropical spider Cupiennius salei Keyserling (Ctenidae) selects prey in a manner consistent with the amount of venom available in its venom glands. It distinguishes the venom sensitivity of different prey species, and uses its venom economically (according to the venom-optimization hypothesis). 2. A prey-choice experiment was performed to test whether spiders use olfactory cues to detect prey and select prey items that are appropriate for their amount of available venom. 3. The spider could choose between two similar prey dummies made of agar. We added the odour of two prey species, either by adding minced insects to an agar block or by offering it on filter paper which had previously been exposed to the living prey. Cupiennius salei spiders had either full or emptied venom glands. 4. Two insects of distinctive venom sensitivity, but high acceptance, were tested: a sensitive cricket and a less sensitive cockroach. 5. Using video surveillance, we found an attraction effect of prey odour in the prey-capture behaviour of C. salei. Spiders preferred agar pieces with minced insects or insect odour on filter paper over non-smelling items. Reaction frequency and attack rates were equal for spiders with full venom glands if they had to choose between cricket and cockroach odour. When the venom glands were empty, however, C. salei significantly preferred the venom-sensitive cricket over the venom-insensitive cockroach. 6. We showed for the first time that C. salei uses its olfactory sense to detect prey items, and distinguishes between prey species with low and high sensitivity to spider venom. This study supports the venom-optimization hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents several instructions on how authors can submit their research articles on ecology to the "Functional Ecology" periodical in Great Britain in 2006. It includes information on the outline of the periodical's editorial policy, as well as the publication's policies pertaining to researchers having proper regard for animal welfare and conservation considerations. Instructions are also included regarding the submission, revision and pre-publication of manuscripts. Contact information for the magazine is also cited.

Online submission and review of manuscripts is now required. Please follow the instructions for authors given below. When your manuscript has been prepared in accordance with these instructions, please access the following web site:. You must selectFunctional Ecologywhen you log on to the online submission site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online submission and review of manuscripts is now required. Please follow the instructions for authors given below. When your manuscript has been prepared in accordance with these instructions, please access the following web site: . You must select Functional Ecology when you log on to the online submission site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental conditions can have a lasting epigenetic impact on development, and there is increasing evidence that these effects can be transmitted across generations. Evidence for parental transmission of epigenetic variation to offspring has been primarily focused on paternal epigenetic influences induced by a male's experience of nutritional, social and toxicological exposures.There is an assumption in the literature that paternal influence on offspring in non‐biparental species is mediated exclusively through epigenetic transmission via the germline. However, integration of concepts from behavioural ecology into the study of parental transmission of environmental effects reveals the importance of mating tactics and maternal–paternal interplay in shaping resource allocation towards offspring in considering the mechanism(s) of epigenetic transmission.This paper describes the current state of knowledge regarding paternal epigenetic germline effects, the interplay between maternal and paternal influences and the importance of considering the complex nature of reproduction when predicting the transmission of phenotype across generations. Further, this paper highlights how incorporating concepts from behavioural ecology into the study of epigenetic transmission can refine predictions of phenotypes that emerge and create a more integrated notion of development and inheritance.It is proposed that theoretical and methodological approaches that consider the impact of reproductive context, which include mating dynamics, fertility, variation in parental life history and assessment of maternal effects, could improve the predictions made within studies of paternal epigenetic effects on offspring development. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article shares the author's views regarding the "Functional Ecology" journal in Great Britain. The author implies that the founding editors of the journal aimed a nearly empty niche in journal publishing by fostering the rapid publication of high-quality papers of ecological content, but with physiological and evolutionary biases.

Cover image: Photo of a Margarops fuscatus (photo credit: Tomás A. Carlo), from González‐Castro A, Yang S, Carlo TA. How does avian seed dispersal shape the structure of early successional tropical forests? Functional Ecology, 33, 229–238. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13250. For this paper, the authors performed a seed‐addition field experiment to investigate how frugivorous birds shape the composition and richness of forests during early stages of secondary succession in cleared areas in Puerto Rico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invasive species are one of the great challenges facing the world leading to great economic losses. Increasing numbers of species introductions are also increasing the likelihood of new species interactions - particularly between plants, microbes and insects., Frequently discovered interactions between plants, microbes and insects are giving rise to a new field: plant-microbe-insect ( PMI) interactions. This paper focuses on novel PMI interactions created from the introduction of new plant, insect and microbe species. In particular, this paper asks: Do novel PMI interactions promote or inhibit invasive plants, microbes and insects? And can we predict whether novel PMI interactions are likely to become invasive?, While we might predict that novel PMI interactions are likely to be simple additive interactions due to their relatively short period of interaction, instead this review demonstrates that most novel PMI interactions are actually nonadditive. This manuscript shows that there are a great number of instances where invasive species are promoted by novel PMI interactions. By contrast, the studied cases where PMI interactions limit invasive species are predominantly biocontrol PMI interactions., Future research on novel PMI interactions should focus on predicting future novel PMI interactions that promote invasive species. Given that many novel PMI interactions involve plant pathogens and their insect vectors, this novel PMI interaction deserves more focus. New research should also focus on non-novel PMI interactions that could be manipulated to hinder the spread of invasive plant, microbe and insect species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While an appreciation of plant-soil feedbacks ( PSF) continues to expand for community and ecosystem ecology, the eco-evolutionary mechanisms and consequences of such feedbacks remain largely unknown or untested., Determining the cause and effect of plant phenotypes is central for understanding these eco-evolutionary dynamics since phenotypes respond to soil selective gradients that are, in turn, modified by plant traits. Genetic variation in plant phenotypes can change soil processes and biotic communities; oppositely, soil gradients and microbial communities can influence the expression and evolution of plant phenotypes., Although these processes represent the two halves of genetic based PSF, research in these areas has developed independently from one another. Greater connectivity between research on ecosystem consequences of plant genetic variation and soil selective gradients that drive plant phenotypic evolution will create novel and important opportunities to link ecology and evolution in natural systems., Papers in this special feature build on the inherent ecological and evolutionary processes involved in PSF, outlining many ways to identify and test mechanisms that connect ecosystem ecology and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An almost neglected aspect of climate change is its effects on sensory ecology and sexual signals of animals. Signals used in intraspecific communication are expected to evolve to maximize efficacy under a given climatic condition, but it is unlikely that quick changes in environmental conditions could be compensated by similarly quick evolutionary changes in the design of signals. We predict that global warming will lead to a loss of efficacy of some sexual signals, with important consequences for sexual selection., We examined experimentally the effects of global warming on the efficacy of chemical signals of a mountain lizard ( Iberolacerta cyreni)., We first showed how environmental temperatures in the study area during the mating season of lizards have actually increased in the last years. Then, we tested whether female lizards were able to detect by chemosensory cues the males' scent marks (i.e. femoral secretions) that were experimentally maintained under current and predicted future temperature conditions., Results showed that the efficacy (i.e. detectability and persistence) of scent marks is lower at high temperature. Moreover, we showed that scent-marked substrates maintained under high temperatures were not selected by females, in contrast to the selection of areas scent marked by males, when these substrates were maintained under normal temperatures., Our study suggests that climate warming could lead to negative changes in the efficacy of sexual signals with potential consequences for the sexual selection and conservation of threatened lizard species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. The area or size of an ecosystem affects the acquisition, storage and redistribution of energy and matter. Patch size reduction due to natural or anthropogenic habitat loss will not only modify species distribution and patch structure but also affect the ecosystem processes that are, in part, responsible for patch persistence. 2. In a fog-dependent forest ecosystem, trees and their architectures play essential roles in capturing and redistributing water from collection surfaces. In this paper, we address the question of how forest patch size and structure interact to determine fog water inputs and storage in a fog-inundated, coastal ecosystem in semi-arid Chile (30°S). 3. Six forest patches ranging in area from 0·2 to 36 ha on a coastal mountaintop of Fray Jorge National Park were characterized using 0·1 ha plots laid down at the centre of each forest patch. In each patch, we assessed tree basal area as a measure of forest structure, recorded daily air temperature and humidity, measured water influx from stemflow and throughfall (water that has passed through the forest canopy). Soil and litter gravimetric water contents were used as a measure of storage. 4. Total tree basal area per hectare was positively related to patch area, despite some variation at the species level. Mean and maximum air temperatures inside the patches were inversely related to patch size, with maximum temperatures differing by 2 °C on average. Annual fog water capture by trees within forest patches (net throughfall) was estimated in 296·1 mm after rain flux (about 122 mm) was subtracted. Throughfall volume and patch area were uncorrelated, but stemflow volume, soil and litter water contents scaled positively with patch area, showing a functional link between water interception and ecosystem retention. 5. Our study shows that ecosystem area in this mosaic of fog-dependent temperate forest patches can modify water fluxes and storage capacity of the ecosystem. This finding has important consequences for fragmented landscapes, where large continuous forests are fragmented into smaller patches, affecting not only the persistence of species but also the continuity of critical ecosystem processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. The fungus-gardening ants and their fungi represent a highly co-evolved, vertically transmitted mutualism. Mutualisms such as these are thought to be reciprocal antagonisms, so that the ants and the fungus can be expected to have some conflicting interests. 2. This paper reports the results from a cultivar switch experiment that documented the effects of switching the native cultivar from the basal ‘higher-attine’ Trachymyrmex septentrionalis with a derived cultivar from the leaf-cutting ant, Atta texana. If the cultivars have been modified significantly during the adaptive radiation of this clade, then they should differ in their ability to produce ant and fungal biomass. If the ants can perceive differences in cultivar performance, then their food preference may also change as a result of the switch. Lastly, if conflict is present in this mutualism, then the sex ratio in the switched colonies should be male biased. 3. Our results showed that food preference was not altered by the new cultivar. The A. texana cultivar did not change the performance of T. septentrionalis colonies relative to colonies that were cultivating conspecific fungal cultivars. Foragers preferred insect faeces and oak staminate flowers over fresh leaves or flowers. Most variation in colony performance was attributable to substrate type. Sex ratio of offspring was not affected by fungal cultivar. With respect to fungal growth, the A. texana cultivar appeared to be more of a generalist, while the T. septentrionalis cultivar performed better on substrates preferred by the ants than those unpreferred. 4. The results of this study indicate that cooperation and not conflict has been more important in shaping the evolutionary ecology of this mutualism. Although the cultivars were certainly genetically and physiologically distinct, these differences did not account for variation in the production of ant biomass or ant behaviour. The emerging picture thus indicates that this mutualism should be viewed as a highly integrated superorganism that is more than the sum of its parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Mechanistic models may be able to predict how changes in agricultural practice influence farmland bird populations. A key component of these models is the link between food and competitor densities and the rate at which birds consume food, i.e. the functional response. 2. This paper tests whether the functional response of a farmland bird, the rook Corvus frugilegus, can be predicted from three parameters: searching speed, food detection distance and handling time. It is often difficult to measure the functional response of farmland birds directly, but it may be possible to measure behavioural parameters more quickly. 3. We performed experiments in which rooks fed on a range of artificial food densities in two grass sward heights. Food detection distance was greater in the shorter sward, but sward height did not influence searching speed or handling time. The functional response could be accurately predicted in both sward heights. 4. We show that the functional response of a farmland bird can be predicted from parameters that can be measured more quickly than the alternative of measuring the functional response directly. This implies that the functional responses of other farmland birds may be predicted using a minimum of information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the authors' reactions to a rebuttal of their critique of a research article on a model for allometric scaling. Logical inconsistencies in the model; Proposed solutions to the contradictions of the model; Implications on studies of functional ecology.

This article discusses the principle of neutrality in ecology. To the people's minds, the last decade has seen at least two highly significant broad theoretical developments that address the core principles of ecology. Indeed, much of the metabolic scaling research and numerous papers in the journal fall comfortably within the field of macrophysiology, which has been defined as "the investigation of variation in physiological traits over large geographic and temporal scales and the ecological implications of this variation." The neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeography provides an elegant unified theory of ecology and evolution.

1. This paper explores the idea that functional heterogeneity (variability of a system property affecting ecological processes) is only a fraction of the available structural heterogeneity (variability of a property measured without reference to ecological effects) caused by non-random propagule dispersal. We report the effect of acorn dispersal by jays on the light environment experienced by Holm Oaks (Quercus ilexL.) during early recruitment in a Mediterranean montane forest.2. Four light variables were estimated by studying hemispherical photographs: direct site factor (DSF); indirect site factor (ISF); and potential direct radiation during April (PDRApril) and August (PDRAugust). Means and variances of these variables were compared before and after the dispersal of acorns by jays.3. The landscape occupied by Holm Oaks was very heterogeneous, which translated into differences in the available light among microhabitats of up to one order of magnitude.4. Because of the spatial pattern of acorn dispersal, the light environment of the oaks during their establishment was much more homogeneous than that in the whole landscape.5. This demonstrates that the heterogeneity relevant for plant recruitment is not necessarily that of the landscape as a whole.Functional Ecology(2004)18, 787–792 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Bunchgrasses are clonal plants whose dominance of moist grasslands worldwide is maintained largely through tiller recruitment. Tiller recruitment in clonal plants is a subset of the problem of lateral bud outgrowth in higher plants. This paper proposes that three currently competing hypotheses of lateral bud outgrowth – apical dominance; the nutrition hypothesis; and photosensitivity to the red : far-red light ratio – all operate in a manner dependent on environment and plant form. 2. The evidence for each hypothesis is reviewed, following which an integrated model is provided that links the three hypotheses into a cohesive strategy. Consequently we assess tiller recruitment by bunchgrasses in terms of the constraints of their functional growth form and their environment. Of the mineral nutrients, only nitrogen is considered because it is the only nutrient whose relationship with tiller recruitment is well established. 3. The integrated model maintains the accepted paradigm that actual bud release is hormonally controlled by the auxin : cytokinin ratio, although local nutrient concentrations may also be inhibitory. Importantly, each hormone is controlled by local signals in the shoots and roots, respectively, facilitating appropriate responses to environmental conditions. Auxin production and export from the shoots is moderated by phytochrome responses to red : far-red light ratios. Cytokinin production is mediated by root N concentration which, in turn, is a function of N absorption from the soil and seasonal reallocation of tissue N. 4. The growth form of bunchgrasses and the environment in which they are found emphasize that N has a strong mediatory role over tiller production which allows the grass plant to respond appropriately to shifts in this limiting resource. This suggests that control of lateral bud outgrowth may have an evolutionary basis in resource competition for N. Functional Ecology (2004) 18, 489–496 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary 1. This paper evaluates box-counting dimension as a quantitative clumping index for discontinuous plant cover, and applies it to studies of both small- and large-scale ecological processes in desert locust (Schistocerca gregari a) swarming. 2. The quadrat under study is tiled with squares of increasing size, and the relationship between the number of occupied squares and square size gives the box-counting dimension. This index is high for random distributions and decreases when the vegetation is clumped; it is also positively linked to the abundance of vegetation. 3. At the scale of individual locusts, this index captures the space-filling properties of vegetation that promote change to the gregarious phase and the onset of swarming. At the very large scale, box-counting dimension measured from satellite imagery reflects topography, which influences the concentration and migration of locust swarms. 4. Fractal geometry considers scale of measurement in quantifying pattern and provides a framework to interpret ecological phenomena across spatial scales. Demonstration of a statistically significant relationship between the box-counting exponent and locust behaviour shows how this approach can be applied to ecological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Three hypotheses have been proposed to account for the maintenance of aggregation behaviour in caterpillars. While the benefits of aggregation for defence and for the elevation of growth rates have been investigated in some species, both of these hypotheses have been criticized, and in many cases the alternative hypothesis regarding the benefits of physiological regulation has not been investigated. 2. In this paper the field thermal biology and water relations of solitary caterpillars (instars IV–V) and aggregations of caterpillars (instars I–III) are examined in Imbrasia belina (Westwood) (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), a species where an instar-related change in aggregation behaviour is obligatory (instars I–III always aggregate, instars IV–V are always solitary), and where the benefits of defence and of overwhelming inducible host plant defences are unlikely to be significant. 3. Aggregations of instars II–III maintain body temperatures equivalent to those of larger solitary individuals of instars IV and V, but significantly higher than those of operative models of single caterpillars of instars II–III. In addition, behavioural thermoregulation is not used to elevate body temperatures, although hanging behaviour takes place when upper lethal temperature limits are approached. Nonetheless, solar radiation has a marked influence on the temperature of aggregations because of the accumulation of higher heat loads by the larger masses of large aggregations. 4. Instars IV–V can survive higher temperatures than instars I–III, and this may be because of their accumulation of very high heat loads in the field. Instars I and III can avoid these high heat loads by partial dispersal from the aggregation. In contrast, instars I–III have significantly lower critical thermal minima than the later instars, which may allow larvae to regain aggregations if they are separated from them. 5. Water loss rates of real... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beaks are among the few hard parts of coleoid cephalopods and are informative for species identification. Although mandible shape has been shown to be adaptive in many vertebrate taxa, it has been suggested that the shape of coleoid beaks does not bear any ecological signal. Yet, previous studies only explored beak shape in 2D and none have provided an in‐depth investigation of the potential relationship with ecological variables such as habitat use or diet.The goal of the present study was to understand whether variation in cephalopod beak shape reflects ecology and/or is more driven by phylogenetic relatedness as suggested previously.We imaged 101 lower and 108 upper beaks in 3D using underwater photogrammetry and micro‐CT scanning. Our 3D morphometric analysis conducted on 75 species of cephalopod shows that there is a significant but moderate phylogenetic signal. However, comparative phylogenetically informed analyses demonstrate that beak shape is also driven by ecology.We detected significant differences in beak shape between species inhabiting different habitats (pelagic, benthic or demersal) and of different trophic levels. Our results further suggest that beak shape variation can be summarized along a continuum between two main functions: fast closing versus hard biting.These results provide novel insights into the drivers of beak shape diversity in coleoid cephalopods and suggest that beak shape has evolved adaptively in relation to diet and habitat use. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Many studies have examined the effects of frugivores on the germination of seeds of fleshy fruited plants. However, three key issues are rarely addressed: the need to measure germination of seeds in intact fruits; the effect of germination conditions on results; and the distinction between dead vs dormant seeds. 2. A literature review including 51 plant species from 28 families found that the often-measured scarification effect (germination of bird-defecated vs hand-cleaned seeds) is significantly smaller than the rarely-measured deinhibition effect (germination of hand-cleaned seeds vs those in intact fruits). 3. Both the literature review and new experimental data show that germination conditions affect germination. In particular, seeds in intact fruits have much lower germination percentages in Petri dishes than in the field. Poor germination from intact fruits in Petri dishes may be an artefact. 4. A field experiment with three New Zealand species showed variable effects of non-removal of the fruit pericarp. The retention of the pericarp had no effect on germination in Nestegis cunninghamii; increased the proportion of seeds entering dormancy in Melicytus lanceolatus; and greatly increased seed mortality in Pennantia corymbosa. 5. Germination experiments must be designed carefully to evaluate accurately the risks for plants of frugivory mutualism failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into global change ecology is motivated by the need to understand the role of humans in changing biotic systems. Mechanistic understanding of ecological responses requires the separation of different climatic parameters and processes that often operate on diverse spatiotemporal scales. Yet most environmental studies do not distinguish the effects of internal climate variability from those caused by external, natural (e.g. volcanic, solar, orbital) or anthropogenic (e.g. greenhouse gases, ozone, aerosols, land‐use) forcing factors.We suggest extending the climatological concept of 'Detection and Attribution' (DA) to unravel abiotic drivers of ecological dynamics in the Anthropocene. We therefore apply DA to quantify the relative roles of natural versus industrial temperature change on elevational shifts in the outbreak epicentres of the larch budmoth (LBM; Zeiraphera diniana or griseana Gn.); the classic example of a cyclic forest defoliating insect.Our case study shows that anthropogenic warming shifts the epicentre of travelling LBM waves upward, which disrupts the intensity of population outbreaks that occurred regularly over the past millennium in the European Alps. Our findings demonstrate the ability of DA to detect ecological responses beyond internal system variability, to attribute them to specific external climate forcing factors and to identify climate‐induced ecological tipping points.In order to implement the climatological concept of 'Detection and Attribution' successfully into modern global change ecology, future studies should combine high‐resolution paleoenvironmental reconstructions and state‐of‐the‐art climate model simulations to inform inference‐based ecosystem models. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on nutritional ecology (NE). The requirements of a solid conceptual framework for NE is that it must be nutritionally. organismally and ecologically explicit. Stable isotope analysis facilitated an increase in the ability to understand nutritionally processes in living organisms.

2003 was the year when the journal "Functional Ecology" offices went online. The journal's office now handle all manuscript submissions, reviews and decisions via web-based software accessible at the web site http://britishecologicalsociety.manuscriptcentral.com. The new software implacably informs the editorial board of the journal that they received an eye-watering 398 papers in 2003. This highlights that "Functional Ecology" is increasingly popular, but in danger of being overwhelmed by this interest. Consequently, the editorial board of the journal is planning, with the approval of the British Ecological Society, to make some changes to the editorial team to relieve the burden on individual editors.

Understanding how ecology and phylogeny shape parasite communities can inform parasite control and wildlife conservation initiatives while contributing to the study of host species evolution.We tested the relative strengths of phylogeny and ecology in driving parasite community structure in a host whose ecology diverges significantly from that of its closest phylogenetic relatives.We characterized the gastrointestinal (GI) parasite community of wild geladas Theropithecus gelada, primates that are closely related to baboons but specialized to graminovory in the Ethiopian Highlands.Geladas exhibited very constrained GI parasite communities: only two genera (Oesophagostomum and Trichostrongylus) were identified across 305 samples. This is far below the diversity reported for baboons (Papio spp.) and at the low end of the range of domestic grazers (e.g. Bos taurus, Ovis aries) inhabiting the same region and ecological niche.Using deep amplicon sequencing, we identified 15 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) within the two genera, seven of which matched to Oesophagostomum sp., seven to Trichostrongylus sp., and one to T. vitrinus.Population was an important predictor of ASV richness. Geladas in the most ecologically disturbed area of the national park exhibited approximately four times higher ASV richness than geladas at a less disturbed location within the park.In this system, ecology was a stronger predictor of parasite community structure than was phylogeny, with geladas sharing more elements of their parasite communities with other grazers in the same area than with closely related sister taxa. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anuran (frog and toad) jumping power varies greatly across species, yet muscle power does not. Given that the jumping power of some species is up to five times higher than typical muscle power, power amplification by elastic elements is suggested to explain this discrepancy. However, the ecological reasons for this variation in jumping power remain unclear. One hypothesis is that small jumpers are limited by the time available to accelerate their body during take‐off, leading to small species needing greater power production than larger species to achieve similar jumping performance. Another (non‐mutually exclusive) hypothesis is that the microhabitat species inhabit may drive variation through trade‐offs with performance in microhabitat‐specific, non‐jumping behaviours.We compared jumping power across 68 anuran species that were diverse in evolutionary relationships, microhabitat use and body mass. We used phylogenetic comparative methods to compare the role of microhabitat and body mass in explaining variation in jumping power across species.We found the strongest support for a model that included two factors and their interaction. First, as body mass increased, jumping power decreased. Second, species that burrowed showed lower jumping power than species that did not burrow. Third, the interaction between body mass and burrowing behaviour showed that jumping power declines more rapidly with body mass in burrowing species than non‐burrowing species.The effect of body mass suggests that interspecific variation in jumping power might be partly explained by scaling relationships. Anurans with small body mass may be able to achieve similar locomotor performance (e.g. takeoff velocity) as those with larger body mass, by more effectively amplifying muscle power. Additionally, the effect of burrowing behaviour suggests that species that use hindlimbs to burrow may experience a reduction in their ability to generate jumping power. This may indicate a functional trade‐off between jumping and burrowing performance. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of the multidimensional nature of the inherited information carried by the epigenome and the characterization of its intra‐ and intergenerational dynamics have profoundly changed our understanding of the functioning of biological organisms and the origins of phenotypic diversity.This has raised considerable interest in the study of epigenetics which is emerging as a 'missing link' between environmental and phenotypic variation.Recent discoveries have provided important insights into the mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity, inheritance and adaptation; key concepts at the crossroads of individual‐centred approaches (that mostly study proximate mechanisms); and supra‐individual ones (that mostly study ultimate processes).In this context, epigenetics emerges as a major source of inquiry for the study of ecological and evolutionary dynamics. This special feature provides an overview of the role of epigenetics in ecology and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the mechanisms underlying biological invasions and rapid adaptation to global change remains a fundamental challenge, particularly in small populations lacking in genetic variation. Two understudied mechanisms that could facilitate adaptive evolution and adaptive plasticity are the increased genetic variation due to transposable elements (TEs), and associated or independent modification of gene expression through epigenetic changes.Here, we focus on the potential role of these genetic and non‐genetic mechanisms for facilitating invasion success. Because novel or stressful environments are known to induce both epigenetic changes and TE activity, these mechanisms may play an underappreciated role in generating phenotypic and genetic variation for selection to act on. We review how these mechanisms operate, the evidence for how they respond to novel or stressful environments, and how these mechanisms can contribute to the success of biological invasions by facilitating adaptive evolution and phenotypic plasticity.Because genetic and phenotypic variations due to TEs and epigenetic changes are often well regulated or "hidden" in the native environment, the independent and combined contribution of these mechanisms may only become important when populations colonize novel environments. A focus on the mechanisms that generate and control the expression of this variation in new environments may provide insights into biological invasions that would otherwise not be obvious.Global changes and human activities impact on ecosystems and allow new opportunities for biological invasions. Invasive species succeed by adapting rapidly to new environments. The degree to which rapid responses to environmental change could be mediated by the epigenome—the regulatory system that integrates how environmental and genomic variation jointly shape phenotypic variation—requires greater attention if we want to understand the mechanisms by which populations successfully colonize and adapt to new environments. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many annual plants, mollusks, crustaceans and ectothermic vertebrates, growth accompanies reproduction. The growth curves of these organisms often exhibit a complex shape, with episodic cessations or accelerations of growth occurring long after maturation. The mixed allocation to growth and reproduction has poorly understood adaptive consequences, and the life‐history theory does not explain if complex growth in short‐lived organisms can be adaptive.We model the trade‐off between growth and reproduction in a short‐lived organism evolving in a metapopulation. Individuals occupy risky or safe sites throughout their lives, but are uncertain regarding the risk of death. Modelled organisms are allowed to grow and produce offspring at specified time points (moults), although we also consider scenarios that approximate continuous growth and reproduction.Certain combinations of risky to safe sites select for strategies with mixed allocation to growth and reproduction that bet‐hedge offspring production in safe and risky sites. Our model shows that spatially heterogeneous environments select for mixed allocation only if safe sites do not become the prevailing source of recruits, for example, when risky sites are frequent. In certain conditions, growth curves are multi‐phasic, with allocation to growth that stops, remains constant or accelerates during adult life. The resulting complex growth curves are more likely to evolve in short‐lived organisms that moult several times per adult life.Our work shows that spatial heterogeneity can select for growth that accompanies reproduction and provides insights into the adaptive significance of complex growth curves. Short‐lived crustaceans are particularly predisposed to exhibit complex growth patterns as an adaptive response to spatially heterogeneous environments. Our results suggest that standard statistical growth models assuming adult growth rate to only decelerate over life are not well suited to approximate growth curves of short‐lived crustaceans. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Echidnas are egg‐laying mammals found across Australia, and in Tasmania they hibernate, resulting in a most unusual mating system: males enter hibernation in late summer–early autumn and arouse in late autumn–early winter to mate, although females are still hibernating. Groups of males compete for matings and both males and females mate with multiple partners. Females that mate early return to hibernation even when pregnant, and males continue to mate with pregnant females. We asked to what extent can the bizarre combination of behavioural and physiological features that characterize reproduction of Tasmanian echidnas be attributed to their phylogeny, and how much is a consequence of their ecology?To understand the interaction between energetics and the echidna mating system in determining the timing of echidna hibernation, we analysed data from an 18‐year study of a wild population of Tasmanian echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus setosus)Males in best condition arouse earliest and seek out suitable females, and females that mate early in the mating season re‐enter hibernation while pregnant.Competition between males drives early mating and while mating with males in the best condition could be advantageous for females and their young, egg‐laying in winter is potentially disadvantageous, and post‐mating hibernation by females is a means of delaying hatching of young until environmental conditions are more favourable. This post‐mating hibernation by females is usually disrupted by males which mate with them although they are already pregnant.Comparisons with other echidna populations suggest that a decreased activity period due to hibernation has not increased male–male competition.Similar competition between groups of males for access to females is seen in chlamyphorid armadillos, which occupy a similar ecological niche to echidnas. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical coral reefs currently face an unprecedented restructuring since their extant form and function emerged ~24 million years ago in the early Neogene. They have entered the Anthropocene—an epoch where humans have become the dominant force of planetary change. Human impacts on and interactions with coral reefs are escalating across multiple trophic levels and scales, but we have a rudimentary understanding of what this means for their functional ecology.The overall goal of this special feature is to unpack what the Anthropocene means for the functional ecology of coral reefs, laying the foundations for new approaches and research directions in coral reef science. The collection describes the functional changes and novel dynamics that characterise Anthropocene reefs, from variations in their taxonomy and geology through to the resulting shifts in ecosystem services they provide to humanity.Common changes to coral reefs are occurring that are challenging their historical functional role. These include reductions in benthic calcifiers and declining carbonate production, and benthic assemblage shifts leading to a loss of structural complexity and flattening of reef seascapes. As reefs as we know them are lost from some locations, range extensions and the "tropicalisation" of temperate locations present novel ecosystem configurations that are challenging ecological paradigms and our historical approach to ecosystem management.Hindering our progress, however, is a "functionality crisis." Coral reef functional ecology to date has lacked a clear and universal definition of the term "function," and many assumed links between taxa and reef processes lack empirical evidence. Moving forward, we must establish causal links between functional traits, the species that possess them, and specific ecosystem processes if we are to successfully manage Anthropocene reefs. The functional space coral reefs occupy has arguably widened, presenting ethical challenges surrounding the increasingly interventionist management practices required to achieve particular functional endpoints.For us to steer coral reefs towards a desirable functional future will require a more mechanistic understanding between ecosystem attributes and the provision of services, acknowledging that such services are coproduced by the ecosystem and society. Ultimately, this era in coral reef ecology requires a new approach to coral reef science, one that addresses the complex socio‐ecological nature of coral reefs. These works outline a path ahead for defining and studying the functional ecology of coral reefs, drive debate as to what we want their functional future to look like and call for ecosystem function to be at the heart of managing coral reef futures during this period of rapid transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual conflict is a fundamental driver of male/female adaptations, an engine of biodiversity and a crucial determinant of population viability. Sexual conflict frequently leads to behavioural adaptations that allow males to displace their rivals, but in doing so harm those same females they are competing to access, which can decrease population viability and facilitate extinction.We are far from understanding what factors modulate the intensity of sexual conflict and particularly the role of ecology in mediating underlying behavioural adaptations.In this study, we show that, in Drosophila melanogaster, variations in environmental temperature of ±4°C decrease male harm impact on female fitness by between 45% and 73%. Rate‐sensitive fitness estimates indicate that such modulation results in an average rescue of population productivity of 7% at colder temperatures and 23% at hotter temperatures.Our results: (a) show that the thermal ecology of social interactions can drastically modulate male harm via behavioural plasticity, (b) identify a potentially crucial ecological factor to understand how sexual conflict operates in nature and (c), along with recent studies, suggest that behaviourally plastic responses can lessen the negative effect of sexual conflict on population viability in the face of rapid environmental temperature changes. A plain language summary is available for this article. Plain Language Summary [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical models pertaining to feedbacks between ecological and evolutionary processes are prevalent in multiple biological fields. An integrative overview is currently lacking, due to little crosstalk between the fields and the use of different methodological approaches.Here, we review a wide range of models of eco‐evolutionary feedbacks and highlight their underlying assumptions. We discuss models where feedbacks occur both within and between hierarchical levels of ecosystems, including populations, communities and abiotic environments, and consider feedbacks across spatial scales.Identifying the commonalities among feedback models, and the underlying assumptions, helps us better understand the mechanistic basis of eco‐evolutionary feedbacks. Eco‐evolutionary feedbacks can be readily modelled by coupling demographic and evolutionary formalisms. We provide an overview of these approaches and suggest future integrative modelling avenues.Our overview highlights that eco‐evolutionary feedbacks have been incorporated in theoretical work for nearly a century. Yet, this work does not always include the notion of rapid evolution or concurrent ecological and evolutionary time scales. We show the importance of density‐ and frequency‐dependent selection for feedbacks, as well as the importance of dispersal as a central linking trait between ecology and evolution in a spatial context. A plain language summary is available for this article. Plain Language Summary [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence of reciprocal influences between ecological and evolutionary processes (eco‐evolutionary dynamics) is accumulating at different levels of biological organisation, ranging from populations to communities and even ecosystems.This special feature showcases the state‐of‐the art knowledge on eco‐evolutionary dynamics and dissects the feedback types, the biological and spatial scales as well as the agents of selection underlying the interactions between ecology and evolution.Theoretical approaches to eco‐evolutionary feedbacks can draw on a wide range of fields and have a long history within evolutionary ecology. The integration of theoretical approaches from quantitative genetics, evolutionary ecology, and metapopulation ecology is necessary to advance our understanding of rapid evolution and associated eco‐evolutionary dynamics.Empirical studies in this special feature focus on the evolution‐to‐ecology pathway by which evolutionary processes influence ecological dynamics (the direction in eco‐evolutionary dynamics less well studied). Advancing towards the study of complete (i.e. reciprocal) eco‐evolutionary feedbacks requires unravelling both the ecology‐to‐evolution and the evolution‐to‐ecology pathways in isolation and understanding how they are coupled. This endeavour will require a combination of laboratory, semi‐natural (e.g. mesocosm) and field studies.As the field of eco‐evolutionary dynamics matures, it moves from proof‐of‐principle studies to understanding increasingly complex biological systems. This Special Feature provides necessary tools and approaches, both theoretical and empirical, to achieve this new aim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The power scaling of metabolic rate with body mass is fundamental to animal biology, due to the profound influence that animal size has on ecology and physiology. Yet the value of the scaling exponent (b) is highly debated. This scaling exponent has been suggested to be fixed at 0.67 or 0.75, or to vary systematically with cell size or metabolic intensity between the boundaries of 0.67 and 1. Despite this tremendous interest in the value of scaling exponents, little is known about metabolic scaling within individual animals and how this relates to population‐level scaling. Here, we conducted a long‐term study that repeatedly characterised the complete metabolic profile of a group of 68 individual fish (cunner, Tautogolabrus adspersus) by measuring their standard metabolic rate (SMR), routine metabolic rate (RMR), active metabolic rate (AMR) and aerobic scope (AS) in five separate trials over 10 months (fish mass range, 0.5–19.5 g). At all levels of metabolic intensity, the mean exponents for the group of fish at any single point in time (i.e. within trials; bSMR = 0.89, bRMR = 0.89, bAMR = 0.94, bAS = 0.96) were higher than those characterising the group as it aged (i.e. across trials; bSMR = 0.82, bRMR = 0.84, bAMR = 0.90, bAS = 0.92), and both were higher than the mean exponents for individual fish as they grew (i.e. across trials but within individuals; bSMR = 0.74, bRMR = 0.79, bAMR = 0.83, bAS = 0.85). This variation in scaling relationships, which occurred at different hierarchical levels and across time as the fish aged, may have implications for bioenergetics and ecosystem modelling and for individual ecological and physiological studies where body mass adjustments are made using specific scaling exponents to compare traits of interest between different‐sized individuals. The findings suggest that studies on fish population dynamics should apply metabolic scaling exponents that are significantly higher than those used in studies on individuals. However, the generality of this assertion should be confirmed by future work, as a few existing studies on endotherms (mainly birds) have reported shallower scaling relationships for basal metabolic rate between individuals as compared to within individuals. A plain language summary is available for this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although population responses to environmental variability have been extensively studied for many organisms, few studies have considered early-life stages owing to the inherent difficulties in tracking the fate of young individuals. However, young individuals are expected to be more sensitive to environmental stochasticity owing to their inexperience and lower competitive abilities. Thus, they are keys to understand demographic responses of an age-structured population to environmental variability., In this study, we used capture-recapture modelling, based on a 49 year-long individual-based longitudinal monitoring dataset, to investigate climatic and population density effects on immature demographic parameters in a long-lived seabird, the wandering albatross., We provide evidence that climate and population size affected both survival and recruitment age of young individuals although in different ways according to the trait. We found that early-life survival was mainly affected by population density, whereas recruitment age variation appeared to be better explained by climatic conditions, with a surprising long-term effect of climate. While population size explained 60% of the variation in juvenile survival, the average Southern Annular Mode over the five previous years explained 52% of variation in recruitment age., In addition, although early-life survival was consistently negatively affected by population size, the relationship between recruitment age and population size shifted from negative to positive over time from the 1970s to 2000s, showing that density dependence mechanisms can temporarily disappear., Finally, we found that similar climatic conditions may affect individual performances in opposite ways according to the life stage of individuals. This result underlines the critical need to assess age-specific functional responses to environmental variability to allow accurate demographic predictions. By revealing the poorly known demographic process of younger age classes, the results of this study improve our understanding of population dynamics of long-lived marine species., A is available for this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientists studying the energy expenditure of air-breathing divers are interested in developing a more tractable technique to support their endeavour. Accelerometers instrumented to animals can return a tangible measure of those animals' activity levels, which in some situations correlates with their metabolic rate., However, I argue that reported evidence for this correlation in semi-aquatic animals while diving is not always as strong as it seems. This is because some analyses have derived a measure of activity level by calculating the sum of accelerometry-based values and compared those data points to measures of summed (total) energy expenditure. These summations mean that time (duration) has been introduced into both sides of the regression equation. This is likely to generate a correlation between body acceleration and energy expenditure even if the two variables are not mechanistically linked because time will correlate with itself., Thus, a strong relationship between a summed measure of energy expenditure and a summed proxy of energy expenditure indicates only that as time passes an animal burns calories. Issues concerning summation of variables in principle extend to other potential proxies of energy expenditure, such as heart rate. I demonstrate the artefactual effect of regressing summed values with analyses of modelled data using ecologically valid parameters., Unless a summed proxy predicts total energy expenditure substantially better than does time alone, there is little evidence upon which to base a claim that body acceleration is suitably predictive of metabolic rate. Clarity about the predictive power of body acceleration to estimate metabolic rate should be sought by simply presenting a graph of the relationship between these raw values., A is available for this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollinator network structure arising from the extent and strength of interspecific mutualistic interactions can promote species persistence and community robustness. However, environmental change may re-organise network structure limiting capacity to absorb or resist shocks and increasing species extinctions., We investigated if habitat disturbance and the level of mutualism dependence between species affected the robustness of insect-flower visitation networks Following a recently developed Stochastic Co-extinction Model ( SCM), we ran simulations to produce the number of extinction episodes (cascade degree), which we correlated with network structure in undisturbed and disturbed habitat. We also explicitly modelled whether a species' intrinsic dependence on mutualism affected the propensity for extinction cascades in the network., Habitat disturbance generated a gradient in network structure with those from disturbed sites being less connected, but more speciose and so larger. Controlling for network size ( z-score standardisation against the null model) revealed that disturbed networks had disproportionately low linkage density, high specialisation, fewer insect visitors per plant species (vulnerability) and lower nestedness (NODF)., This network structure gradient driven by disturbance increased and decreased different aspects of robustness to simulated plant extinction. Disturbance decreased the risk that an initial insect extinction would follow a plant species loss. Although, this effect disappeared when network size and connectance were standardised, suggesting the lower connectance of disturbed networks increased robustness to an initial secondary extinction., However, if a secondary extinction occurred then networks from disturbed habitat were more prone to large co-extinction cascades, likely resulting from a greater chance of extinction in these larger, speciose networks. Conversely, when species mutualism dependency was explicit in the SCM simulations the disturbed networks were disproportionately more robust to very large co-extinction cascades, potentially caused by non-random patterns of interaction between species differing in dependence on mutualism., Our results showed disturbance altered the size and the distribution of interspecific interactions in the networks to affect their robustness to co-extinction cascades. Controlling for effects due to network size and the interspecific variation in demographic dependence on mutualism can improve insight into properties conferring the structural robustness of networks to environmental changes., A is available for this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nest structure is thought to provide benefits that have fitness consequences for several taxa. Traditionally, reduced nest predation has been considered the primary benefit underlying evolution of nest structure, whereas thermal benefits have been considered a secondary or even non-existent factor. Yet, the relative roles of these factors on nest structures remain largely unexplored., Enclosed nests have a constructed or natural roof connected to sides that allow a restricted opening or tube entrance that provides cover in all directions except the entrance, whereas open nests are cups or platforms that are open above. We show that construction of enclosed nests is more common among songbirds (Passeriformes) in tropical and southern hemisphere regions than in north temperate regions. This geographic pattern may reflect selection from predation risk, under long-standing assumptions that nest predation rates are higher in southern regions and that enclosed nests reduce predation risk compared with open cup nests. We therefore compared nest predation rates between enclosed vs. open nests in 114 songbird species that do not nest in tree holes among five communities of coexisting birds, and for 205 non-hole-nesting species from the literature, across northern temperate, tropical, and southern hemisphere regions., Among coexisting species, enclosed nests had lower nest predation rates than open nests in two south temperate sites, but not in either of two tropical sites or a north temperate site. Nest predation did not differ between nest types at any latitude based on literature data. Among 319 species from both our field studies and the literature, enclosed nests did not show consistent benefits of reduced predation and, in fact, predation was not consistently higher in the tropics, contrary to long-standing perspectives., Thermal benefits of enclosed nests were indicated based on three indirect results. First, species that built enclosed nests were smaller than species using open nests both among coexisting species and among species from the literature. Smaller species lose heat fastest and thereby may gain important thermal benefits from reduced convective cooling. Second, eggs were warmed by parents for less time in species with enclosed nests, as can be expected if egg cooling rates are slower. Finally, species using enclosed nests exhibited enhanced growth of mass and wings compared with species using open nests, suggesting reduced thermoregulatory costs allowed increased energy for growth., Enclosed nests may therefore provide more consistent thermal than nest predation benefits, counter to long-standing perspectives., A is available for this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Podcast [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon as a defence against herbivory in grasses has gained increasing recognition and has now been studied in a wide range of species, at scales from individual plants in pots to plant communities in the field. The impacts of these defences have been assessed on herbivores ranging from insects to rodents to ungulates. Here, we review current knowledge of silicon mediation of plant-herbivore interactions in an ecological context., The production of silicon defences by grasses is affected by both abiotic and biotic factors and by their interactions. Climate, soil type and water availability all influence levels of silicon uptake, as does plant phenology and previous herbivory. The type of defoliation matters and artificial clipping does not appear to have the same impact on silicon defence induction as herbivory which includes the presence of saliva. Induction of silicon defences has been demonstrated to require a threshold level of damage, both in the laboratory and in the field. In recent studies of vole-plant interactions, the patterns of induction were found to be quantitatively similar in glasshouse compared with field experiments, in terms of both the threshold required for induction and timing of the induction response., The impacts of silicon defences differ between different classes of herbivore, possibly reflecting differences in body size, feeding behaviour and digestive physiology. General patterns are hard to discern however, and a greater number of studies on wild mammalian herbivores are required to elucidate these, particularly with an inclusion of major groups for which there are currently no data, one such example being marsupials., We highlight new research areas to address what still remains unclear about the role of silicon as a plant defence, particularly in relation to plant-herbivore interactions in the field, where the effects of grazing on defence induction are harder to measure. We discuss the obstacles inherent in scaling up laboratory work to landscape-scale studies, the most ecologically relevant but most difficult to carry out, which is the next challenge in silicon ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological and evolutionary processes historically have been assumed to operate on significantly different time-scales. We know now from theory and work in experimental and model systems that these processes can feed back on each other on mutually relevant time-scales., Here, we present evidence of a soil-mediated eco-evolutionary feedback on the population dynamics of an invasive biennial plant, Alliaria petiolata., As populations age, natural selection drives down production of A. petiolata's important antimycorrhizal allelochemical, sinigrin. This occurs due to density-dependent selection on sinigrin, which is favoured under interspecific, but disfavoured under intraspecific, competition., We show that population stochastic growth rates (λS) and plant densities are positively related to sinigrin concentration measured in seedling roots. This interaction is mediated by sinigrin's positive effect on seedling and summer survival, which are important drivers of λS., Together, these illustrate how the evolution of a trait shaped by natural selection can influence the ecology of a species over a period of just years to decades, altering its trajectory of population growth and interactions with the species in the soil and plant communities it invades., Our findings confirm the predictions that eco-evolutionary feedbacks occur in natural populations. Furthermore, they improve our conceptual framework for projecting future population growth by linking the variation in plant demography to a critical competitive trait (sinigrin) whose selective advantages decrease as populations age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban transmission of arthropod-vectored disease has increased in recent decades. Understanding and managing transmission potential in urban landscapes requires integration of sociological and ecological processes that regulate vector population dynamics, feeding behaviour and vector-pathogen interactions in these unique ecosystems. Vectorial capacity is a key metric for generating predictive understanding about transmission potential in systems with obligate vector transmission. This review evaluates how urban conditions, specifically habitat suitability and local temperature regimes, and the heterogeneity of urban landscapes can influence the biologically relevant parameters that define vectorial capacity: vector density, survivorship, biting rate, extrinsic incubation period and vector competence., Incidence of vector-borne disease in urban host populations is rarely, if ever, evenly distributed across an urban area. The persistence and quality of vector habitat can vary significantly across socio-economic boundaries to influence vector species composition and abundance, often generating socio-economically distinct gradients of transmission potential across neighbourhoods., Urban regions often experience unique temperature regimes, broadly termed urban heat islands ( UHI). Arthropod vectors are ectothermic organisms, and their growth, survival and behaviour are highly sensitive to environmental temperatures. Vector response to UHI conditions is dependent on regional temperature profiles relative to the vector's thermal performance range. In temperate climates, UHI can facilitate increased vector development rates while having countervailing influence on survival and feeding behaviour. Understanding how urban heat island ( UHI) conditions alter thermal and moisture constraints across the vector life cycle to influence transmission processes is an important direction for both empirical and modelling research., There remain persistent gaps in understanding of vital rates and drivers in mosquito-vectored disease systems, and vast holes in understanding for other arthropod-vectored diseases. Empirical studies are needed to better understand the physiological constraints and socio-ecological processes that generate heterogeneity in critical transmission parameters, including vector survival and fitness. Likewise, laboratory experiments and transmission models must evaluate vector response to realistic field conditions, such as variability in sociological and environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]