Functional Ecology | Dr Abbey Yatsko: Why are trees hollow? Termites, microbes and tree internal stem damage in a tropical savanna

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

29 Aug 202428min

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.

2 Apr 202418min

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/

26 Mars 202425min

In this podcast, Amelia Macho sits down with Ximena Cibils to discuss her research "Silicon and Epichloë-endophyte defences in a model temperate grass reduce feeding efficiency and immunity of an insect folivore”. Ximena's research has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology's 2023 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.

22 Mars 202448min

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/

27 Nov 202341min

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

23 Nov 202354min

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/

10 Nov 202330min

For Black History Month 2023, the British Ecological Society is celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world. In this episode, Gideon Deme joins Frank Harris to discuss his journey towards becoming an ecologist, highlight barriers to accessing ecology for black ecologists, and inspiring figures that helped him along the way. Gideon is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Biology at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA. Gideon is also an Associate Editor for Ecological Solutions & Evidence Check out all of the British Ecological Society's BHM 2023 blog posts and podcasts here: www.britishecologicalsociety.org/membersh…th-2023/

2 Nov 20231h 1min