Nectar sugar concentration matters in shaping bee-flower interactions
Chun-Feng Yang, Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, discusses their article: Nectar sugar concentration contributes to structuring bumble bee and plant interactions Why do flowers vary their nectar sugar concentrations? Producing nectar entails significant energetic costs for plants, with investment strongly correlated to sugar concentration. It is therefore believed that interspecific variation…...
[read more]Tue, 16 Sep 2025 04:54:55 +0000
Shrub Expansion in the Arctic: Quantifying and Explaining the Transformation of Tundra Landscapes
Anna Derkacheva, Gerald “JJ” Frost, Howie Epstein, and Ksenia Ermokhina, of HSE University in Russia, Alaska Biological Research, Inc., the University of Virginia, and the Russian Academy of Sciences (respectively), discuss their article: Landscape patterns of shrubification in the Siberian low arctic: A machine learning perspective The Arctic tundra is experiencing some of the strongest…...
[read more]Tue, 09 Sep 2025 05:35:40 +0000
Which non-native plants tend to occupy similar climates at home and far away from home?
Marc Riera, Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), discusses his article: Climatic niche conservatism in non-native plants is largely dependent on their climatic niche breadth in the native range Setting the scene: niche conservatism in the context of biological invasions The Biosphere is on the move. Thousands of species are jumping from one…...
[read more]Thu, 04 Sep 2025 04:57:44 +0000
Liana diversity and density in Ghana show positive association with precipitation, precisely opposite to pantropical trends
Bismark Ofosu-Bamfo, University of Energy and Natural Resources in Sunyani, Ghana, discusses his article: Patterns and drivers of liana community structure across five forest ecosystem types in Ghana In recent years, ecologists in the tropics have dedicated a good amount of research to understand the pattern and drivers of community assemblages of woody climbing plants,…...
[read more]Tue, 02 Sep 2025 05:25:27 +0000
Seedlings in a hotter, drier, CO₂-rich world: How do they cope?
María Natalia Umaña and Inés Ibañez, University of Michigan, discuss their article: How do drought and elevated temperatures influence CO2 fertilization effects on tree seedling performance? A global meta-analysis Climate change is not happening one thing at a time. In forests across the globe, seedlings are already experiencing a mix of higher atmospheric CO₂, rising…...
[read more]Thu, 28 Aug 2025 03:31:07 +0000
Soil Microbial Networks Under Long-term Nitrogen Stress: Reinforcing the Core of Ecosystem Health
Xiaobo Yuan and Yaodan Zhang, from Lanzhou University in China, discuss their article: Soil microbial networks mediate long-term effects of nitrogen fertilization on ecosystem multiservices Nitrogen (N) fertilization caused by anthropogenic activities such as fertilizer application and fossil fuel combustion have significantly impacted the capacity of ecosystems to support key services such as nutrient cycling…...
[read more]Tue, 26 Aug 2025 04:48:36 +0000
How do hundreds of tree species occupy tropical forests? Large tree fall gaps might hold the answer
Damla Cinoğlu and Caroline Farrior, University of Texas at Austin, discuss their article: Small disturbances and subsequent competition for light can maintain a diversity of demographic strategies in a neotropical forest: Results from model-data integration Tropical forests are one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. They are fundamental for managing the global carbon budget and…...
[read more]Thu, 21 Aug 2025 04:57:43 +0000
Will climate change lead to more or less sunshine on the forest floor in spring?
Mark Vellend, from Université de Sherbrooke, and Hasanki Gamhewa, from the Ministry of Natural Resources of Ontario, Canada, discuss their article: The duration of high spring light for understory plants: Contrasting responses to spatial and temporal temperature variation Early spring is the best time for field work in the deciduous forests of southern Québec. The…...
[read more]Tue, 19 Aug 2025 04:52:13 +0000
Foliar herbivory can reshape plant pollinator networks
Luiz Rezende and Martín Pareja, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil, discuss their article: Foliar herbivory pushes plant individuals towards the periphery of a plant-floral visitor interaction network Ecological interactions have fascinated naturalists for centuries. Watching bees and butterflies visit flowers continues to mesmerise and nurture a love of nature in children and adults…...
[read more]Mon, 11 Aug 2025 23:27:26 +0000
How do past dynamics of tree species inform us about their future?
Todor Minchev, Université du Québec à Rimouski, discusses his article: Early departures and delayed arrivals: Holocene dynamics of temperate tree species in the boreal temperate ecotone. Forests are the backbone of most terrestrial ecosystems and form some of the largest biomes on the planet, excluding the oceans. Such is the case of the circumboreal forest…...
[read more]Tue, 05 Aug 2025 02:42:03 +0000
