Ecosystem consequences of a single, genetically based plant trait
Climate is often touted as the most important regulator of decomposition and nutrient cycling processes in forest ecosystems, however, in the forthcoming issue of Ecology Letters, Schweitzer and her research team from Northern Arizona University and the University of Wisconsin, USA, demonstrate that plant genes can have strong effects on the... view more... (2004-02-05)
Looking beyond biodiversity to explain community invasibility
Most existing experimental and theoretical studies suggest that diversity is an effective barrier to plant invasion. However, these studies may be limited in their generality, because they involve relatively small numbers of species or examine only short time periods. To evaluate how invasions are controlled in more realistic situations, Meiners,... view more... (2004-02-05)
Social life-history response to individual immune challenge of workers of Bombus terrestris: a possible new cooperative phenomenon
Solitary organisms can minimise fitness loss from parasitism with a facultative change to an earlier reproduction. Such a shift of the reproductive effort gives the host a chance to compensate for the cost on future reproduction resulting from the infection. In the case of social insects, where brood care and reproductive effort are shared between... view more... (2004-02-05)
Symbiotic fungi promote invasion into diverse plant communities (Rudgers et al.)
The biodiversity of a community can affect its functional properties, such as its productiveness or its ability to resist invasion by exotic species. Many grass species host fungi in their leaves that can render them more resistant to herbivory, drought, and competition. In a forthcoming issue of Ecology Letters, Rudgers, Koslow and Clay... view more... (2003-12-10)
Improved estimates of population extinction risk (Harding and McNamara)
An important application of theoretical ecology is in estimation of species extinction risk. Extinction models guide the selection of management regimes for endangered species. Two vital parameters in these models are the mean population growth rate and its variance. However, empirical data on population growth are rarely perfect, but are... view more... (2003-12-10)
Symbiotic fungi promote invasion into diverse plant communities (Rudgers et al.)
Populations of several European passerines that winter south of the Sahara have undergone a marked decline. The causes of negative population trends are largely unknown, but ecological conditions during winter in Africa may have carry-over effects during northward spring migration and reproduction. In the January issue of Ecology Letters, Saino,... view more... (2003-12-10)
Without ecology we are failing to reap the rewards of agri-environment schemes
Ecological evaluations must become an integral part of European agri-environment schemes if the billions of Euros spent on them are to result in real ecological benefits, leading ecologists have warned. A comprehensive review of the biodiversity benefits of agri-environment schemes, published in the latest issue of the British Ecological Society's... view more... (2003-12-04)
Marine pathogens spread much faster than their terrestrial counterparts
It has become increasingly clear that pathogen epidemics are as significant a component of marine systems as they are in terrestrial systems. At an National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) working group on Diseases in the Ocean, McCallum, Harvell and Dobson collated data on epidemic spread from both terrestrial and marine... view more... (2003-11-24)
Soil fungi affect parasitism of foliage-feeding insects
Recent studies have shown the importance of links between soil organisms and those feeding above-ground. However, to date these have involved two or three trophic levels, because it has been assumed that the effects weaken as one progresses up or down a food chain. In a forthcoming paper in Ecology Letters, Gange, Brown & Aplin show that... view more... (2003-11-24)
Cows as unravellers
Long-term conservation of biodiversity may depend not only on the maintenance of its component parts but also on their interactions. Human-aided species introductions stand out as a major anthropogenic modification of ecological systems, and there is increasing concern that such introductions can modify interactions among species in the invaded... view more... (2003-11-24)
Nutrient pollution can exacerbate coral disease outbreaks and threatens coral reef health
Wildlife diseases are one of the primary threats to coral reefs and other endangered marine ecosystems. For example, fungal and bacterial infections of reef-building corals and other key species recently caused mass-mortalities throughout the Caribbean. Species that dominated Caribbean coral reefs only twenty years ago are now functionally... view more... (2003-11-24)
Research into lost marine life helps Iran
Research at the University of Bradford is helping Iran's Government in a US$130m claim that the 1991 Gulf War damaged its fisheries industry. Iran is making the claim to the United Nations that oil, which spilled into Persian Gulf sea following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, has affected its fish stocks and marine life. The University's Department... view more... (2003-11-12)
Top conservation award for University of Kent academic
University of Kent academic, Dr Richard Bodmer, has been given the Presidential Award for 2003 by the Chicago Zoological Society. Dr Bodmer is Reader in Conservation Ecology in the University's Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) based in the Department of Anthropology. The Award has been made in recognition of his 'personal work... view more... (2003-11-12)
Should Opposites Attract? - Bird Success Depends On Personality
Your personality determines how successful you are, in both survival and reproduction. Personality is to a large extent hereditary and also influences partner choice. Biologists from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) found this in great tits. The research project on the evolution of personalities will be finalised this month. Why do... view more... (2003-11-07)
Are walruses right-handed?
Walruses are 'right-flippered', according to research published this week in BMC Ecology. The first study of walrus feeding behaviour in the wild showed that the animals preferentially use their right flipper to remove sediment from buried food. This is the first time that any aquatic animal has been shown to prefer using one flipper to the other... view more... (2003-10-17)
Mass flowering crops enhance pollinator densities at a landscape scale
The EU response to recent declines in pollinators and consequent loss of pollination services has been the inclusion of pollinator-friendly management in agri-environment schemes. These comprise the promotion of semi-natural habitats, such as set-aside and field margin strips. Yet, mass flowering crops, such as oilseed rape, are assumed to be of... view more... (2003-10-08)
Gray wolves feed the masses while hunters feed the few
Gray wolves (Canis lupus) and human hunters both provide resource subsidies to scavengers in Yellowstone National Park, USA, by provisioning them with the remains of their kills. Carrion from wolf versus hunter kills is much more dispersed in both time and space. In the November issue of Ecology Letters, scientists from Berkeley and Yellowstone... view more... (2003-10-08)
Bright autumn colouration in trees - a warning signal to insects?
Most deciduous trees change colour in autumn. However, both within and between species, there is considerable variation both in the timing and magnitude of autumn colour change. Hamilton and Brown recently proposed a hypothesis to explain this phenomenon. Their idea was that the bright autumn colouration in trees is a warning signal to insects... view more... (2003-09-17)
Not batty conservation
Noah had it easy. To weather the storm of impending disaster that would wipe-out life on earth, he simply protected a male and female of each species on the ark. Protecting contemporary biodiversity from the deluge of human activities that threaten life on earth is more difficult and requires a global network of reserves that includes all... view more... (2003-09-17)
European mines pose a fluid problem - European scientists are formulating conclusions for mine-water management right now
Next to mine waste, water contamination by mines poses a problem to which far less attention is paid to. Today and tomorrow the group of European scientists of the ERMITE project are gathered at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). On this very moment, they formulate their guidelines for new European legislation and sustainable water... view more... (2003-09-04)
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