Many of us regular ESA delegates were disappointed that the 2020 Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting had to go virtual. I look forward to the annual chance to catch up with colleagues and friends, meet new ecologists, and hear about the latest research. This year I was looking forward to several days in Salt…
We have been lamenting with ecological colleagues (while sheltering in place and communicating remotely) how we used to feel important as plant ecologists studying global climate change. Currently, however, we feel much less important than the human epidemiologists, health care and other front-line workers who are the heroes during the COVID-19 global pandemic. “I measure…
Zak Ratajczak and Laura Ladwig contributed a chapter to Grasslands and Climate Change, the latest volume of the Ecological Reviews series. Zak tells us more about their chapter below. Critical thresholds or “tipping points” are familiar to most of us. Think of a boat out at sea, which can stay afloat wave after wave after wave, without much…
The latest in the Ecological Reviews series is Grasslands and Climate Change. Kathryn Yurkonis, co-author with Will Harris of the chapter ‘Keeping up: climate-driven evolutionary change, dispersal and migration‘, tells us more about their contribution to the book below. Can our grassland species keep up with climate change? Can we predict which species are more…
Grasslands are the most extensive terrestrial biome, and have the largest total global accumulation of soil carbon. Grasslands and their ecotonal neighbours the savannas, have been the crucible for much of human history and activity. However, despite being lauded and loved because of their charismatic megafauna (e.g., lions in African grasslands and savannas, bison in…
Last year at the BES Annual Meeting in Ghent, I took part in an R package workshop where I learned the rudiments of scripting R packages. The ‘traitfindr’ package that our group came up with and started is, well,….still in progress. Nevertheless, the writing and introduction of new R packages is somewhat of a cottage…
I am a scientist, an ecologist, and an introvert. In this blog post, I would like to share some thoughts and personal experiences on what it means to be an introvert working in science and how it can be challenging at times in the academic world. This is merely my view but I hope it…
Who hasn’t received emails from dubious sounding journals requesting manuscript submission? These emails are very common nowadays and generally ignored, immediately deleted or left in the junk mail. But, what is hidden behind these emails from so-called predatory journals? In this blog post, Nicolas Fanin, Guille Peguero and Journal of Ecology Associate Editors Paul Kardol and…
Authors, Reviewers and Editors: All part of the review process! As an author, I know the peer review process can be stressful and frustrating; waiting for months to finally get a decision on a submitted manuscript, generally after months or years of work. As a reviewer, I know how reviewing manuscripts can be demanding, adding extra…
Science rarely waits at your office door and most likely follows you home, engaging your family and friends. Drawn to the interesting science, friends and family become helpers, facilitators and allies in your research. However, the contribution of your relatives and friends may go totally unrecognised in the ultimate output of your research – the…
Journal of Ecology Blog 