How inter-individual variation in plant traits drives the context-dependency of plant-pollinator interactions

Blanca Arroyo-Correa discusses her recent article: Individual-based plant–pollinator networks are structured by phenotypic and microsite plant traits. Find out more about what this research reveals about the drivers underlying the context dependency of plant–pollinator interactions. The establishment of mutualistic interactions is influenced by the abiotic and biotic context in which they take place and therefore…

Michał Bogdziewicz – Harper Prize Shortlist

Throughout May, we will be featuring all the articles that were shortlisted for the Harper Prize 2020. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. To start off this blog series, we hear from Michał Bogdziewicz! Michał’s article, “Do benefits of seed dispersal and…

Many Paths to Intermediate Symbiont Prevalence

Lead author Marion Donald discusses her recently published Journal of Ecology article: Context-dependent variability in the population prevalence and individual fitness effects of plant-fungal symbiosis. Find out more about about this investigation into intermediate symbiont prevalence. Microbial symbionts are common partners of nearly every macro-organism on Earth. While some symbioses are deeply integrated, rendering them…

Climate driven seasonal patterns in an ant–plant–herbivore interaction

How do seasonal changes in climate influence ecological interactions in an extrafloral nectary‐bearing plant community? Find out in recently published Journal of Ecology paper by Calixto et al. Author Kleber Del-Claro explains how climate can directly and indirectly impact ant–plant–herbivore interactions, and how we can better understand these changes by considering plant phenology over time.…

Optimal Defense Theory in an ant–plant mutualism

Here we take a closer look at a fascinating plant defense article by Calixto et al., which has recently been published in Journal of Ecology. Author Kleber Del-Claro explains different methods for anti-herbivore plant defenses and shares the results of this research, which is the first to show that ant recruitment via extrafloral nectar follows…

Disentangling how alien species shape the seasonal dynamics of plant-pollinator communities

“Alien plants and flower visitors disrupt the seasonal dynamics of mutualistic networks” by Arroyo-Correa, Burkle & Emer has just been published in Journal of Ecology. This study provides one of the first empirical reports of alien species shaping the seasonal dynamics of plant–flower visitor networks. Author, Blanca Arroyo-Correa, provides further insight into this research. The…