Forthcoming Papers

Coexistence across time and life histories

Posted on March 25, 2025 by Jeremy Summers, edited by Juan Carvajal-Castro and Julia Harenčár

Read about “Fluctuation-dependent coexistence of stage-structured species” by Chhaya M. Werner, Lauren M. Hallett, and Lauren G. Shoemaker (Mar 2025)

Mechanisms of coexistence are often un-intuitive; Werner et al. explore species interactions across different environmental scenarios to bridge theoretical and empirical approaches to coexistence

My Husband is Hot! – How having an attractive mate can provide tangible benefits to birds

Posted on March 25, 2025 by Kaleigh Remick, edited by Juan David Carvajal Castro and Julia Harenčár

Read about “Females with Attractive Mates Gain Environmental Benefits That Increase Lifetime and Multigenerational Fitness” by Douglas G. Barron, Hubert Schwabl, Patrick A. Carter, Daniel T. Baldassarre, Willow R. Lindsay, Jordan Karubian, and Michael S. Webster (Mar 2025)

A decade-long study by Barron et al. shows that female birds with attractive mates have lower breeding costs, so make more young across their long lives. Their attractive sons also produce more grand-offspring. Male environment, not genes, drives these multigenerational benefits.

The metabolic theory of ecology can be extended to improve our predictions of climate change impacts

Posted on March 25, 2025 by Shubha Govindarajan, edited by Lena Holtmanns & Julia Harenčár

Read about “Toward a More Dynamic Metabolic Theory of Ecology to Predict Climate Change Effects on Biological Systems” by Keila A. Stark, Tom Clegg, Joey R. Bernhardt, Tess N. Grainger, Christopher P. Kempes, Van Savage, Mary I. O’Connor, and Samraat Pawar (Mar 2025)

The metabolic theory of ecology explains macroecological patterns in biological rates and states from individuals to ecosystems through fundamental constraints on metabolism. In order to apply it to climate change questions, some of its original assumptions need to be revisited.

Adapt or Freeze: How Harsh Winters Are Reshaping Bluebirds’ Survival

Posted on March 25, 2025 by Baltazar González Chávez, edited by Swapna Subramanian and Julia Harenčár

Read about “Natural Selection after Severe Winter Favors Larger and Duller Bluebirds” by Virginie Rolland, Susan L. Balenger, Jennifer L. Grindstaff, and Lynn Siefferman (Dec 2024)

The Cost of Life: Programmed Cell Death in Multicellular Evolution

Posted on March 22, 2025 by Zachary Compton, edited by Gretta Yagudayeva and Julia Harenčár

Read about “Disentangling the Factors Selecting for Unicellular Programmed Cell Death” by J. David Van Dyken and Peter C. Zee (Nov 2024)

Building Connections: How the flow of resource networks drives ecosystem function and diversity

Posted on March 21, 2025 by Nidhi Vinod, edited by Gretta Yagudayeva and Julia Harenčár

Read about “Resource Flow Network Structure Drives Metaecosystem Function” by Tianna Peller, Isabelle Gounand, and Florian Altermatt (Dec 2024)

Nonliving resources frequently flow across ecosystem boundaries, yielding networks of spatially coupled ecosystems. Peller et al. show ecosystem function at landscape scales can depend on the spatial structure of resource flow networks connecting ecosystems and organism feeding traits.

Why snake skins make a great addition to your home (if you’re a bird, that is)

Posted on February 18, 2025 by Megha Srigyan, edited by Juan Carvajal Castro and Julia Harenčár

Read about “The Evolution of Using Shed Snake Skin in Bird Nests” by Vanya G. Rohwer, Jennifer L. Houtz, Maren N. Vitousek, Robyn L. Bailey, and Eliot T. Miller (Feb 2025)

Why do some birds incorporate shed snake skin in their nest? Rohwer et al. suggest that the evolution of this unique, but wide spread behavior is dependent upon nest morphology and most commonly observed in cavity nesting species...

American Society of Naturalists