Soil protists are the invisible majority of soil eukaryotes, which are essential but often forgotten parts of the soil ecosystem. They play key roles in microbial food webs by predating on other soil microbes. However, it is not clear how dormant soil protists sense, recognize and feed on diverse microbial prey. In this study, we used a soil amoeba, Dictyostelium discoideum, to study selective discrimination

Understory plants in deciduous forests often rely on access to ephemeral light availability before the canopy closes in spring and after the canopy reopens in fall, a strategy commonly referred to as phenological escape. Although there is evidence for a relationship between understory plant phenology and demographic performance, a mechanistic link is still missing. In this study, we bridged this gap

Plant‐soil‐microbe interactions play a central role in plant nutrient acquisition and thus ecosystem functioning and nutrient availability in agroecosystems. Adjustments in root morphology, root exudation and associations with microorganisms such as arbuscular mychorrizal fungi are common for phosphorus acquisition. Yet how plant belowground functional traits interact with microbial communities for

1. Biodiversity experiments have identified both complementarity and selection as important drivers of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. However, their relative importance in above‐ and belowground ecosystem compartments of mature forests remains yet to be explored.

Forest fragmentation, degradation and conversion to agroforestry or plantations are ongoing threats to forests across the humid tropics. Biodiversity invariably suffers from habitat modification (Gibson et al., 2011), but the consequences for individual species are highly variable: there are winners and losers. In insects, for example, certain taxa such as butterflies appear to do relatively well overall

Under fire suppression, many tropical savannas transform into forests. Forest expansion entails changes in environmental variables and plant community structure. We hypothesized that forest expansion into savanna results in a shift in community‐weighted mean functional traits from stress tolerance to competitiveness, with generalist species having trait values intermediate between those of specialists

1. Domestication generally involves two sequential processes: initial identification of wild species with desirable characteristics (“progenitor filtering”); and subsequent artificial and natural selection that respectively improve features preferred by humans and adapt species to cultivation/captivity (“domestication selection”). Consequently, domesticated species can differ from wild species and

Some animal‐pollinated flowers produce no rewards but attract pollinators by imitating rewarding flowers. Termed Batesian floral mimicry, this phenomenon has generally been understood in terms of a common system of the organisms performing one of three roles as model flowers, mimic flowers, or signal receivers (a Batesian mimicry trinity). However, organisms other than those of the mimicry trinity

Species differ in their resource use and their interactions with other species and, consequently, they fulfil different functional roles in ecological processes. Species with specialized functional roles (specialists) are considered important for communities because they often interact with species with which few other species interact, thereby contributing complementary functional roles to ecological

The fasting endurance hypothesis (FEH) predicts strong selection for large body size in mammals living in environments where food supply is interrupted over prolonged periods of time. The Arctic is a highly seasonal and food restricted environment, but contrary to predictions from the FEH, empirical evidence shows that Arctic mammals are often smaller than their temperate conspecifics. Intraspecific

Photosynthetic traits suggest that shade tolerance may explain the contrasting success of two conifer taxa, Podocarpaceae and Pinaceae, in tropical forests. Needle‐leaved species from Pinus (Pinaceae) are generally absent from tropical forests, while Pinus krempfii, a flat‐leaved pine, and numerous flat‐leaved Podocarpaceae are abundant. Respiration (R) traits may provide additional insight into the

Herbivores in quest of food have to attend areas where predators also concentrate their attacks. They have to deal with two conflicting demands, the need of feeding and that of avoiding predation. Using a theoretical approach, we study the influence of these antagonistic constraints on the shaping of an herbivore’s foraging strategy and their consequences in terms of functional response. In our model

Herbivore populations are regulated by a combination of plant defenses and natural enemies. While plant defense can suppress herbivore populations, these defenses can also adversely affect natural enemies, thereby releasing herbivores from top‐down control. Over their lifespans, herbivores and their natural enemies may experience substantial variation in plant defense. Recent studies have demonstrated

Temperature has a dramatic effect on the physiology of ectothermic animals, impacting most of their biology. When temperatures increase above optimal for an animal, their growth gradually decreases. The main mechanism behind this growth rate reduction is unknown. Here, we suggest the ‘aerobic scope protection’ hypothesis as a mechanistic explanation for the reduction in growth. After a meal, metabolic

1‐Understanding the assembly rules of mycorrhizal fungi is crucial, given their tremendous importance in plant nutrition and health. Differentiation in plant‐associated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is likely driven by a host‐preference effect. Coexisting plant species may then affect a focal plant microbiota through fungal dispersal among plants, and plant preferential recruitment of AMF. Both

Peat formation is a key carbon sequestration process in the terrestrial biosphere. In temperate fens, peat is mainly formed by below‐ground biomass of vascular plants. Nutrient availability in temperate fens is naturally variable, and nowadays increasing due to atmospheric deposition, runoff from agriculture, and mineralization of peat caused by drainage. To maintain or restore peat formation, it is

Climate change threatens all ecosystems and the organisms within them. Freshwater habitats, in particular, appear to be experiencing rapid environmental change (Almond et al., 2020; Knouft & Ficklin, 2017). Over the last decade, there has been a growing interest in the effects of warming on freshwater populations, which includes changes in abundance, body size, reproductive success and survival of

Body size is a fundamental trait that impacts many aspects of species biology and ecology. It is in turn influenced by a suite of environmental factors, and often decreases with warming. Although environmental conditions can also impact body shape, which is another functional trait that influences locomotion, resource acquisition, and potentially physiological processes, such responses are poorly understood