1) Many plant species in fire‐prone environments maintain persistence through fire via soil seedbanks. However, seeds stored within the soil are at risk of mortality from elevated soil temperatures during fire. Seeds may be protected from fire‐temperature impacts by burial, however those buried too deeply may germinate but fail to emerge. Thus, successful post‐fire seed regeneration is contingent upon

Following coral mortality in tropical reefs, pioneer communities dominated by filamentous and crustose algae efficiently colonize substrates previously occupied by coral tissue. This phenomenon is particularly common after mass coral mortality following prolonged bleaching events associated with marine heatwaves. Pioneer communities play an important role for the biological succession and reorganization

Vertebrate scavenger communities vary in species composition across the globe. They include a wide array of species with diverse ecological strategies and life‐histories that support essential ecosystem functions, such as carrion removal. While previous studies have mostly focussed on how community aspects such as species richness and composition affect carrion consumption rates, it remains unclear

Much of the morphological and ecological diversity present on earth is believed to have arisen through the process of adaptive radiation. Yet, this is seemingly at odds with substantial evidence that niches tend to be similar among closely related species (i.e., niche conservatism). Identifying the relative importance of these opposing processes in driving niche evolution under different circumstances

Ecosystem productivity usually exhibits first increase and then saturated response to increasing nitrogen (N) additions, yet the broad‐scale pattern and potential drivers of the N saturation threshold are little investigated. By synthesizing N addition experiments with at least four N‐input levels from the global grasslands, we applied the quadratic‐plus‐plateau model to fit the aboveground net primary

Plants face many environmental stresses that can impact their survival, development, and fitness. Insects are the most diverse, abundant and threatening herbivores in nature. As a consequence, plants produce direct chemical and physical defenses to reduce herbivory. They also release volatiles to recruit natural enemies that indirectly protect them from herbivory. The recruitment of parasitic wasps

Energy flow and nutrient cycling dictate the functional role of organisms in ecosystems. Fishes are key vectors of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in aquatic systems, and the quantification of elemental fluxes is often achieved by coupling bioenergetics and stoichiometry. While nutrient limitation has been accounted for in several stoichiometric models, there is no current implementation

While oxidative stress has been hypothesized to function both as a constraint on and a cost of growth, its mediatory role in shaping life history is still highly debated. Empirical studies about the role of oxidative stress in shaping growth responses and the associated costs are scarce and the two hypotheses have never been combined in one study. By directly manipulating oxidative stress we tested

Flight of nocturnal insects may be limited by cool nighttime environmental temperatures. We used laboratory and field experiments to explore the thermal basis of nocturnal flight in wing‐polymorphic Gryllus lineaticeps crickets consisting of long‐winged (LW), flight‐capable morphs and short‐winged (SW), flight‐incapable morphs. These crickets are a model for life history evolution and loss of flight

While species may coexist at population level, their individuals may still segregate, at least temporarily, and hence interact little. Aggregation among heterospecific individuals may require particular during‐life traits, for example traits limiting competition for space or resources. But is aggregation also facilitated by after‐life traits accelerating decomposition of plant litters, notably through

Tropical montane cloud forests support abundant epiphytic vascular plant communities that serve important ecosystem functions, but their reliance on atmospheric inputs of water may make them susceptible to the drying effects of rising cloud bases and more frequent droughts. We conducted a common garden experiment to explore the combined effects of decreasing cloud influence—lower humidity, warmer temperature

The current threat of climate change impacts on ectothermic animals (Seebacher, White, & Franklin, 2014; Sunday, Bates, & Dulvy, 2012) has led to increasing interest in the mechanisms ectothermic animals employ to cope with warming (Clark, Sandblom, & Jutfelt, 2013; Seebacher et al., 2014). On short time‐scales, ectothermic animals such as fish are known to thermally acclimate (or acclimatize) to a

Life in extreme environments is possible through multilevel adaptations to physical and biotic stresses. At high elevations, species face numerous challenges, besides low oxygen levels, but previous studies have focused on genetic and physiological adaptations to chronic hypoxia while overlooking other key strategies for thriving in alpine landscapes. Here, we investigate resource‐use trait adaptations

Seventy years after the discovery that steroid metabolites measured in urine or faeces reflect circulating hormone levels, non‐invasive measurements of glucocorticoids and their derivative from various biological matrices have become one of the most essential tools in the functional ecologist's repertoire (Palme, 2019; Sheriff, Dantzer, Delehanty, Palme, & Boonstra, 2011). Glucocorticoids (cortisol