Predicting the implications of ongoing ocean climate warming demands a better understanding of how short-term thermal variability impacts marine ectotherms, particularly at beyond-optimal average conditions during summer heatwaves. Using a globally important model species, the blue mussel Mytilus, in a five-week-long experiment, we (i) assessed growth performance traits under twelve scenarios, consisting

Larger individuals typically have lower mass-specific metabolic rates compared to small ones (hypometric scaling). This trend is most evident across species where body-size differences can be extreme. Yet, within-species studies are critical to decipher the morphological and physiological mechanisms responsible. However, the relatively small range in body and appendage size found within many species

Species interactions, such as those between plants and pollinators, are known to be shaped by both evolutionary history and ecological factors. However, little is known about how multiple factors (e.g., phylogeny, phenology, abundance, and functional traits) interactively affect interaction patterns. Using a plant-bumblebee network comprising 2428 interactions between 29 plant species and 12 bumblebee

The seeds of many plant species produce mucilage on their surfaces that when wetted and dried, firmly adheres seeds to surfaces and substrates. Previous studies have demonstrated that seed anchorage to the ground can reduce seed predation, though only a few species have thus far been tested. Here we investigated whether binding to the ground reduces seed removal by harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex subdentatus)

Plants are members of complex communities of which arthropods are the most speciose members. The role of carnivores in shaping the outcome of multi-trophic interactions by top-down control of herbivores has been well studied. Particularly, the positive impacts of natural enemies of herbivores on plants through direct (consumptive) and indirect (non-consumptive) effects on their prey and hosts have

Understanding how plant communities respond to increased evaporation and consequent water level drawdown (WLD) is critical for predicting the functioning of northern peatlands under climate change. Functional traits provide a quantitative link between vegetation and ecosystem functions and, therefore, constitute a useful concept for predicting responses to climate change. We studied the impact of long-term

The use of functional diversity analyses in ecology has grown exponentially over the past two decades, broadening our understanding of biological diversity and its change across space and time. Virtually all ecological sub-disciplines recognize the critical value of looking at species and communities from a functional perspective, and this has led to a proliferation of methods for estimating contrasting

1. Offspring size is a key life history trait that often covaries negatively with temperature. Most studies focus on how temperature alters selection on offspring size during early life history stages such as embryos or larvae. The degree to which temperature alters the relationship between offspring size and post-metamorphic performance remains unclear as field studies across multiple temperature

1. Recent studies demonstrate that ecological and evolutionary processes can occur over similar temporal and spatial scales and might thus frequently interact. Although concepts such as the evolving metacommunity, diffuse (co)evolution, and community genetics integrate multi-species dynamics, most experimental studies usually consider how evolution affects only one focal species. Hence, our understanding

In recent years, the incorporation of lower levels of organization to the understanding of population ecology, has led to an increase in interest for animal personality and individual foraging specialization. Despite these topics investigating comparable phenomena, i.e. individual consistency in behavior and in food resource use respectively, they have rarely been investigated together. Food resource

Consumption rates constitute a fundamental, yet relatively elusive quantity in ecophysiology and ecosystem ecology. Measuring consumption rates of highly mobile animals is often challenging, especially in the wild, which makes scientists rely on proxies such as bite rates. However, we still lack a theoretical framework that formally bridges these quantities. Here we expanded a model based on the Metabolic

Studies have demonstrated that hurricanes can drive selection in Neotropical anoles. In a recent study, it was shown that post-hurricane survivors showed longer toepad areas and, surprisingly, shorter femurs. One potential explanation for the reduction in femur length is that increased drag on individuals with longer femurs causes them to be blown off their perch. Consequently, lizards with shorter

Worldwide drought events have been reported to cause tree growth decline and mortality, thus altering the carbon (C) balance of forest ecosystems. While most of the attention has been focused on the physiological mechanisms associated with drought-induced tree responses of a few species at specific locations, the ecological attributes of these species, like their niche breadth, may be also important

Animals that disperse plant or fungal propagules following forest disturbances, including timber harvests, play an important role during forest regeneration by dispersing seeds or spores from intact communities to disturbed sites. Determining how complementary or redundant animal species are as dispersers of propagules is key to understanding the stability of dispersal dynamics and informing management

Animals may respond to ecological heterogeneity by genetic differentiation or phenotypic plasticity. Responses of organisms to their ecology can include adaptation at various levels of organization, including morphology, behaviour and social structure. Adaptations at one level might constrain or enhance adaptations on other levels, which highlights the importance of understanding their interactions