Increasing human impact on the environment is causing drastic changes in disturbance regimes and how they prevail over time. Of increasing relevance is to further our understanding on biological responses to pulse disturbances (short duration) and how they interact with other ongoing press disturbances (constantly present). Because the temporal and spatial contexts of single experiments often limit

Tracking carbon (C) flow through ecosystems requires quantification of myriad biophysical processes, including C routing through microbial and metazoan food webs. Yet detailed organic matter budgets are rarely combined with simultaneous measurement of C flows supporting microbial and animal production. Here, we synthesize concurrent data sets on organic matter, microbes, and macroinvertebrates from

Biodiversity is typically considered as a one‐dimensional metric (e.g., species richness), yet the consequences of species loss may be different depending on where extinctions occur in the food web. Here, I used a manipulative field experiment in a temperate subtidal marine system to explore the implications of diversity loss at multiple trophic levels for ecosystem functioning and food web structure

Spatially synchronous population dynamics are important to ecosystem functioning and have several potential causes. By looking at synchrony in plant productivity over 18 yr across two elevations in three types of coastal marsh habitat dominated by different clonal plant species in Georgia, USA, we were able to explore the importance of plant species and different habitat conditions to synchrony. Synchrony

Changes in the ecological stoichiometry of primary producers may have considerable implications for energy and matter transfer in food webs. We hypothesized that nutrient enrichment shifts the trophic position of omnivores towards herbivory, as the nutritional quality of primary producers increases. This hypothesis was tested by analyzing the ecological stoichiometry and stable isotope signature of

Body mass is one of the most important phenotypic attributes in animal ecology and life history. This trait is widely used in the fields of ecology and macroevolution, since it influences physiology, morphological functions, and a myriad of ecological and social interactions. In this data set, our aim was to gather a comprehensive bird and mammal body mass data set from northern South America. We report

In regards to: Royauté, R., and J. N. Pruitt. 2015. Varying predator personalities generates contrasting prey communities in an agroecosystem. Ecology 96:2902–2911. https://doi.org/10.1890/14‐2424.1 Concerns have been raised about the validity of the data underlying Royauté and Pruitt (2015). These concerns are currently under evaluation. We will update our readership as soon as we are able to do so

Trait‐based invasiveness studies typically categorize exotic species as invasive or non‐invasive, implicitly assuming species form two homogenous groups. However, species can become invasive in different ways (e.g. high abundance, fast spread), likely relying on different functional traits to do so. As such, binary classification may obscure traits associated with invasiveness. We tested whether: (1)

Competitively dominant carnivore species can limit the population sizes and alter the behavior of inferior competitors. Established mechanisms that enable carnivore coexistence include spatial and temporal avoidance of dominant predator species by subordinates, and dietary niche separation. However, spatial heterogeneity across landscapes could provide inferior competitors with refuges in the form

A central principle in trait‐based ecology is that trait variation has an adaptive value. However, uncertainty over which plant traits influence individual performance across environmental gradients may limit our ability to use traits to infer ecological processes at larger scales. To better understand which traits are linked to performance under different precipitation regimes, we measured above‐

First‐order dynamic occupancy models (FODOMs) are a class of state‐space model in which the true state (occurrence) is observed imperfectly. An important assumption of FODOMs is that site dynamics only depend on the current state and that variations in dynamic processes are adequately captured with covariates or random effects. However, it is often difficult to understand and/or measure the covariates

Human activities degrade and fragment coastal marine habitats, reducing their structural complexity and making habitat edges a prevalent seascape feature. Though habitat edges frequently are implicated in reduced faunal survival and biodiversity, results of experiments on edge effects have been inconsistent, calling for a mechanistic approach to the study of edges that explicitly includes indirect

Grassland and savanna ecosystems, important for both livelihoods and biodiversity conservation, are strongly affected by ecosystem drivers such as herbivory, fire, and drought. Interactions among fire, herbivores and vegetation produce complex feedbacks in these ecosystems, but these have rarely been studied in the context of fuel continuity and resultant fire heterogeneity. We carried out 36 controlled

Revitalizing our understanding of species distributions and assembly in community ecology requires greater use of functional (physiological) approaches based on quantifiable factors such as energetics. Here, we explore niche partitioning between bumble and honey bees by comparing a measure of within‐patch foraging efficiency, the ratio of flower visitation rate (proportional to energy gain) to body

Predator functional responses describe predator feeding rates and are central to predator‐prey theory. Ecologists have measured thousands of predator functional responses using the same basic experimental method. However, this design is ill‐suited to address many current questions regarding functional responses. We derive a new experimental design and statistical analysis that quantifies functional

The interplay between top‐down and bottom‐up processes determines ecosystem productivity. Yet, the factors that mediate the balance between these opposing forces remain poorly understood. Furthering this challenge, complex and often cryptic factors like ecosystem engineering and trait‐mediated interactions may play major roles in mediating the outcomes of top‐down and bottom‐up interactions. In semi‐arid

The genus Juniperus, composed of ca. 76 species, has a broad altitudinal distribution over the northern Hemisphere (Adams 2014). For instance, some juniper shrub species grow in coastal sites (García‐Cervigón et al. 2019) whereas others grow in alpine regions at ˃5,000 m a.s.l. in the Himalayas (Huang et al. 2019, Lu et al. 2019). In the so‐called ‘Third Pole’ region, Juniperus species form some of

Patterns of flowering phenology can affect the success of plant invasions, especially when introduced species spread across a wide range of latitude into different climatic conditions. We combined a 4‐year field survey and a 3‐year common garden experiment with the invasive grass Spartina alterniflora that is now widespread along the coast of China to document the latitudinal pattern of flowering phenology

We tested the hypothesis that mangroves provide better coastal protection than salt marsh vegetation using ten 1,008 m2 plots in which we manipulated mangrove cover from 0 to 100 percent. Hurricane Harvey passed over the plots in 2017. Data from erosion stakes indicated up to 26 cm of vertical and 970 cm of horizontal erosion over 70 months in the plot with 0 percent mangrove cover, but relatively

The importance of climate, habitat structure, and higher trophic levels on microbial diversity is only beginning to be understood. Here, we examined the influence of climate variables, plant morphology, and the abundance of aquatic invertebrates on the microbial biodiversity of the northern pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea. The plant's cup‐shaped leaves fill with rainwater and support a miniature

A combination of wildfires and defoliating insect outbreaks play an important role in the natural successional dynamics of North American boreal mixedwood forests, which, in the long term, change the post‐disturbance composition and structure of forest stands. After stand‐replacing disturbances (mainly wildfires), early successional hardwoods typically dominate the affected areas. Provided enough time

Most pathogens are embedded in complex communities composed of multiple interacting hosts, but we are still learning how community‐level factors, such as host diversity, abundance, and composition, contribute to pathogen spread for many host–pathogen systems. Evaluating relationships among multiple pathogens and hosts may clarify whether particular host or pathogen traits consistently drive links between

Global overfishing of higher‐level predators has caused cascading effects to lower trophic levels in many marine ecosystems. On coral reefs, which support highly diverse food‐webs, the degree to which top‐down trophic cascades can occur remains equivocal. Using extensive survey data from coral reefs across the relatively unfished northern Great Barrier Reef (nGBR), we quantified the role of reef sharks

Herbivory is ubiquitous. Despite being a potential driver of plant distribution and performance, herbivory remains largely undocumented. Some early attempts have been made to review, globally, how much leaf area is removed through insect feeding. Kozlov et al. (2015), in one of the most comprehensive reviews regarding global patterns of herbivory, have compiled published studies regarding foliar removal

Disturbance and foundation species can both have strong impacts on ecosystem structure and function, but studies of their interacting effects are hindered by the long lifespans and slow growth of most foundation species. Here, we investigated the extent to which foundation species may mediate the impacts of disturbance on ecological communities, using the kelp forest ecosystem as a study system. Giant

The largest and tallest mountain range in the contiguous United States, the southern Rocky Mountains, has warmed considerably in the past several decades due to anthropogenic climate change. Herein we examine how 47 mammal elevational ranges (27 rodent and 4 shrew species) have changed from their historical distributions (1886–1979) to their contemporary distributions (post–2005) along 2400 m elevational

Understanding the consequences of altered rainfall patterns on litter decomposition is critical to predicting the feedback effect of climate change on atmospheric CO2 concentrations. While their effect on microbial decomposition received considerable attention, their effect on litter fragmentation by detritivores, the other dominant decomposition pathway, remains largely unexplored. Particularly, it

Vespicochory, defined as seed dispersal by wasps, was first reported by Pellmyr (1985). To date, vespicochory has only been documented in nine plant species belonging to five plant families, themselves dispersed by five wasp genera (Burge and Beck 2019; Chen et al. 2020). All known wasp‐dispersed plants bear seeds with lipid‐rich elaiosomes that are also thought to attract ants to disperse their seeds

Traits have been used extensively to predict and understand performance in response to the abiotic environment, but their role for understanding competitive interactions is less understood, especially in non‐plant systems. In this study, we evaluate how traits interact with intraspecific density to modulate performance (per capita birth rate) and whether the traits associated with intraspecific competitive

Migratory ungulates are thought to be declining globally because their dependence on large landscapes renders them highly vulnerable to environmental change. Yet recent studies reveal that many ungulate species can adjust their migration propensity in response to changing environmental conditions to potentially improve population persistence. In addition to the question of whether to migrate, decisions

Reef fish represent one of the most diverse vertebrate groups on Earth, with over 7000 species distributed around the globe. This richness is not evenly distributed geographically. The Atlantic (AT) and the Eastern Pacific (EP) encompass 30% of the global fish fauna. These areas have been considered the most isolated from the marine biodiversity hotspot in the Indo‐Pacific due to distinct physical

Disturbance often increases local‐scale (α) diversity by suppressing dominant competitors. However, widespread disturbances may also reduce biotic heterogeneity (β diversity) by making the identities and abundances of species more similar among patches. Landscape‐scale (γ) diversity may also decline if disturbance‐sensitive species are lost. California’s vernal pool plant communities are species‐rich

Ecotones are responsive to environmental change and pave a path for succession as they move across the landscape. We investigated the biotic and abiotic filters to species establishment on opposite ends of a tidal marsh‐forest ecotone that is moving inland in response to sea level rise. We transplanted four plant species common to the ecotone to the leading or trailing edge of the migrating ecotone

Pelagic seabirds have evolved physiological and morphological characteristics that enable them to fly in an energy efficient manner over the oceans. Although there are some exceptions (e.g., Delord et al. 2020), most species come ashore only to breed or rest. However, recent tracking technologies have revealed some unexpected overland journeys. For example, brown pelicans Pelecanus occidentalis (Lamb

Nitrogen and phosphorus are thought to be the most important limiting nutrients in most terrestrial ecosystems, but little is known about how other elements may limit the abundance of arthropods. We utilized a fully factorial fertilization experiment that manipulated macronutrients (N and P, together) and micronutrients (calcium, sodium, potassium, separately), in large 30 × 30 m plots and sampled

Ecologists have long desired predictive models that allow inference on population dynamics, where detailed demographic data are unavailable. Integral projection models (IPMs) allow both demographic and phenotypic outcomes at the level of the population to be predicted from the distribution of a functional trait, like body mass. In species’ where body mass markedly influences demographic rates, as is

Modern coexistence theory holds that stabilizing mechanisms, whereby species limit the growth of conspecifics more than that of other species, are necessary for species to coexist. Here, we used experimental and observational approaches to assess stabilizing forces in eight locally co‐occurring, annual legume species in the genus Trifolium. We experimentally measured self‐limitation in the field by

The spatial scale at which demographic performance (e.g. net reproductive output) varies can profoundly influence landscape‐level population growth and persistence, and many demographically pertinent processes such as species interactions and resource acquisition vary at fine‐scales. We compared the magnitude of demographic variation associated with fine‐scale heterogeneity (< 10 m), with variation

Correlations between early‐ and late‐life performance are a major prediction of life‐history theory. Negative early‐late correlations can emerge because biological processes are optimized for early but not late life (e.g., rapid development may accelerate the onset of senescence; “developmental theory of ageing”) or because allocation to early life performance comes at a cost in terms of late‐life

Large felids (>30 kg) have exclusively carnivorous diets and depend upon medium and large terrestrial prey to fuel high metabolic demands (Sunquist and Sunquist 2002, Carbone et al. 2007). Although some of them commonly use trees for resting, hunting, avoiding predators or competitors (e.g., leopards Panthera pardus ‐ Le Roux & Skinner, 1989 and pumas Puma concolor ‐ Santos et al. 2014), and others

Climate and competition interact to affect species’ performance, such as growth and survival, and help determine species distributions and coexistence. However, it is unclear how climatic conditions modulate frequency‐dependent performance ‐ i.e. how performance changes as a species becomes locally rare or common. This is critical because declines in performance as a species becomes more common (negative

The Yunnan Province of China is wet and warm enough to support magnificent forests. However, many mountains in the region are covered by a shrubland formation dominated by an unusual pine, the shrubby and multi‐stemmed Pinus yunnanensis (Yunnan pine; Fig. 1). This formation is natural, and not the product of forest degradation; and fire appears to be a major factor explaining the features of this pine

At local scales, it has been suggested that high levels of resources lead to increased tree growth via trait optimization (highly peaked trait distribution). However, this contrasts with (1) theories that suggest that trait optimization and high growth occur in the most common resource level and (2) empirical evidence showing that high trait optimization can be also found at low resource levels. This

Top‐down and bottom‐up theories of trophic control have been fundamental to our understanding of community dynamics and structure. However, most ecological theories have focused on equilibrium dynamics and do not provide predictions for communities’ responses in temporally fluctuating environments. By deriving the frequency response of populations in different trophic communities, we extend the top‐down

The Arctic is changing rapidly, introducing new challenges and opportunities for animals. Rising air temperatures are driving dramatic shifts in habitat quality and availability, including increased shrub abundance, reduced pond area, and reduced springtime snow cover (Hinzman et al. 2005). In some cases, these changes have net positive effects for particular species, as exemplified by northward range

As the current biodiversity crisis approaches levels comparable to the rates of the five historical mass extinctions, increasing attention has focused on how to stop or slow species loss and preserve ecosystem function. The impact of the loss of an individual species on communities and ecosystems is heterogeneous, however. Removing some species has negligible effects while the removal of others can

Cooperation is ubiquitous in nature, and occurs at all levels of biological complexity, providing immediate direct benefits and/or future indirect benefits to participating partners (Lehmann and Keller 2006, Bshary and Bergmüller 2008). In interspecific interactions, the lack of relatedness between individuals ensures that the underlying dynamics and potential feedback mechanisms can be interpreted

Many animals live in nests with a complex three‐dimensional structure that may significantly influence their behavior. However, the inaccessibility of nest interiors means that behavior within them often goes unobserved. The social networks of bats, for example, depend on interactions at roosting sites (Wilkinson et al. 2019), but only recently have their spatial configurations and social interactions

Studies assessing the biological impacts of climate change typically rely on long‐term, historic data to measure trait responses to climate through time. Here, we overcame the problem of absent historical data by using resurrected seeds to capture historic plant‐trait data for a number of plant regeneration and growth traits. We collected seed and seedling trait measurements from resurrected historic

In northern climates, spring is a time of rapid environmental change: for migrating terrestrial animals, melting snow facilitates foraging and travel, and newly emergent vegetation provides a valuable nutritional resource. These changes result in selection on the timing of important life‐history events such as migration and parturition occurring when high‐quality resources are most abundant. We examined

Nitrogen and carbon stable isotope data sets are commonly used to assess complex population to ecosystem responses to natural or anthropogenic changes at regional to global spatial scales, and monthly to decadal timescales. Measured in the tissues of consumers, nitrogen isotopes (δ15N) are primarily used to estimate trophic position while carbon isotopes (δ13C) describe habitat associations and feeding

The response of understory trees to climate variability is key to understanding current and future forest dynamics. However, analyses of climatic effects on tree growth have primarily focused on the upper canopy, leaving understory dynamics unresolved. We analyzed differences in climate sensitivity based on canopy position of four common tree species (Acer rubrum, Fagus grandifolia, Quercus rubra,

Spatial capture–recapture (SCR) has emerged as the industry standard for estimating population density by leveraging information from spatial locations of repeat encounters of individuals. The precision of density estimates depends fundamentally on the number and spatial configuration of traps. Despite this knowledge, existing sampling design recommendations are heuristic and their performance remains

Plant species’ distributions are often thought to overwhelmingly reflect their climatic niches. However, climate represents only a fraction of the n‐dimensional environment to which plant populations adapt, and studies are increasingly uncovering strong effects of nonclimatic factors on species’ distributions. We used a manipulative, factorial field experiment to quantify the effects of soil environment

The United States is home to many anuran species, each with traits that set them apart from one another. Understanding trait variation within and between anurans is key to many successful conservation, management, and research efforts. However, compiling trait data is intensive and time consuming. Trait databases can meet this need, but currently there is no detailed database that collates trait data

Soil fungi link above‐ and belowground carbon (C) fluxes through their interactions with plants and contribute to C and nutrient dynamics through the production, turnover, and activity of fungal hyphae. Despite their importance to ecosystem processes, estimates of hyphal production and turnover rates are relatively uncommon, especially in temperate hardwood forests. We sequentially harvested hyphal

Shifts in reproductive timing are among the most commonly documented responses of organisms to global climate change. However, our knowledge of these responses is biased towards taxa that are easily observable and abundant in existing biodiversity data sets. Mammals are common subjects in reproductive biology, but mammalian phenology and its drivers in the wild remain poorly understood because many