Above the Arctic Circle – fieldwork in Canada’s far north  Over the course of my veterinary research career, I have had the privilege of visiting and working in many beautiful and fascinating places. Much of this has been in tropical locations, such as Guatemala, the Philippines, Tanzania and Thailand. Compared with my native Canada and my adopted home of Scotland, these countries represent a taste of the exotic – from colourful landscapes, to […]
https://naturallyspeaking.blog..../2025/12/02/above-th

Cover Stories: Dr. Lori Neuman-Lee Dr. Lori Neuman-Lee, professor at Arkansas State University, discusses the story behind the cover for Volume 29, Issue 11 of Functional Ecology, published all the way back in 2015. Lori is a comparative physiologist. She mostly thinks about reptile ecophysiology at the intersection of endocrinology and immunology. This blog kicks off our brand new blog series – Cover Stories! Read on to learn about one …
https://functionalecologists.c....om/2025/11/14/cover-

Edith Singini | How rising CO2 reshapes savannas: Why some trees thrive while others struggle In this ‘Behind the Paper’ blog post, author Dr. Edith Singini, a lecturer at Rhodes University, delves into her new paper ‘Savanna tree species show contrasting acclimation responses to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration and drought’. Edith shares her team’s research into why some trees are winning the encroachment race and discusses the logistical demands of a year-long experiment. 1. About the Paper Across Africa’s grass-dominated …
https://functionalecologists.c....om/2025/11/19/edith-

Cover Stories: Dr. Russell Bonduriansky In this week’s blog post, Dr. Russell Bonduriansky, professor at University of New South Wales, discusses the story behind the cover for 2016’s Volume 30, Issue 10 of Functional Ecology. Russell has broad interests in evolutionary ecology, but is especially interested in the evolution of sexual reproduction and coevolution of the sexes, life history (especially ageing), and the role of nongenetic hereditary processes in evolution. …
https://functionalecologists.c....om/2025/11/21/cover-

Dana Liebke | How spiders respond to changes in the agricultural landscape In this week’s ‘Behind the Paper’ blog post, we’re making a web to catch some knowledge on spiders and their habitats. From their new paper “Landscape diversity can promote functional diversity of spider assemblages while habitat characteristics filter for specific traits“, Dana Liebke, a museum educator and public relations manager at the Museum of Natural History in Magdeburg, and co-authors explore an often hidden and …
https://functionalecologists.c....om/2025/11/26/dana-l