Each year Journal of Applied Ecology awards the Southwood Prize to the best paper in the journal by an author at the start of their career. Today we present the shortlisted papers for this year’s award, based on the previous (57^th) volume of the journal.

The winner will be selected in the coming weeks so watch this space for future announcements.

This year’s shortlisted candidates are:

Experimental evidence of multiple ecosystem services and disservices provided by ecological intensification in Mediterranean agro‐ecosystems – Hila Segre

Chronic traffic noise increases food intake and alters gene expression associated with metabolism and disease in bats – Shengjing Song

Effects of herbivore assemblage on the spatial heterogeneity of soil nitrogen in eastern Eurasian steppe – Minna Zhang 

Plant diversity enhances the reclamation of degraded lands by stimulating plant–soil feedbacks – Pu Jia

Predicting heterosis and inbreeding depression from population size and density to inform management efforts – Linus Söderquist

Diet diversity and pesticide risk mediate the negative effects of land use change on solitary bee offspring production – Mary Centrella

Agricultural intensification heightens food safety risks posed by wild birds – Olivia M. Smith

Predicting meiofauna abundance to define preservation and impact zones in a deep‐sea mining context using random forest modelling – Katja Uhlenkott

Estimating marine protected area network benefits for reef sharks – Gerardo Martín

Forest cover and proximity decrease herbivory and increase crop yield via enhanced natural enemies in soybean fields – Ezequiel González