Research summaries

Bark beetle impacts on ecosystems and society

In this post Jesse Morris discusses his research, published today in Journal of Applied Ecology ‘Managing bark beetle impacts on ecosystems and society: priority questions to motivate future research‘ Forests provide many goods and services that have ecological, economic, and social value. Management agencies and scientists often refer to these benefits as ecosystem services. Some examples of ecosystem services include purifying air, controlling water runoff … Continue reading Bark beetle impacts on ecosystems and society

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Research summaries

A new method for assessing the age of old-growth forests

In this post, Associate Editor Nathalie Butt discusses a recent paper ‘Tree-ring based metrics for assessing the functional naturalness of forests‘ by Alfredo Di Filippo, Franco Biondi, Gianluca Piovesan and Emanuele Ziaco. Valuable ecosystems Primeval forest, or ancient woodland in the UK, is an integral part of many epic stories and myths throughout human history, especially in Europe:  just think of all those old tales … Continue reading A new method for assessing the age of old-growth forests

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Research summaries

Gone with the wind: canopies of next generation tropical forests will function differently based on today’s understory recruitment

In this post Jarrah Wills discusses his recent paper ‘Next-generation tropical forests: reforestation type affects recruitment of species and functional diversity in a human-dominated landscape‘ Diverse understory development within forest plantations can provide conservation value in highly modified tropical landscapes, but how many species should be used to establish a framework to encourage recruitment: one species, two species, more? And how does the quality of … Continue reading Gone with the wind: canopies of next generation tropical forests will function differently based on today’s understory recruitment

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Research summaries

Avian pest control in vineyards

In this post Michelle Harrison and Cristina Banks-Leite discuss a recent paper by Luc Barbaro and colleagues ‘Avian pest control in vineyards is driven by interactions between bird functional diversity and landscape heterogeneity‘. The global wine industry currently contributes roughly US$303 billion to the world’s economy (Plant and Food Research, 2013). Wine is a key export for many European countries such as Italy, France and … Continue reading Avian pest control in vineyards

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Research summaries

Caring for and sharing data created by volunteers

In this post Quentin Groom discusses his recent Commentary paper ‘Is citizen science an open science in the case of biodiversity observations?‘ Volunteers are the single largest source of biodiversity observations. Without their work we could not monitor the declines of native species nor the spread of invasive species. Their work provides data on the diversity of life, its geography, the migration of animals and … Continue reading Caring for and sharing data created by volunteers

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The Applied Ecologist community

Getting people working on ecosystem functions connected

There’s news for people working on ecosystem functions and their monitoring: the Ecosystem Function Working Group has been recently launched by the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), and the group is looking for its members. You may wonder what GEO BON is: GEO BON is an international networking platform part of GEO, the Group on Earth Observations. Within the GEO family, … Continue reading Getting people working on ecosystem functions connected

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Research summaries

Choosing the appropriate analytical resolution for protected area planning

Blog post by Moreno Di Marco, Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Based on: Di Marco, M., Watson, J.E.M., Possingham, H.P. & Venter, O. (2016). Limitations and trade-offs in the use of species distribution maps for protected area planning. J. Appl. Ecol. doi 10.1111/1365-2664.12771. From local-scale management to global scale policy, conservation decisions are influenced by the knowledge of … Continue reading Choosing the appropriate analytical resolution for protected area planning

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Journal news, The Applied Ecologist community

Peer Review Week: Should we use double blind peer review? The evidence…

This week is Peer Review Week, the slightly more popular academic celebration than pier review week. Peer review is an essential part of scientific publication and is – like Churchill’s… Source: Peer Review Week: Should we use double blind peer review? The evidence… Continue reading Peer Review Week: Should we use double blind peer review? The evidence…

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Journal news, The Applied Ecologist community

What do reviewers want?

Originally posted on Animal Ecology in Focus:
Last year’s Peer Review Week proved to be a great success in raising awareness and starting discussions about peer review. This year, it’s back and the focus is on recognition for review. There have been lots of surveys looking at perceptions of peer review. These surveys agree that peer review is valued and authors feel that the quality… Continue reading What do reviewers want?

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Journal news, The Applied Ecologist community

Next-Gen Peer Review: Solving Today’s Problems with Tomorrow’s Solutions

Post provided by Jess Metcalf and Sean McMahon The primary challenge Associate Editors face is finding Reviewers for manuscripts. When times get desperate, it may feel like anyone with a pulse will… Source: Next-Gen Peer Review: Solving Today’s Problems with Tomorrow’s Solutions Continue reading Next-Gen Peer Review: Solving Today’s Problems with Tomorrow’s Solutions

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