growth | Ecology for the Masses

Tag Archives: growth

When the Growing Gets Hot

Posted on May 29, 2019 by Adam Hasik 3 comments

Growth is a critical aspect of life for all organisms, and understanding what can and cannot affect it allows us to predict what effect climate change may have on organisms like these zebrafish (Image Credit: Lynn Ketchum, CC BY-SA 2.0).

Warming increases the cost of growth in a model vertebrate (2019) Barneche et al., Functional Ecology, https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13348

The Crux

In ecology, how organisms grow is relevant across all levels of life. Growing faster than others can be selected for as an evolutionary advantage, if being bigger earlier means that you have a competitive advantage over other members of your species.

Because growth is so critical to life, it is important to understand what may affect the ability of an organism to grow. The only way an organism can grow is by converting energy it acquires from food to its own body mass, but outside influences, like temperature, can affect how efficient an organism is at this energy conversion. The authors of today’s paper wanted to investigate if this efficiency and the cost of growth itself changed across a range of projected temperatures.
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Paper of the Week

Re-Analysing Forest Biodiversity

Posted on April 24, 2019 by Sam Perrin Leave a comment

The Gribskov Forest in Denmarkj, where this study took place (Image Credit: Malene Thyssen, CC BY-SA 3.0, Image Cropped)

Biodiversity response to forest structure and management: Comparing species richness, conservation relevant species and functional diversity as metrics in forest conservation (2019) Lelli et al., Forest Ecology and Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.09.057

The Crux

The classification of biodiversity is something that has become more and more relevant as the term ‘biodiversity’ has worked its way into the public’s vernacular. How we measure biodiversity can vastly influence our perception of it, and whilst we’ve previously looked at spatial interpretations of biodiversity on EcoMass, today I’m examining a paper that looks at interpretations of biodiversity by species groups.

Species richness (how many species are present in a given place) is often the go-to measurement for biodiversity. But it doesn’t always help when trying to conserve an ecosystem. For instance, we may wish to focus on certain types of species which are rare, or that preserve certain ecosystem functions. This paper looks at the differences in the effect of management on biodiversity, depending on which approach to biodiversity you take.

Paper of the Week

Extreme Warming Events Could Increase Reindeer Population Stability

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Sam Perrin One comment

Extreme warming events may sound like bad news to reindeer, but they could help increase population stability (Image Credit: Christopher Michel, CC BY 2.0, Image Cropped)

More frequent extreme climate events stabilize reindeer population dynamics (2019) Hansen et al., Nature Communications, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09332-5

The Crux

Whilst climate change has been causing (and will cause) a myriad of environmental problems, it’s important to remember that not all species will be negatively affected by more extreme weather events. One example is reindeer on the Arctic island of Svalbard, according to this week’s paper.

Taken at face value, an increased frequency of extreme warming events may not sound like a good idea for a cold-adapted species. But despite the fact that it can lead to rain falling and freezing over snow, rendering massive patches of food inaccessible, the authors show that this can actually lead to increased population stability.

Paper of the Week

The Ecology of Atlantis

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Sam Perrin Leave a comment

Image Credit: Aquaman, 2019

We look at the world of Atlantis from 2018’s Aquaman. Why would you domesticate a whale? Can a turtle grow to the size of a Great White Shark? Can an octopus play the drums? Spoiler alert: probably not.

5:48 – The History of Aquaman
10:33 – The Ecology of Atlantis
38:43 – The Karathen vs. Gypsy Danger (Pacific Rim)

You can also find us on iTunes and Google Play.

Cinematica Animalia

Population Trends in the Face of Climate Change

Posted on August 9, 2018 by Sam Perrin 2 comments

The Indian Pond Heron, one species which could face population declines as a result of climate change (Image Credit: Dr Raju Kasambe, CC BY-SA 4.0, Image Cropped)

Rapid warming is associated with population decline among terrestrial birds and mammals globally (2018) Spooner et al., Global Change Biology, DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14361

The Crux

The term climate change is almost ubiquitous these days. Humans tend to concentrate on how the warming of certain parts of the globe will affect them, but the species we share the globe with also experience a myriad of effects at the hands of climate change. These include rising temperatures constricting the ranges of some species and concurrently extending the range of others, who can move into areas that were previously too cold for them.

Whilst the focus of climate change has often been on species range shifts, the effects on species abundances are less well studied. This paper attempts to quantify the effects of climate change on a large number of bird and mammal species, whilst accounting for other factors which could affect species abundances, like rates of land use by humans, species body size, and whether or not the animals are in a protected area.