Functional Ecology

Papers
(The median citation count of Functional Ecology is 4. The table below lists those papers that are above that threshold based on CrossRef citation counts [max. 250 papers]. The publications cover those that have been published in the past four years, i.e., from 2022-01-01 to 2026-01-01.)
ArticleCitations
220
Soil and microbial responses to wild ungulate trampling depend more on ecosystem type than trampling severity185
Cover Picture and Issue Information150
Variation in leaf phosphorus fractions reflects plant adaptations and distribution in low‐phosphorus tropical forests141
Indirect control of decomposition by an invertebrate predator139
Phylogeny of respiratory adaptations and local temperature extremes shape the thermal vulnerability of intertidal crabs132
Warming modulates soil multifunctionality through assembly processes and co‐occurrence patterns of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in drylands87
Temporal dynamics in functional fruit traits of native and invasive fleshy fruited plants in subtropical Andean forests79
Odour information enables patch choice by mammalian herbivores from afar, leading to predictable plant associational effects58
Drivers of phenological transitions in the seedling life stage58
Grazing disrupts the trade‐off between silica‐ and phenol‐based plant defences along an aridity gradient in grasslands57
Sympatric finches increase trophic and spatiotemporal partitioning to enable coexistence through periods of low resource availability55
Observational and experimental evidence that rapid mass loss is consistent with the flight efficiency hypothesis and not caused by reproductive effort in three passerine species54
Can body mass and skull morphology predict seed and fruit ingestion potential for mammal species? A test using extant species and its application to extinct species51
The temporal and spatial response of soil fungal community composition and potential function to wildfire in a permafrost region in Canada50
Editors are biased too: An extension of Fox et al. (2023)'s analysis makes the case for triple‐blind review50
50
En route to resources: Foraging strategies of plant‐associated insects to identify resources in complex dynamic environments48
Abiotic stress rather than biotic interactions drives contrasting trends in chemical richness and variation in alpine willows47
More than just meat: Carcass decomposition shapes trophic identities in a terrestrial vertebrate45
Herbivore species and patch heterogeneity modulate grazing‐induced shifts in soil nematode trophic structure and energy flux45
Active regulation of ultraviolet light exposure overrides thermal preference behaviour in eastern fence lizards44
Physiological responses of narwhals to anthropogenic noise: A case study with seismic airguns and vessel traffic in the Arctic43
Gradual pollen release in a buzz‐pollinated plant: Investigating pollen presentation theory under bee visitation40
Contrasting effects of deadwood and gaps on the trophic structure of forest soil microarthropods39
Beyond single host, single parasite interactions: Quantifying competence for complete multi‐host, multi‐parasite communities38
Convergent remodelling of the gut microbiome is associated with host energetic condition over long‐distance migration38
The fingerprint of functional strategies in Mediterranean seagrass fish assemblages38
The eco‐evolutionary role of fire in shaping terrestrial ecosystems37
The structure and ecological function of the interactions between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi through multilayer networks36
Spatial assembly of grassland communities and interrelationships with productivity36
Trophic regulation of soil microbial biomass under nitrogen enrichment: A global meta‐analysis35
Mechanisms by which growth and succession limit the impact of fire in a south‐western Australian forested ecosystem34
Responses to cold temperature determine clinal patterns of photosynthetic acclimation of a cosmopolitan grass genus and challenge the concept of quantifying phenotypic plasticity33
Spore production monitoring reveals contrasting seasonal strategies and a trade‐off between spore size and number in wood‐inhabiting fungi33
Shifting trait coordination along a soil‐moisture‐nutrient gradient in tropical forests32
Cover Picture and Issue Information31
Woodland wildfire enables fungal colonization of encroaching Douglas‐fir30
Growth enhancements of elevated atmospheric [CO2] are reduced under drought‐like conditions in temperate eucalypts30
CO2‐fertilisation enhances resilience to browsing in the recruitment phase of an encroaching savanna tree30
Soil microbial relative resource limitation exhibited contrasting seasonal patterns along an elevational gradient in Yulong Snow Mountain29
Forest storm resilience depends on the interplay between functional composition and climate—Insights from European‐scale simulations29
Cover Picture and Issue Information28
Niche complementarity among plants and animals can alter the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationship28
28
Seasonal community stability increased with water addition and shrub removal but reduced with nitrogen addition in semi‐arid grassland28
Has behavioural thermoregulation evolved solely to stay alive in insects, nothing more?28
Functional diversity loss and taxonomic delays of European freshwater fish and North American breeding birds28
The spatial scaling of multiple dimensions of functional diversity in habitat islands27
27
Context‐dependent evolution of high trophic position drives functional disparity in subterranean crustaceans27
Estimates of nectar productivity through a simulation approach differ from the nectar produced in 24 h26
Dietary restriction fails to extend life in stressful environments26
Ant handling changes myrmecochore seed coat microbiomes and alters diversity of seed‐borne plant pathogenic fungi26
Shifts in wood anatomical traits after a major hurricane26
Species provenance and traits mediate establishment and performance in an invaded grassland26
N 2 fixation is linked to the ability to encroach in African savanna trees25
Meta‐analysis and critical review of trophic discrimination factors (Δ13C and Δ15N): Importance of tissue, trophic level and diet source25
Multiple mating rescues offspring sex ratio but not productivity in a haplodiploid exposed to developmental heat stress25
The influence of pre‐exposure to marine heatwaves on the critical thermal maxima (CTmax) of marine foundation species25
Phenological research based on natural history collections: Practical guidelines and a lepidopteran case study25
24
Experimental transplants demonstrate shifts in predation favour evolution of aggressive behaviours in Trinidadian killifish24
Nocturnal dissolved organic matter release by turf algae and its role in the microbialization of reefs24
Seed dormancy revisited: Dormancy‐release pathways and environmental interactions24
The vertebrate bone hypothesis: Understanding the impact of bone on vertebrate stoichiometry24
Environmentally induced reconstruction of microbial communities alters particulate carbon flux of deep chlorophyll maxima in the South China sea23
Naturalized alien plants experience less negative soil‐legacy effects and gain competitive advantages through spatial heterogeneity23
Field experiments have enhanced our understanding of drought impacts on terrestrial ecosystems—But where do we go from here?23
Cover Picture and Issue Information23
Red fruits exhibit lower colour diversity than red flowers as perceived by birds23
Temporal dynamics of scent mark composition in field‐experimental lizard populations23
Why are vertebrates so big?23
Large leaf hydraulic safety margins limit the risk of drought‐induced leaf hydraulic dysfunction in Neotropical rainforest canopy tree species22
Differential root nutrient‐acquisition strategies underlie biogeochemical niche separation between grasses and forbs across grassland biomes22
Flowering plant communities mediate the effects of habitat composition and configuration on wild pollinator communities22
Interactions between protea plants and their animal mutualists and antagonists are structured more by energetic than morphological trait matching22
Scaling the effects of size and temperature on animal consumption rates from individuals to populations in a subtropical reef fish22
Bromeliad populations perform distinct ecological strategies across a tropical elevation gradient22
Top‐down cascading effects of seed‐feeding beetles and their parasitoids on plants and leaf herbivores21
Functional traits are moderate predictors of above‐ and below‐ground biomass in multispecies seagrass habitats21
Snake oil in action: Geographic and seasonal variability in epidermal lipids shape evaporative water loss in snakes21
Should I breed or should I go? Manipulating individual state during migration influences breeding decisions in a long‐lived bird species21
Conserved responses of nutrient resorption to extreme drought in a grassland: The role of community compositional changes21
High metabolic sensitivity to hot drought in two declining pine species with constrained physiology21
Establishing cordgrass plants cluster their shoots to avoid ecosystem engineering21
Foundation species support fauna across multiple trophic levels via trophic and non‐trophic mechanisms21
Higher vascular plant abundance associated with decreased ecosystem respiration after 20 years of warming in the forest–tundra ecotone21
Grazing intensity alters the plant diversity–ecosystem carbon storage relationship in rangelands across topographic and climatic gradients21
Phenotypic evolution of agricultural crops20
The effect of dead standing (marcescent) biomass on litter decomposition in herbaceous flora is governed by plant functional group20
Compensation alters estimates of the number of species required to maintain ecosystem functioning across an emersion gradient: A case study with intertidal macroalgae20
Climate change and coastal wetland salinization: Physiological and ecological consequences for Arctic waterfowl20
The ontogenetic dimension of plant functional ecology20
Cover Picture and Issue Information20
Ecological strategies of (pl)ants: Towards a world‐wide worker economic spectrum for ants20
Ecological acclimation: A framework to integrate fast and slow responses to climate change20
20
Nitrogen‐transforming microorganisms potentially facilitate the invasion of Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) into evergreen broadleaf forests19
Testing trade‐offs in amphibian metamorphic traits: Swimming performance and selection across metamorphic stages in the aquatic frog Xenopus laevis19
Meta‐analysis of effects of common mycorrhizal networks formed by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant and fungal parameters19
The evolution of sensitive periods beyond early ontogeny: Bridging theory and data19
Functional Ecology is moving to open access19
Cover Picture and Issue Information19
Yeast and fruit fly mutual niche construction and antagonism against mould19
Soil fungi lead to stronger ‘diminishing returns’ in fine‐root length versus mass allometry towards earlier successional tropical forests19
Implication of the myo‐inositol pathway in behavioural alterations of infected threespine sticklebacks19
At the edge of darkness: A framework for the evolution of visual systems in dim light19
Altered trait covariances between invasive and native ranges of a global plant invader19
Warmer temperatures result in maladaptive learning of sexual preferences18
Responses of a widespread pest insect to extreme high temperatures are stage‐dependent and divergent among seasonal cohorts18
The nexus of decay and birth: Ecological and evolutionary significance of wood‐decaying fungi in green Calypsoinae orchid germination18
Thermal plasticity in protective wing pigmentation is modulated by genotype and food availability in an insect model of seasonal polyphenism18
Plant–microbe interactions drive the rhizosphere microbial assembly and nitrogen cycling in a subtropical forest18
Nonstructural carbohydrates predict survival in saplings of temperate trees under carbon stress18
Using ecological restoration to disentangle the mechanisms and longevity of soil functional legacies18
Shifts in the fungal community promote soil carbon accumulation in microaggregates during long‐term secondary succession18
Functional differences between herbs and woody species in a semiarid Mediterranean plant community: A whole‐plant perspective on growth, nutrient‐use and size17
It takes a community to maintain a tree hollow: Food web complexity enhances decomposition and wood mould production17
Root trait shifts towards an avoidance strategy promote productivity and recovery in C3 and C4 pasture grasses under drought17
How do functional traits influence tree demographic properties in a subtropical monsoon forest?17
Mycelium biomass and community composition impact nutrient concentration in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at fine spatial scale17
Probing the functional significance of wild animal microbiomes using omics data17
Effects of warming and parasitism on root traits and the root economics space17
Abiotic factors that prompt major ecological transitions: Are fish on land to escape an intolerable aquatic environment?17
Eusociality and the transition from biparental to alloparental care in termites17
Drought response in herbaceous plants: A test of the integrated framework of plant form and function17
Disentangling the roles of plant functional diversity and plaint traits in regulating plant nitrogen accumulation and denitrification in freshwaters17
Drought effects on root and shoot traits and their decomposability17
Metacommunity dynamics and the detection of species associations in co‐occurrence analyses: Why patch disturbance matters17
Self‐pruning in tree crowns is influenced by functional strategies and neighbourhood interactions16
Context‐dependent relationships between genomic traits and plant performance in temperate grasslands16
Stable isotope analysis indicates partial mycoheterotrophy in arbuscular mycorrhizal woody seedlings in tropical forests16
Soil functions are amplified along increasing planting densities via nutrient trade‐off driven by rhizobacteria in drought‐prone environment16
Drought susceptibility of southern African C4 grasses: Phylogenetically and photosynthetically determined?16
Adaptive immune response selects for postponed maturation and increased body size16
Dense afforestation reduces plant–pollinator network diversity and persistence16
Increasing prevalence of severe fires change the structure of arthropod communities: Evidence from a meta‐analysis16
Animal transparency: How should we define form and function?16
Unravelling the mystery of red flowers in the Mediterranean Basin: How to be conspicuous in a place dominated by hymenopteran pollinators16
Variation in a microbial mutualist has transcriptional and phenotypic consequences for host–parasite interactions16
Variation of seedling recruitment in wet meadow species over 6 years: Positive effects of mowing and negative effects of fertilization16
Spiroacetals and the rise of Campanula specialists: Receptor sensitivity to host‐specific floral scents16
Niche conservatism and sympatric parallel evolution may help to maintain eight nascent tree taxa along a sharp elevation gradient16
Riparian forests shape trophic interactions in detrital stream food webs15
Ecological succession shapes size–density scaling relationships of trees and soil invertebrates15
15
Female preference for males with lower pattern contrast follows Weber's law of proportional processing in jumping spiders15
15
An extended epiphenotype for an extended phenotype inToxoplasma gondiiinfected feral house mice15
Host and parasite functional morphology jointly explain parasite specificity15
Rapid positive response of young trees growth to warming reverses nitrogen loss from subtropical soil15
Natural and experimental cold exposure in adulthood increase the sensitivity to future stressors in a free‐living songbird15
Rooted disruptions: Below‐ground herbivory drives contrasting natural enemy foraging for hosts and prey15
Seasonality of temperature dependence of methane fluxes from natural wetlands15
Microbes, memory and moisture: Predicting microbial moisture responses and their impact on carbon cycling15
Novel climate–fire–vegetation interactions and their influence on forest ecosystems in the westernUSA15
Coarse woody debris decomposition along an elevation gradient alleviates soil microbial P limitation but intensifies C limitation at Wuyishan National Park15
Functional traits explain both seedling and adult plant spatial patterns in gypsum annual species15
Invertebrate traits, diversity and the vulnerability of groundwater ecosystems15
How melanism affects the sensitivity of lizards to climate change15
Environment‐dependent relationships between corticosterone and energy expenditure during reproduction: Insights from seabirds in the context of climate change15
Might termites make us unintentional ‘Carbon Cowboys’?15
Natural history and ecological effects on the establishment and fate of Florida carpenter ant cadavers infected by the parasitic manipulator Ophiocordyceps camponotifloridani15
Microplastic additions modulate intraspecific variability in root traits and mycorrhizal responses across root‐life history strategies15
15
Perception of dead conspecifics increases reproductive investment in fruit flies15
Ecosystem engineers shape ecological network structure and stability: A framework and literature review15
We need a multidimensional view of the plant reproduction continuum15
ShareTrait : Towards interoperable and reusable individual trait‐based data in ectotherms15
A trade‐off between growth and hydraulic resilience against freezing leads to divergent adaptations among temperate tree species14
Geographical variation in the trait‐based assembly patterns of multitrophic invertebrate communities14
Demographic rate directional change and its determinants reveal how plant species win in a patchy landscape with frequent droughts14
Below‐ground root nutrient‐acquisition strategies are more sensitive to long‐term grazing than above‐ground leaf traits across a soil nutrient gradient14
EXPRESSION OF CONCERN : Differential selection on sprint speed and ad libitum feeding behaviour in active vs. sit‐and‐wait foraging spiders14
Differential early‐life survival underlies the adaptive significance of temperature‐dependent sex determination in a long‐lived reptile14
The functionality of arbuscular mycorrhizal networks across scales of experimental complexity and ecological relevance14
Ecosystem‐level decoupling in response to reduced precipitation frequency and degradation in steppe grassland14
Diet quality and conspecific larval density predict functional trait variation and performance in a polyphagous frugivorous fly14
Shifts in risk sensitivity and resource availability alter fat stores for a large mammal following extreme winter conditions14
Elevational variations in stem hydraulic efficiency and safety of Abies fabri14
Environment‐driven plasticity in foraging behaviour: From individual‐level processes to community‐level consequences14
Higher phosphorus and water use efficiencies and leaf stoichiometry contribute to legume success in drylands14
Tree growth‐forms reveal dominant browsers shaping the vegetation14
Linking effect traits of soil fauna to processes of organic matter transformation14
The role of insularity: Plants have few ornithophilous traits but are visited by morphologically more distinct hummingbirds in the Caribbean islands14
Temporal community change in stream ecosystems varies by assemblage across US climates14
Opposite, but insufficient, phenological responses to climate in two circumpolar seabirds: Relative roles of phenotypic plasticity and selection14
Cover Picture and Issue Information14
13
The potential of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to improve soil organic carbon in agricultural ecosystems: A meta‐analytical approach13
Rooting for the little guy: Below‐ground traits predict juvenile grass demography in microsites13
Temperature‐dependent scaling of fitness traits with body size in hydra13
Visual ecology in challenging environments: How organisms evolve in extremes of light and adapt to shifting conditions13
To lose is to win: Long‐term co‐occurrence of two asexual populations realized by a dormant strategy of the inferior competitor13
Extended epiphenotypes: Integrating epigenotypes into host behavioural manipulation by parasites13
Predicting key ectotherm population mortality in response to dynamic marine heatwaves: A Bayesian‐enhanced thermal tolerance landscape approach13
Interactive effects of plant litter type and yak excrement on litter decomposition in a shrub‐encroached alpine meadow13
13
13
Pigment molecular composition reveals significant information for visual communication13
Luring cannibal: Dishonest sexual signalling in the springbok mantis13
Cognitive ecology of surprise in predator–prey interactions13
Neighbour‐detection causes shifts in allocation across multiple organs to prepare plants for light competition13
13
Multiple signalling increases both prey response and diversity in a carnivorous pitcher plant13
Leaf economics in a three‐dimensional environment: Testing leaf trait responses in vascular epiphytes to land use, climate and tree zone13
Root traits vary as much as leaf traits and have consistent phenotypic plasticity among 14 populations of a globally widespread herb13
Vegetation composition regulates the interaction of warming and nitrogen deposition on net carbon dioxide uptake in a boreal peatland13
Pathogen load predicts host functional disruption: A meta‐analysis of an amphibian fungal panzootic13
Do seed dispersal strategies reflect adaptation to environmental variability?12
Diversity, species coexistence and functional composition patterns in subtropical Atlantic Forests invaded by non‐native trees12
Soil N enrichment mediates carbon allocation through respiration in a dominant grass during drought12
Synchronous seasonal plasticity in coloration, behaviour and visual gene expression in a wild butterfly population12
Mother–offspring conflict and body temperature regulation during gestation and lactation in a wild primate12
Relative contribution of high and low elevation soil microbes and nematodes to ecosystem functioning12
Erratum12
Hanging out at the club: Breeding status and territoriality affect individual space use, multi‐species overlap and pathogen transmission risk at a seabird colony12
Experimental designs for testing the interactive effects of temperature and light in ecology: The problem of periodicity12
Hydraulic traits are not robust predictors of tree species stem growth during a severe drought in a wet tropical forest12
Disconnection between plant–microbial nutrient limitation across forest biomes12
Indirect effects of trophic interactions govern carbon circulation in two beech forest soil ecosystems12
Coordination of hydraulic and morphological traits across dominant grasses in eastern Australia12
Mycorrhizal specialization toward each distinct Oliveonia fungus in two closely related photosynthetic Dactylostalix orchids12
Light condition experienced by parent plants influences the response of offspring to light via both parental effects and soil legacy effects12
Rethinking the role of colour in avian fruit choices and foraging mechanisms12
Water loss, not overheating, limits the activity period of an endothermic Sonoran Desert bee12
Plant invasion modifies isohydricity in Mediterranean tree species12
12
Plastic background colour matching in the springbok mantis11
Complete metamorphosis promotes morphological and functional diversity in Caudata11
Nitrogen addition and experimental drought simplified arthropod network in temperate grassland11
Correction to Sunflower spines and beyond: Mechanisms and breadth of pollen that reduce gut pathogen infection in the common eastern bumble bee11
Using ecosystem engineers to enhance multiple ecosystem processes11
Potential of undersown species identity versus diversity to manage disease in crops11
Quantifying phenotypic plasticity: A call for consistency11
Investment in regeneration versus asexual reproduction is resource‐dependent in a freshwater annelid11
Mangrove restoration enhances blue carbon sequestration and its stability in a subtropical tidal wetland11
Individual behaviour shapes patterns of bird‐mediated seed dispersal11
Morphological adaptations linked to flight efficiency and aerial lifestyle determine natal dispersal distance in birds11
Dung beetles drive direct and indirect changes in ecosystem multifunctionality11
Fast‐risky versus slow‐safe life histories mediate resprouting among Caribbean tropical dry forest trees11
Environment, taxonomy and morphology constrain insect thermal physiology along tropical mountains11
Predicting plant species climate niches on the basis of mechanistic traits11
Excessive nutrient input induces an ecological cost for aphids by modifying their attractiveness towards mutualist ants11
Plant attributes interact with fungal pathogens and nitrogen addition to drive soil enzymatic activities and their temporal variation11
Monitoring and modelling the effects of ecosystem engineers on ecosystem functioning11
Going across taxa in functional ecology: Review and perspectives of an emerging field11
Cover Picture and Issue Information11
Searching while sick: How does disease affect foraging decisions and contact rates?11
0.12877511978149