Functional Ecology

Papers
(The TQCC of Functional Ecology is 10. 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 2022-06-01 to 2026-06-01.)
ArticleCitations
189
Cover Picture and Issue Information163
Sympatric finches increase trophic and spatiotemporal partitioning to enable coexistence through periods of low resource availability87
Spatial assembly of grassland communities and interrelationships with productivity80
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Editors are biased too: An extension of Fox et al. (2023)'s analysis makes the case for triple‐blind review73
Soil and microbial responses to wild ungulate trampling depend more on ecosystem type than trampling severity67
Observational and experimental evidence that rapid mass loss is consistent with the flight efficiency hypothesis and not caused by reproductive effort in three passerine species64
Odour information enables patch choice by mammalian herbivores from afar, leading to predictable plant associational effects61
Trophic regulation of soil microbial biomass under nitrogen enrichment: A global meta‐analysis58
Herbivore species and patch heterogeneity modulate grazing‐induced shifts in soil nematode trophic structure and energy flux57
Variation in leaf phosphorus fractions reflects plant adaptations and distribution in low‐phosphorus tropical forests56
Abiotic stress rather than biotic interactions drives contrasting trends in chemical richness and variation in alpine willows55
The eco‐evolutionary role of fire in shaping terrestrial ecosystems51
The temporal and spatial response of soil fungal community composition and potential function to wildfire in a permafrost region in Canada49
The fingerprint of functional strategies in Mediterranean seagrass fish assemblages45
Responses to cold temperature determine clinal patterns of photosynthetic acclimation of a cosmopolitan grass genus and challenge the concept of quantifying phenotypic plasticity44
Indirect control of decomposition by an invertebrate predator43
Active regulation of ultraviolet light exposure overrides thermal preference behaviour in eastern fence lizards43
En route to resources: Foraging strategies of plant‐associated insects to identify resources in complex dynamic environments42
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 species41
Shifting trait coordination along a soil‐moisture‐nutrient gradient in tropical forests41
Warming modulates soil multifunctionality through assembly processes and co‐occurrence patterns of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in drylands39
The structure and ecological function of the interactions between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi through multilayer networks37
Grazing disrupts the trade‐off between silica‐ and phenol‐based plant defences along an aridity gradient in grasslands37
Temporal dynamics in functional fruit traits of native and invasive fleshy fruited plants in subtropical Andean forests37
Phylogeny of respiratory adaptations and local temperature extremes shape the thermal vulnerability of intertidal crabs36
Functional divergence drives the prevalence of low‐abundance species in bat assemblages36
Gradual pollen release in a buzz‐pollinated plant: Investigating pollen presentation theory under bee visitation36
Spore production monitoring reveals contrasting seasonal strategies and a trade‐off between spore size and number in wood‐inhabiting fungi34
Convergent remodelling of the gut microbiome is associated with host energetic condition over long‐distance migration34
Developmental plasticity drives converge nt shifts in phosphorus acquisition strategies towards root phosphatase activity in Moso bamboo under nitrogen addition33
Mechanisms by which growth and succession limit the impact of fire in a south‐western Australian forested ecosystem33
Contrasting effects of deadwood and gaps on the trophic structure of forest soil microarthropods33
Drivers of phenological transitions in the seedling life stage32
Cover Picture and Issue Information31
Physiological responses of narwhals to anthropogenic noise: A case study with seismic airguns and vessel traffic in the Arctic31
CO2‐fertilisation enhances resilience to browsing in the recruitment phase of an encroaching savanna tree31
N 2 fixation is linked to the ability to encroach in African savanna trees30
Dietary restriction fails to extend life in stressful environments30
Shifts in wood anatomical traits after a major hurricane30
Local climate and genetic influence on intraspecific variation in torpor physiology of a cave‐roosting bat29
Cover Picture and Issue Information29
Mycorrhizal identity of neighbouring trees shapes seedling survival and plant–soil feedbacks through trait and light interactions29
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Soil microbial relative resource limitation exhibited contrasting seasonal patterns along an elevational gradient in Yulong Snow Mountain29
Has behavioural thermoregulation evolved solely to stay alive in insects, nothing more?29
Multiple mating rescues offspring sex ratio but not productivity in a haplodiploid exposed to developmental heat stress28
Phenological research based on natural history collections: Practical guidelines and a lepidopteran case study28
Woodland wildfire enables fungal colonization of encroaching Douglas‐fir28
Estimates of nectar productivity through a simulation approach differ from the nectar produced in 24 h28
The spatial scaling of multiple dimensions of functional diversity in habitat islands28
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Context‐dependent evolution of high trophic position drives functional disparity in subterranean crustaceans28
Nitrogen deposition does not exacerbate phosphorus limitation of rhizosphere microbes in subalpine forests27
Ant handling changes myrmecochore seed coat microbiomes and alters diversity of seed‐borne plant pathogenic fungi27
Decreasing water availability reduces productivity in Swiss forests along an altitudinal gradient27
Functional diversity loss and taxonomic delays of European freshwater fish and North American breeding birds26
Seed dormancy revisited: Dormancy‐release pathways and environmental interactions26
Meta‐analysis and critical review of trophic discrimination factors (Δ13C and Δ15N): Importance of tissue, trophic level and diet source26
The influence of pre‐exposure to marine heatwaves on the critical thermal maxima (CTmax) of marine foundation species26
Afforestation mitigates soil nitrogen limitation by enhancing mineralization and lowering denitrification in central China26
Forest storm resilience depends on the interplay between functional composition and climate—Insights from European‐scale simulations26
Seasonal community stability increased with water addition and shrub removal but reduced with nitrogen addition in semi‐arid grassland26
Diet, phenology and body size shape nutrient release by songbirds26
Niche complementarity among plants and animals can alter the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationship26
Flowering plant communities mediate the effects of habitat composition and configuration on wild pollinator communities25
Bromeliad populations perform distinct ecological strategies across a tropical elevation gradient25
Coping with change: Interactive effects of anthropogenic change influence the breeding success and survival of a desert‐dwelling cooperative breeder24
Climate change and coastal wetland salinization: Physiological and ecological consequences for Arctic waterfowl24
Phenotypic evolution of agricultural crops24
The effect of dead standing (marcescent) biomass on litter decomposition in herbaceous flora is governed by plant functional group24
Plasma insulin‐like growth‐factor 1 ( IGF ‐1) concentrations predict early life‐history traits in a wild mammal24
Ecological strategies of (pl)ants: Towards a world‐wide worker economic spectrum for ants24
Interactions between protea plants and their animal mutualists and antagonists are structured more by energetic than morphological trait matching23
Contrasting effects of producer and consumer resource use efficiency on trophic asynchrony and stability of food web under multiple stressors23
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The litter C/N ratio governs the dual role of ectomycorrhizal fungi in decomposition and plant nutrition absorption23
Extending plant water‐use strategies to flowers: Evidence from trait correlations across plant organs23
Cover Picture and Issue Information22
Scaling the effects of size and temperature on animal consumption rates from individuals to populations in a subtropical reef fish22
Temporal dynamics of scent mark composition in field‐experimental lizard populations22
Red fruits exhibit lower colour diversity than red flowers as perceived by birds22
Experimental transplants demonstrate shifts in predation favour evolution of aggressive behaviours in Trinidadian killifish22
Foundation species support fauna across multiple trophic levels via trophic and non‐trophic mechanisms21
Naturalized alien plants experience less negative soil‐legacy effects and gain competitive advantages through spatial heterogeneity21
Snake oil in action: Geographic and seasonal variability in epidermal lipids shape evaporative water loss in snakes21
Why are vertebrates so big?21
Functional traits are moderate predictors of above‐ and below‐ground biomass in multispecies seagrass habitats21
Cover Picture and Issue Information21
Environmentally induced reconstruction of microbial communities alters particulate carbon flux of deep chlorophyll maxima in the South China sea21
Establishing cordgrass plants cluster their shoots to avoid ecosystem engineering21
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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
Higher vascular plant abundance associated with decreased ecosystem respiration after 20 years of warming in the forest–tundra ecotone20
Grazing intensity alters the plant diversity–ecosystem carbon storage relationship in rangelands across topographic and climatic gradients20
Field experiments have enhanced our understanding of drought impacts on terrestrial ecosystems—But where do we go from here?20
Ecological acclimation: A framework to integrate fast and slow responses to climate change20
Functional Ecology is moving to open access20
Large leaf hydraulic safety margins limit the risk of drought‐induced leaf hydraulic dysfunction in Neotropical rainforest canopy tree species20
The post‐fire recovery of soil seed banks along a fire severity gradient in an Australian threatened mesic forest20
Nocturnal dissolved organic matter release by turf algae and its role in the microbialization of reefs20
The ontogenetic dimension of plant functional ecology20
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Implication of the myo‐inositol pathway in behavioural alterations of infected threespine sticklebacks20
Differential root nutrient‐acquisition strategies underlie biogeochemical niche separation between grasses and forbs across grassland biomes20
Should I breed or should I go? Manipulating individual state during migration influences breeding decisions in a long‐lived bird species20
The vertebrate bone hypothesis: Understanding the impact of bone on vertebrate stoichiometry20
Cover Picture and Issue Information20
Compensation alters estimates of the number of species required to maintain ecosystem functioning across an emersion gradient: A case study with intertidal macroalgae20
Cover Picture and Issue Information20
It takes a community to maintain a tree hollow: Food web complexity enhances decomposition and wood mould production19
Nitrogen‐transforming microorganisms potentially facilitate the invasion of Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) into evergreen broadleaf forests19
Functional differences between herbs and woody species in a semiarid Mediterranean plant community: A whole‐plant perspective on growth, nutrient‐use and size19
Size variation of an herbivorous insect affects host plant damage: Mechanisms behind the effect19
Responses of a widespread pest insect to extreme high temperatures are stage‐dependent and divergent among seasonal cohorts19
The nexus of decay and birth: Ecological and evolutionary significance of wood‐decaying fungi in green Calypsoinae orchid germination19
Testing trade‐offs in amphibian metamorphic traits: Swimming performance and selection across metamorphic stages in the aquatic frog Xenopus laevis19
Eusociality and the transition from biparental to alloparental care in termites19
Mycelium biomass and community composition impact nutrient concentration in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at fine spatial scale19
Warmer temperatures result in maladaptive learning of sexual preferences19
Below‐ground drivers of rhizosphere functional gene assembly during Moso bamboo expansion19
Effects of warming and parasitism on root traits and the root economics space19
Hummingbird interaction niche packing is influenced by species richness and resource availability in the southern tropical Andes19
Plant–microbe interactions drive the rhizosphere microbial assembly and nitrogen cycling in a subtropical forest18
Drought response in herbaceous plants: A test of the integrated framework of plant form and function18
How do functional traits influence tree demographic properties in a subtropical monsoon forest?18
At the edge of darkness: A framework for the evolution of visual systems in dim light18
Soil fungi lead to stronger ‘diminishing returns’ in fine‐root length versus mass allometry towards earlier successional tropical forests18
Altered trait covariances between invasive and native ranges of a global plant invader18
Using ecological restoration to disentangle the mechanisms and longevity of soil functional legacies18
Drought effects on root and shoot traits and their decomposability18
Thermal plasticity in protective wing pigmentation is modulated by genotype and food availability in an insect model of seasonal polyphenism18
Nonstructural carbohydrates predict survival in saplings of temperate trees under carbon stress18
The evolution of sensitive periods beyond early ontogeny: Bridging theory and data17
Probing the functional significance of wild animal microbiomes using omics data17
Abiotic factors that prompt major ecological transitions: Are fish on land to escape an intolerable aquatic environment?17
Ecological succession shapes size–density scaling relationships of trees and soil invertebrates17
To stay or to roam? Behavioural type influences trade‐offs in male wild turkey survival17
Shifts in the fungal community promote soil carbon accumulation in microaggregates during long‐term secondary succession17
Spiroacetals and the rise of Campanula specialists: Receptor sensitivity to host‐specific floral scents17
Context‐dependent relationships between genomic traits and plant performance in temperate grasslands17
Rapid positive response of young trees growth to warming reverses nitrogen loss from subtropical soil17
Adaptive immune response selects for postponed maturation and increased body size17
Meta‐analysis of effects of common mycorrhizal networks formed by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant and fungal parameters17
Stable isotope analysis indicates partial mycoheterotrophy in arbuscular mycorrhizal woody seedlings in tropical forests17
Niche conservatism and sympatric parallel evolution may help to maintain eight nascent tree taxa along a sharp elevation gradient17
Natural and experimental cold exposure in adulthood increase the sensitivity to future stressors in a free‐living songbird17
Dense afforestation reduces plant–pollinator network diversity and persistence16
Depth‐dependent mechanisms regulate accumulation of plant‐ and microbial‐derived residues under long‐term nitrogen addition in a semiarid grassland16
Unravelling the mystery of red flowers in the Mediterranean Basin: How to be conspicuous in a place dominated by hymenopteran pollinators16
Might termites make us unintentional ‘Carbon Cowboys’?16
Variation in a microbial mutualist has transcriptional and phenotypic consequences for host–parasite interactions16
Self‐pruning in tree crowns is influenced by functional strategies and neighbourhood interactions16
Microplastic additions modulate intraspecific variability in root traits and mycorrhizal responses across root‐life history strategies16
Soil N:P ratio influences species coexistence via nitrogen‐form niche differentiation in alpine grasslands16
Drought susceptibility of southern African C4 grasses: Phylogenetically and photosynthetically determined?16
Novel climate–fire–vegetation interactions and their influence on forest ecosystems in the westernUSA16
Functional traits explain both seedling and adult plant spatial patterns in gypsum annual species16
We need a multidimensional view of the plant reproduction continuum16
Natural history and ecological effects on the establishment and fate of Florida carpenter ant cadavers infected by the parasitic manipulator Ophiocordyceps camponotifloridani16
Environment‐dependent relationships between corticosterone and energy expenditure during reproduction: Insights from seabirds in the context of climate change16
Invertebrate traits, diversity and the vulnerability of groundwater ecosystems16
How vulnerable are amphibians to climate change? A mechanistic perspective16
Seasonality of temperature dependence of methane fluxes from natural wetlands16
Rooted disruptions: Below‐ground herbivory drives contrasting natural enemy foraging for hosts and prey16
Animal transparency: How should we define form and function?15
Riparian forests shape trophic interactions in detrital stream food webs15
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Environment‐driven plasticity in foraging behaviour: From individual‐level processes to community‐level consequences15
All roads lead to infection: A mechanistic model to assess transmission routes of brucellosis in a wild ungulate population15
Increasing prevalence of severe fires change the structure of arthropod communities: Evidence from a meta‐analysis15
An extended epiphenotype for an extended phenotype inToxoplasma gondiiinfected feral house mice15
Variation of seedling recruitment in wet meadow species over 6 years: Positive effects of mowing and negative effects of fertilization15
ShareTrait : Towards interoperable and reusable individual trait‐based data in ectotherms15
Female preference for males with lower pattern contrast follows Weber's law of proportional processing in jumping spiders15
Soil functions are amplified along increasing planting densities via nutrient trade‐off driven by rhizobacteria in drought‐prone environment15
Coarse woody debris decomposition along an elevation gradient alleviates soil microbial P limitation but intensifies C limitation at Wuyishan National Park15
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Wildfire strengthens the relationship between soil biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality in subtropical forests14
Ecosystem engineers shape ecological network structure and stability: A framework and literature review14
Differential early‐life survival underlies the adaptive significance of temperature‐dependent sex determination in a long‐lived reptile14
Cover Picture and Issue Information14
The functionality of arbuscular mycorrhizal networks across scales of experimental complexity and ecological relevance14
Opposite, but insufficient, phenological responses to climate in two circumpolar seabirds: Relative roles of phenotypic plasticity and selection14
Multiple signalling increases both prey response and diversity in a carnivorous pitcher plant14
Geographical variation in the trait‐based assembly patterns of multitrophic invertebrate communities14
The role of insularity: Plants have few ornithophilous traits but are visited by morphologically more distinct hummingbirds in the Caribbean islands14
Demographic rate directional change and its determinants reveal how plant species win in a patchy landscape with frequent droughts14
Tree growth‐forms reveal dominant browsers shaping the vegetation14
EXPRESSION OF CONCERN : Differential selection on sprint speed and ad libitum feeding behaviour in active vs. sit‐and‐wait foraging spiders14
Higher phosphorus and water use efficiencies and leaf stoichiometry contribute to legume success in drylands14
Host and parasite functional morphology jointly explain parasite specificity14
Elevational variations in stem hydraulic efficiency and safety of Abies fabri14
Below‐ground root nutrient‐acquisition strategies are more sensitive to long‐term grazing than above‐ground leaf traits across a soil nutrient gradient14
Ecosystem‐level decoupling in response to reduced precipitation frequency and degradation in steppe grassland14
Perception of dead conspecifics increases reproductive investment in fruit flies14
Temporal community change in stream ecosystems varies by assemblage across US climates14
Correction to ‘Cuticular hydrocarbons and collective response to water stress in a desert ant’14
Shifts in risk sensitivity and resource availability alter fat stores for a large mammal following extreme winter conditions14
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Pigment molecular composition reveals significant information for visual communication13
Temperature‐dependent scaling of fitness traits with body size in hydra13
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
Rethinking the role of colour in avian fruit choices and foraging mechanisms13
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Rooting for the little guy: Below‐ground traits predict juvenile grass demography in microsites13
Visual ecology in challenging environments: How organisms evolve in extremes of light and adapt to shifting conditions13
Disconnection between plant–microbial nutrient limitation across forest biomes13
Interactive effects of plant litter type and yak excrement on litter decomposition in a shrub‐encroached alpine meadow13
Synchronous seasonal plasticity in coloration, behaviour and visual gene expression in a wild butterfly population13
The potential of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to improve soil organic carbon in agricultural ecosystems: A meta‐analytical approach13
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Mother–offspring conflict and body temperature regulation during gestation and lactation in a wild primate13
Experimental designs for testing the interactive effects of temperature and light in ecology: The problem of periodicity13
Hydraulic traits are not robust predictors of tree species stem growth during a severe drought in a wet tropical forest13
Hanging out at the club: Breeding status and territoriality affect individual space use, multi‐species overlap and pathogen transmission risk at a seabird colony13
Predicting key ectotherm population mortality in response to dynamic marine heatwaves: A Bayesian‐enhanced thermal tolerance landscape approach13
Linking effect traits of soil fauna to processes of organic matter transformation13
Vegetation composition regulates the interaction of warming and nitrogen deposition on net carbon dioxide uptake in a boreal peatland12
Root traits vary as much as leaf traits and have consistent phenotypic plasticity among 14 populations of a globally widespread herb12
Do seed dispersal strategies reflect adaptation to environmental variability?12
Neighbour‐detection causes shifts in allocation across multiple organs to prepare plants for light competition12
Plant attributes interact with fungal pathogens and nitrogen addition to drive soil enzymatic activities and their temporal variation12
Plastic background colour matching in the springbok mantis12
Developing together: The elementome and biogeochemical niche of the mutualistic occupants of a fig microcosm12
Investment in regeneration versus asexual reproduction is resource‐dependent in a freshwater annelid12
Predicting plant species climate niches on the basis of mechanistic traits12
Light condition experienced by parent plants influences the response of offspring to light via both parental effects and soil legacy effects12
Water loss, not overheating, limits the activity period of an endothermic Sonoran Desert bee12
Diversity, species coexistence and functional composition patterns in subtropical Atlantic Forests invaded by non‐native trees12
Cognitive ecology of surprise in predator–prey interactions12
Mycorrhizal specialization toward each distinct Oliveonia fungus in two closely related photosynthetic Dactylostalix orchids12
Pathogen load predicts host functional disruption: A meta‐analysis of an amphibian fungal panzootic12
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Going across taxa in functional ecology: Review and perspectives of an emerging field12
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Wild large herbivores promote plant diversity and functional redundancy by reducing dominance12
Bandwagon effects in a floral market: Early pollinator acquisition offsets colour disadvantages in less attractive flowers12
Luring cannibal: Dishonest sexual signalling in the springbok mantis12
Wind, waves, wing loading and the flight energetics of giant petrels12
Correction to ‘Evolutionary constraints in host shifts: Limited adaptation of Plutella xylostella to cardenolide‐defended Erysimum12
Leaf C:P ratio as a universal indicator of photosynthesis in subtropical woody species: Stoichiometric thresholds and metabolic trade‐offs12
Cover Picture and Issue Information12
Excessive nutrient input induces an ecological cost for aphids by modifying their attractiveness towards mutualist ants12
Plant invasion modifies isohydricity in Mediterranean tree species12
Large invasive herbaceous plants decrease the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of birds via their reproductive traits11
Cover Picture and Issue Information11
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