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 2021-08-01 to 2025-08-01.)
ArticleCitations
164
En route to resources: Foraging strategies of plant‐associated insects to identify resources in complex dynamic environments144
Cover Picture and Issue Information129
Trophic regulation of soil microbial biomass under nitrogen enrichment: A global meta‐analysis113
Mechanisms by which growth and succession limit the impact of fire in a south‐western Australian forested ecosystem101
Variation in leaf phosphorus fractions reflects plant adaptations and distribution in low‐phosphorus tropical forests100
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Observational and experimental evidence that rapid mass loss is consistent with the flight efficiency hypothesis and not caused by reproductive effort in three passerine species71
Editors are biased too: An extension of Fox et al. (2023)'s analysis makes the case for triple‐blind review66
Spore production monitoring reveals contrasting seasonal strategies and a trade‐off between spore size and number in wood‐inhabiting fungi65
Spatial and temporal variation in phenotypes and fitness in response to developmental thermal environments65
Shifting trait coordination along a soil‐moisture‐nutrient gradient in tropical forests55
The temporal and spatial response of soil fungal community composition and potential function to wildfire in a permafrost region in Canada53
Active regulation of ultraviolet light exposure overrides thermal preference behaviour in eastern fence lizards47
Physiological responses of narwhals to anthropogenic noise: A case study with seismic airguns and vessel traffic in the Arctic47
Responses to cold temperature determine clinal patterns of photosynthetic acclimation of a cosmopolitan grass genus and challenge the concept of quantifying phenotypic plasticity44
Spatial assembly of grassland communities and interrelationships with productivity44
Indirect control of decomposition by an invertebrate predator44
The structure and ecological function of the interactions between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi through multilayer networks43
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 species43
Odour information enables patch choice by mammalian herbivores from afar, leading to predictable plant associational effects40
More than just meat: Carcass decomposition shapes trophic identities in a terrestrial vertebrate40
Beyond single host, single parasite interactions: Quantifying competence for complete multi‐host, multi‐parasite communities39
The eco‐evolutionary role of fire in shaping terrestrial ecosystems39
Unravelling biodiversity–productivity relationships across a large temperate forest region39
Abiotic stress rather than biotic interactions drives contrasting trends in chemical richness and variation in alpine willows38
The fingerprint of functional strategies in Mediterranean seagrass fish assemblages37
Drivers of phenological transitions in the seedling life stage36
Temporal dynamics in functional fruit traits of native and invasive fleshy fruited plants in subtropical Andean forests36
Power law scaling relationships link canopy structural complexity and height across forest types36
Sympatric finches increase trophic and spatiotemporal partitioning to enable coexistence through periods of low resource availability35
Soil and microbial responses to wild ungulate trampling depend more on ecosystem type than trampling severity33
Links between boreal forest management, soil fungal communities and below‐ground carbon sequestration33
Warming modulates soil multifunctionality through assembly processes and co‐occurrence patterns of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in drylands32
Cover Picture and Issue Information32
Convergent remodelling of the gut microbiome is associated with host energetic condition over long‐distance migration32
Cover Picture and Issue Information32
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Seasonal community stability increased with water addition and shrub removal but reduced with nitrogen addition in semi‐arid grassland31
Shifts in wood anatomical traits after a major hurricane30
Context‐dependent evolution of high trophic position drives functional disparity in subterranean crustaceans30
Forest storm resilience depends on the interplay between functional composition and climate—Insights from European‐scale simulations30
Species provenance and traits mediate establishment and performance in an invaded grassland29
Growth enhancements of elevated atmospheric [CO2] are reduced under drought‐like conditions in temperate eucalypts29
Woodland wildfire enables fungal colonization of encroaching Douglas‐fir28
Multiple mating rescues offspring sex ratio but not productivity in a haplodiploid exposed to developmental heat stress28
Ant handling changes myrmecochore seed coat microbiomes and alters diversity of seed‐borne plant pathogenic fungi27
Dietary restriction fails to extend life in stressful environments27
CO2‐fertilisation enhances resilience to browsing in the recruitment phase of an encroaching savanna tree27
Functional diversity loss and taxonomic delays of European freshwater fish and North American breeding birds27
Has behavioural thermoregulation evolved solely to stay alive in insects, nothing more?26
Seed dormancy revisited: Dormancy‐release pathways and environmental interactions25
Phenological research based on natural history collections: Practical guidelines and a lepidopteran case study25
Estimates of nectar productivity through a simulation approach differ from the nectar produced in 24 h25
Soil microbial relative resource limitation exhibited contrasting seasonal patterns along an elevational gradient in Yulong Snow Mountain25
Meta‐analysis and critical review of trophic discrimination factors (Δ13C and Δ15N): Importance of tissue, trophic level and diet source25
Functional traits are moderate predictors of above‐ and below‐ground biomass in multispecies seagrass habitats24
Niche complementarity among plants and animals can alter the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationship24
Temporal dynamics of scent mark composition in field‐experimental lizard populations24
The influence of pre‐exposure to marine heatwaves on the critical thermal maxima (CTmax) of marine foundation species24
Foundation species support fauna across multiple trophic levels via trophic and non‐trophic mechanisms24
Interactions between protea plants and their animal mutualists and antagonists are structured more by energetic than morphological trait matching23
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Environmentally induced reconstruction of microbial communities alters particulate carbon flux of deep chlorophyll maxima in the South China sea23
Cover Picture and Issue Information23
Bromeliad populations perform distinct ecological strategies across a tropical elevation gradient23
Nocturnal dissolved organic matter release by turf algae and its role in the microbialization of reefs23
Caves, crevices and cooling capacity: Roost microclimate predicts heat tolerance in bats23
Establishing cordgrass plants cluster their shoots to avoid ecosystem engineering22
Higher vascular plant abundance associated with decreased ecosystem respiration after 20 years of warming in the forest–tundra ecotone22
Should I breed or should I go? Manipulating individual state during migration influences breeding decisions in a long‐lived bird species22
The vertebrate bone hypothesis: Understanding the impact of bone on vertebrate stoichiometry22
Why are vertebrates so big?22
Climate change and coastal wetland salinization: Physiological and ecological consequences for Arctic waterfowl22
Red fruits exhibit lower colour diversity than red flowers as perceived by birds22
Top‐down cascading effects of seed‐feeding beetles and their parasitoids on plants and leaf herbivores22
The effect of dead standing (marcescent) biomass on litter decomposition in herbaceous flora is governed by plant functional group21
Large leaf hydraulic safety margins limit the risk of drought‐induced leaf hydraulic dysfunction in Neotropical rainforest canopy tree species21
Flowering plant communities mediate the effects of habitat composition and configuration on wild pollinator communities21
Experimental transplants demonstrate shifts in predation favour evolution of aggressive behaviours in Trinidadian killifish21
Conserved responses of nutrient resorption to extreme drought in a grassland: The role of community compositional changes21
Ecological strategies of (pl)ants: Towards a world‐wide worker economic spectrum for ants21
Phenotypic evolution of agricultural crops21
Naturalized alien plants experience less negative soil‐legacy effects and gain competitive advantages through spatial heterogeneity21
Grazing intensity alters the plant diversity–ecosystem carbon storage relationship in rangelands across topographic and climatic gradients21
Ecological acclimation: A framework to integrate fast and slow responses to climate change21
Differential root nutrient‐acquisition strategies underlie biogeochemical niche separation between grasses and forbs across grassland biomes20
Warmer temperatures result in maladaptive learning of sexual preferences20
Field experiments have enhanced our understanding of drought impacts on terrestrial ecosystems—But where do we go from here?20
Cover Picture and Issue Information20
Patterns of pollination interactions at the community level are related to the type and quantity of floral resources20
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The ontogenetic dimension of plant functional ecology20
Thermal plasticity in protective wing pigmentation is modulated by genotype and food availability in an insect model of seasonal polyphenism19
Soil fungi lead to stronger ‘diminishing returns’ in fine‐root length versus mass allometry towards earlier successional tropical forests19
How do functional traits influence tree demographic properties in a subtropical monsoon forest?19
Functional differences between herbs and woody species in a semiarid Mediterranean plant community: A whole‐plant perspective on growth, nutrient‐use and size19
Responses of a widespread pest insect to extreme high temperatures are stage‐dependent and divergent among seasonal cohorts19
Eusociality and the transition from biparental to alloparental care in termites19
Compensation alters estimates of the number of species required to maintain ecosystem functioning across an emersion gradient: A case study with intertidal macroalgae19
Root trait shifts towards an avoidance strategy promote productivity and recovery in C3 and C4 pasture grasses under drought18
Yeast and fruit fly mutual niche construction and antagonism against mould18
Using ecological restoration to disentangle the mechanisms and longevity of soil functional legacies18
Altered trait covariances between invasive and native ranges of a global plant invader18
Drought effects on root and shoot traits and their decomposability18
Effects of warming and parasitism on root traits and the root economics space18
Implication of the myo‐inositol pathway in behavioural alterations of infected threespine sticklebacks18
Plant–microbe interactions drive the rhizosphere microbial assembly and nitrogen cycling in a subtropical forest18
Impact of long‐term water level drawdown on functional plant trait composition of northern peatlands18
Shifts in the fungal community promote soil carbon accumulation in microaggregates during long‐term secondary succession18
Functional Ecology is moving to open access18
Testing trade‐offs in amphibian metamorphic traits: Swimming performance and selection across metamorphic stages in the aquatic frog Xenopus laevis18
Mycelium biomass and community composition impact nutrient concentration in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at fine spatial scale18
Drought response in herbaceous plants: A test of the integrated framework of plant form and function18
The evolution of sensitive periods beyond early ontogeny: Bridging theory and data18
Rapid positive response of young trees growth to warming reverses nitrogen loss from subtropical soil17
Novel climate–fire–vegetation interactions and their influence on forest ecosystems in the westernUSA17
Abiotic factors that prompt major ecological transitions: Are fish on land to escape an intolerable aquatic environment?17
Nonstructural carbohydrates predict survival in saplings of temperate trees under carbon stress17
How melanism affects the sensitivity of lizards to climate change17
Female preference for males with lower pattern contrast follows Weber's law of proportional processing in jumping spiders17
Spiroacetals and the rise of Campanula specialists: Receptor sensitivity to host‐specific floral scents17
Disentangling the roles of plant functional diversity and plaint traits in regulating plant nitrogen accumulation and denitrification in freshwaters17
It takes a community to maintain a tree hollow: Food web complexity enhances decomposition and wood mould production17
Might termites make us unintentional ‘Carbon Cowboys’?17
Interspecific wood trait variation predicts decreased carbon residence time in changing forests17
Variation of seedling recruitment in wet meadow species over 6 years: Positive effects of mowing and negative effects of fertilization17
Probing the functional significance of wild animal microbiomes using omics data17
Biogeographical distributions of nitrogen‐cycling functional genes in a subtropical estuary17
Metacommunity dynamics and the detection of species associations in co‐occurrence analyses: Why patch disturbance matters17
Drought susceptibility of southern African C4 grasses: Phylogenetically and photosynthetically determined?17
Environment‐dependent relationships between corticosterone and energy expenditure during reproduction: Insights from seabirds in the context of climate change16
We need a multidimensional view of the plant reproduction continuum16
Microplastic additions modulate intraspecific variability in root traits and mycorrhizal responses across root‐life history strategies16
Omnivory in predatory lady beetles is widespread and driven by an appetite for sterols16
Increasing prevalence of severe fires change the structure of arthropod communities: Evidence from a meta‐analysis16
Stable isotope analysis indicates partial mycoheterotrophy in arbuscular mycorrhizal woody seedlings in tropical forests16
Unravelling the mystery of red flowers in the Mediterranean Basin: How to be conspicuous in a place dominated by hymenopteran pollinators16
Natural and experimental cold exposure in adulthood increase the sensitivity to future stressors in a free‐living songbird16
Functional traits explain both seedling and adult plant spatial patterns in gypsum annual species16
Adaptive immune response selects for postponed maturation and increased body size16
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 webs16
Dense afforestation reduces plant–pollinator network diversity and persistence16
Animal transparency: How should we define form and function?16
Ecological succession shapes size–density scaling relationships of trees and soil invertebrates16
Natural history and ecological effects on the establishment and fate of Florida carpenter ant cadavers infected by the parasitic manipulator Ophiocordyceps camponotifloridani16
Cracks in the mirror hypothesis: High specularity does not reduce detection or predation risk15
Ecosystem‐level decoupling in response to reduced precipitation frequency and degradation in steppe grassland15
Self‐pruning in tree crowns is influenced by functional strategies and neighbourhood interactions15
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Linking effect traits of soil fauna to processes of organic matter transformation15
Positive heterospecific interactions can increase long‐term diversity of plant communities more than negative conspecific interactions alone15
Invertebrate traits, diversity and the vulnerability of groundwater ecosystems15
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The functionality of arbuscular mycorrhizal networks across scales of experimental complexity and ecological relevance15
Higher phosphorus and water use efficiencies and leaf stoichiometry contribute to legume success in drylands15
Diet quality and conspecific larval density predict functional trait variation and performance in a polyphagous frugivorous fly15
Microbes, memory and moisture: Predicting microbial moisture responses and their impact on carbon cycling15
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The potential of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to improve soil organic carbon in agricultural ecosystems: A meta‐analytical approach15
Perception of dead conspecifics increases reproductive investment in fruit flies14
Geographical variation in the trait‐based assembly patterns of multitrophic invertebrate communities14
Opposite, but insufficient, phenological responses to climate in two circumpolar seabirds: Relative roles of phenotypic plasticity and selection14
Environment‐driven plasticity in foraging behaviour: From individual‐level processes to community‐level consequences14
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Light condition experienced by parent plants influences the response of offspring to light via both parental effects and soil legacy effects14
Tree growth‐forms reveal dominant browsers shaping the vegetation14
An extended epiphenotype for an extended phenotype inToxoplasma gondiiinfected feral house mice14
Are leaf, stem and hydraulic traits good predictors of individual tree growth?14
Ecosystem engineers shape ecological network structure and stability: A framework and literature review14
The role of insularity: Plants have few ornithophilous traits but are visited by morphologically more distinct hummingbirds in the Caribbean islands14
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Host and parasite functional morphology jointly explain parasite specificity14
Differential early‐life survival underlies the adaptive significance of temperature‐dependent sex determination in a long‐lived reptile14
Coarse woody debris decomposition along an elevation gradient alleviates soil microbial P limitation but intensifies C limitation at Wuyishan National Park14
Below‐ground root nutrient‐acquisition strategies are more sensitive to long‐term grazing than above‐ground leaf traits across a soil nutrient gradient14
Elevational variations in stem hydraulic efficiency and safety of Abies fabri14
A trade‐off between growth and hydraulic resilience against freezing leads to divergent adaptations among temperate tree species14
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Shifts in risk sensitivity and resource availability alter fat stores for a large mammal following extreme winter conditions14
Pigment molecular composition reveals significant information for visual communication13
Do seed dispersal strategies reflect adaptation to environmental variability?13
Neighbour‐detection causes shifts in allocation across multiple organs to prepare plants for light competition13
Leaf economics in a three‐dimensional environment: Testing leaf trait responses in vascular epiphytes to land use, climate and tree zone13
Mycorrhizal specialization toward each distinct Oliveonia fungus in two closely related photosynthetic Dactylostalix orchids13
Plant invasion modifies isohydricity in Mediterranean tree species13
Extended epiphenotypes: Integrating epigenotypes into host behavioural manipulation by parasites13
Rooting for the little guy: Below‐ground traits predict juvenile grass demography in microsites13
Mother–offspring conflict and body temperature regulation during gestation and lactation in a wild primate13
Predicting key ectotherm population mortality in response to dynamic marine heatwaves: A Bayesian‐enhanced thermal tolerance landscape approach13
Cognitive ecology of surprise in predator–prey interactions13
Hanging out at the club: Breeding status and territoriality affect individual space use, multi‐species overlap and pathogen transmission risk at a seabird colony13
Silicon enrichment alters functional traits in legumes depending on plant genotype and symbiosis with nitrogen‐fixing bacteria13
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To lose is to win: Long‐term co‐occurrence of two asexual populations realized by a dormant strategy of the inferior competitor13
Deepened snow cover mitigates soil carbon loss from intensive land‐use in a semi‐arid temperate grassland13
Temperature‐dependent scaling of fitness traits with body size in hydra13
Precipitation temporal repackaging into fewer, larger storms delayed seasonal timing of peak photosynthesis in a semi‐arid grassland12
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Searching while sick: How does disease affect foraging decisions and contact rates?12
Using ecosystem engineers to enhance multiple ecosystem processes12
Diversity, species coexistence and functional composition patterns in subtropical Atlantic Forests invaded by non‐native trees12
Hydraulic traits are not robust predictors of tree species stem growth during a severe drought in a wet tropical forest12
Interactive effects of plant litter type and yak excrement on litter decomposition in a shrub‐encroached alpine meadow12
Root traits vary as much as leaf traits and have consistent phenotypic plasticity among 14 populations of a globally widespread herb12
Indirect effects of trophic interactions govern carbon circulation in two beech forest soil ecosystems12
Plant attributes interact with fungal pathogens and nitrogen addition to drive soil enzymatic activities and their temporal variation12
Excessive nutrient input induces an ecological cost for aphids by modifying their attractiveness towards mutualist ants12
Behavioural and physiological responses to thermal stress in a social spider12
Pathogen load predicts host functional disruption: A meta‐analysis of an amphibian fungal panzootic12
Relative contribution of high and low elevation soil microbes and nematodes to ecosystem functioning12
Experimental designs for testing the interactive effects of temperature and light in ecology: The problem of periodicity12
Water loss, not overheating, limits the activity period of an endothermic Sonoran Desert bee12
Erratum12
Investment in regeneration versus asexual reproduction is resource‐dependent in a freshwater annelid12
Cover Picture and Issue Information12
Soil N enrichment mediates carbon allocation through respiration in a dominant grass during drought12
Disconnection between plant–microbial nutrient limitation across forest biomes12
Vegetation composition regulates the interaction of warming and nitrogen deposition on net carbon dioxide uptake in a boreal peatland12
Coordination of hydraulic and morphological traits across dominant grasses in eastern Australia11
Nitrogen addition and experimental drought simplified arthropod network in temperate grassland11
Dung beetles drive direct and indirect changes in ecosystem multifunctionality11
Complete metamorphosis promotes morphological and functional diversity in Caudata11
European oak metabolites shape digestion and fitness of the herbivore Tortrix viridana11
Correction to Sunflower spines and beyond: Mechanisms and breadth of pollen that reduce gut pathogen infection in the common eastern bumble bee11
Monitoring and modelling the effects of ecosystem engineers on ecosystem functioning11
Morphological adaptations linked to flight efficiency and aerial lifestyle determine natal dispersal distance in birds11
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
Plastic background colour matching in the springbok mantis11
Nitrogen deposition and heathland management cause multi‐element stoichiometric mismatches, reducing insect fitness11
Quantifying phenotypic plasticity: A call for consistency11
Grazing and nitrogen addition restructure the spatial heterogeneity of soil microbial community structure and enzymatic activities11
Mangrove restoration enhances blue carbon sequestration and its stability in a subtropical tidal wetland11
Individual behaviour shapes patterns of bird‐mediated seed dispersal11
Potential of undersown species identity versus diversity to manage disease in crops11
Predicting plant species climate niches on the basis of mechanistic traits11
Going across taxa in functional ecology: Review and perspectives of an emerging field11
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Large invasive herbaceous plants decrease the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of birds via their reproductive traits11
Cover Picture and Issue Information11
Correction to: Maternal and host effects mediate the adaptive expansion and contraction of the microbiome during ontogeny in a holometabolous, polyphagous insect10
Below the leaves: Integrating above‐ and below‐ground phenology for earth‐system predictability10
Spider waste enhances soil nutrient content, soil respiration, and plant growth10
Leaf fluctuating asymmetry is not a reliable indicator of stress10
A research blueprint: Plant trait responses to stress and effects on blue carbon storage potential10
Defoliation enhances the positive effects of soil microbial diversity on plant productivity10
Standing and shed litters alter plant growth in disturbed and undisturbed soils differently10
Shared leadership can promote success in collaborative research networks in ecology10
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