Abstract Submissions Due 2/23

New Ecosphere EIC
ESA has named Manuel Lerdau as the new editor-in-chief of its open-access journal Ecosphere, which publishes research over a broad range of focal areas.
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NNA Feedback Needed
We need your feedback to form ESA's response to the White House OSTP's request for information on the National Nature Assessment.
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Grow Your Career
Certification as an ecologist is a great way to validate your skills and expertise to employers, colleagues and clients -- it's also easy and affordable!
Read moreJournals & Publications
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Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
Structural diversity plays a critical role in shaping ecosystem patterns and processes. Advances in remote sensing and digital technology, such as drone-based orthophotos (background) and a 3D lidar point cloud (central) derived from a mobile mapping system, allow for structural diversity to be mapped and measured in novel ways, yielding a wide range of new insights in ecology. The February Special Issue of Frontiers explores structural diversity in forest ecosystems through this advanced technology.
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Ecology
Two male desert isopods (Hemilepistus reaumuri) fight for access to a female residing inside a burrow in Yeruham, Israel. During the breeding period, female desert isopods preferably settle away from scorpion predators and male isopods prefer burrows occupied by larger females. The emerging assortative mating in these monogamous species is altered by predation risk such that females occupying risky habitats mate with smaller males. Using a manipulative field experiment and complementary behavioral experiments, an article by Torsekar et al. in the February issue of Ecology highlights the reproductive considerations that dictate how predation risk affects the mating patterns of desert isopods.
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Ecosphere
Trout, such as the brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) pictured here from the Driftless Region in Wisconsin, USA, can be sensitive to climate-change-driven changes in precipitation and temperature. However, population-level responses can vary depending on the seasonality of shifting conditions and the population's spatial context, making strategic decision-making and conservation planning a challenge. Using nearly three decades of survey data for Wisconsin brook trout and brown trout, Maitland and Latzka quantify how climate change impacts (increased air temperatures and precipitation) can vary among species, seasons, and local settings. Their study can be found in the December issue of Ecosphere.
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Ecological Applications
An old-growth Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), in unceded T'exelc territory in British Columbia, Canada, with multiple fire scars surrounded by dense, young trees. In their study published in the January issue of Ecological Applications, Copes-Gerbitz et al. highlight how removing diverse Indigenous stewardship through colonization has altered a historical mixed-severity fire regime, resulting in forests that are more likely to burn at uncharacteristic high severities today.
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Ecological Monographs
Bushbuck (Tragelaphus sylvaticus) in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park. Daskin et al. tracked movement and foraging behaviors of three closely related but different-sized spiral-horned antelopes: bushbuck, nyala (T. angasii), and kudu (T. strepsiceros). In their study published in the February issue of Ecological Monographs, the authors found that behavioral metrics scaled allometrically with body mass, which in turn reduced spatial and dietary overlap among species. Allometric scaling of behavior may promote niche differentiation and species coexistence throughout the animal kingdom.
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Bulletin
In the January issue of the ESA Bulletin, Estien et al. provide an overview of graduate school, including the application process, how to prepare for it, and potential career paths to pursue following a Master's or Doctoral degree. Their work contributes to the larger literature that aims to increase the transparency of academia and create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive space.