Call for Proposals: Leveraging Natural History Collections to Understand the Impacts of Global Change

Associate Editor Natalie Cooper introduces our exciting new cross-journal Special Feature ‘Leveraging Natural History Collections to Understand the Impacts of Global Change‘. Below you can find out all about the scope of the Special Feature and how to submit your manuscript proposal.

India StephensonApril 22, 2021April 22, 2021Leave a comment

Robert May Prize

The quest for a sharp definition of function in biological networks

Robert May Prize Shortlisted Article

Post provided by Alberto Pascual-García

Each year Methods in Ecology and Evolution awards the Robert May Prize to the best paper in the journal by an author at the start of their career. Alberto Pascual has been shortlisted for his article ‘functionInk: An efficient method to detect functional groups in multidimensional networks reveals the hidden structure of ecological communities’. In this post, Alberto discusses the application of the functionInk (functional linkage) package for distinguishing modules and guilds from large multidimensional networks.

streamdnaApril 22, 2021April 22, 2021Leave a comment

International Days, Methods papers

International Bat Appreciation Day: Giving thanks to the real superheroes of the sky

Post provided by Chloe Robinson

Mexican greater funnel-eared bat (*Natalus mexicanus*). Credit: Veronica Zamora-Gutierrez.

Bat Conservation International (BCI), founded in 1982, aims to conserve bats and their habitats through a combination of education, conservation, and research. Bats worldwide contribute towards controlling pests, create rich fertilizer for landowners, and pollinate fruit and flowers. BCI introduced International Bat Appreciation Day to increase awareness about bats and what they do for our environment.

In this post, associate editor Chloe Robinson will be summarising the various MEE published methods for bat monitoring and how technological developments have allowed us to further look and listen into the lives of these incredible creatures.

streamdnaApril 16, 2021April 16, 2021Leave a comment

Methods papers, Robert May Prize, Statistical methods

A new evolutionary simulation R package sheds light on the metaphor of genomic islands of divergence

Robert May Prize Shortlisted Article

Post provided by Claudio S. Quilodrán and Ashley T. Sendell-Price

Nesting eggs of silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis). Heron Island, Australia. Picture: Erik Sandvik.

Each year Methods in Ecology and Evolution awards the Robert May Prize to the best paper in the journal by an author at the start of their career. Claudio S. Quilodrán has been shortlisted for his article ‘The multiple population genetic and demographic routes to islands of genomic divergence’. In this blog, Claudio and co-author Ashley T. Sendell-Price discuss how their paper came to be and how their individual‐based simulation can be used to explore the dynamics of diverging genomes.

streamdnaApril 12, 2021April 12, 2021Leave a comment

Journal Issues

April Issue Out Now!

Spring is in the air which means it’s time for our April Issue! This issue features two Applications and two Practical Tools articles, as well as methods for quantifying macronutrient content in invertebrates, mapping forest leaf area density, classifying avian vocal activity and much more! Plus, read on to discover more about our intriguing cover image.

India StephensonApril 8, 2021April 8, 2021Leave a comment

Methods papers, Robert May Prize

The need to quantify complex shapes

Robert May Prize Shortlisted Article

Post provided by Arthur Porto

Each year Methods in Ecology and Evolution awards the Robert May Prize to the best paper in the journal by an author at the start of their career. Arthur Porto has been shortlisted for his article ‘ML‐morph: A fast, accurate and general approach for automated detection and landmarking of biological structures in images’. In this blog, Arthur discusses how his paper came to be and describes development of the ML-morph pipeline.

streamdnaApril 6, 2021April 6, 2021Leave a comment

Methods papers, Robert May Prize

The next step for tagging insects: we can’t keep ignoring the impact

Robert May Prize Shortlisted Article

Post provided by Femke Batsleer

Digger wasp (*Bembix rostrata*). Credit: Femke Batsleer.

Each year Methods in Ecology and Evolution awards the Robert May Prize to the best paper in the journal by an author at the start of their career. Femke Batsleer has been shortlisted for her article ‘The neglected impact of tracking devices on arthropods‘. In this blog, Femke discusses how her paper came to be and the outcomes of the review.

streamdnaMarch 29, 2021March 31, 2021Leave a comment

Methods papers, Statistical methods

Unmasking Acoustic Indices

Post provided by Oliver Metcalf

*Gould’s toucanet Selenidera gouldii display involves dancing, but also lots of vocalisation. Credit: Oliver Metcalf.*

Acoustic indices are increasingly being used when analysing soundscapes to gain information on biodiversity. However, inconsistent results and lack of consensus on best practices has hampered their application in conservation and land‐use management contexts. In this post, Oliver Metcalf talks about his Methods in Ecology and Evolution article ‘Acoustic indices perform better when applied at ecologically meaningful time and frequency scales’, where he highlights the need to calculate acoustic indices at ecologically appropriate time and frequency bins to reduce signal masking effects.

streamdnaMarch 26, 2021March 26, 2021Leave a comment

Methods papers, Robert May Prize, Statistical methods

Species association networks: a bridge between sciences

Robert May Prize Shortlisted Article

Post provided by Raphaëlle Momal

Powdery mildew on oak tree leaves is caused by the fungi *Erysiphe alphitoides*, which association network helps understanding the behaviour. Credit: Raphaëlle Momal.

Each year Methods in Ecology and Evolution awards the Robert May Prize to the best paper in the journal by an author at the start of their career. Raphaëlle Momal has been shortlisted for her article ‘Tree‐based inference of species interaction networks from abundance data’. In this blog, Raphaëlle discusses how her paper came to be and the applications of the R package developed in her study.

streamdnaMarch 25, 2021March 31, 2021Leave a comment

Robert May Prize

Robert May Prize 2020 – The Shortlist

Each year, Methods in Ecology and Evolution awards the Robert May Prize to the best article by an early career researcher. Named for the late Lord May, the award recognises an outstanding ecologist or evolutionary biologist within five years of finishing their PhD.

Today we announce the shortlisted papers for the 2020 award, based on articles published in Volume 11 – in the coming weeks we will hear from the shortlisted authors with the stories behind their articles. A big congratulations to all the authors for their impressive work!

India StephensonMarch 24, 2021April 7, 2021Leave a comment