Revisiting Rosenzweig 1973

In a paper published in Ecology in 1973, Michael Rosenzweig presented the results on one of the first habitat selection experiments in the field. Rosenzweig's results indicated that differences in habitat preferences allow a pair of desert rodents to coexist. Forty-three years after the paper was published, I asked Michael Rosenzweig about his motivation to …

Revisiting Vellend 2010

In a paper published in The Quarterly Review of Biology in 2010, Mark Vellend proposed a new conceptual framework for Community Ecology, drawing inspiration from Population Genetics. Vellend proposed that, like in the case of genetic variation in populations, biological communities too can be thought of being governed by four main higher-level processes - selection, …

Revisiting Agrawal et al. 1999

In a paper published in Nature in 1999, Anurag Agrawal, Christian Laforsch and Ralph Tollrian showed that non-lethal exposure of Daphnia and wild radish to their predators, in addition to inducing defences, led to production of offspring that were better defended than those from unattacked individuals. This study was one of the first to find …

Revisiting Harrison et al. 1988

In a paper published in The American Naturalist in 1988, Susan Harrison, Dennis Murphy and Paul Ehrlich demonstrate the existence of a metapopulation of the Bay checkerspot butterfly, a rare species whose larvae feed on plants that grow on patches of serpentine soil. Using a combination of field surveys, simulation modelling and historical information, Harrison …

Revisiting Hobbie 1996

In a paper published in Ecological Monographs in 1996, Sarah Hobbie reported the results of her laboratory experiments on the effect of increased temperature and species composition on litter decomposition in the Alaskan Tundra. Hobbie found that increased temperature led to "increased rates of soil and litter respiration, litter decomposition, litter nitrogen release, and soil …

Revisiting Jackson et al. 2001

In a paper published in Science in 2001, Jeremy Jackson, Michael Kirby, Wolfgang Berger, Karen Bjorndal, Louis Botsford, Bruce Bourque, Roger Bradbury, Richard Cooke, Jon Erlandson, James Estes, Terence Hughes, Susan Kidwell, Carina Lange, Hunter Lenihan, John Pandolfi, Charles Peterson, Robert Steneck, Mia Tegner and Robert Warner showed, using paleoecological, archeological and historical data, that …

Revisiting Fahrig and Merriam 1985

In a paper published in Ecology in 1985, Lenore Fahrig and Gray Merriam presented a model for changes in population sizes in a set of interconnected patches, which predicted that populations in isolated patches will grow at a slower rate and are thus morel likely to go extinct than those in connected patches. Fahrig and …