Global change influences scavenging and carrion decomposition.

Carrion decomposition is fundamental to nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems because it provides a high-quality resource to diverse organisms. A conceptual framework incorporating all phases of carrion decomposition with the full community of scavengers is needed to predict the effects of global change on core ecosystem processes. Because global change can differentially impact scavenger guilds and rates of carrion decomposition, our framework explicitly incorporates complex interactions among microbial, invertebrate, and vertebrate scavenger communities across three distinct phases of carcass decomposition.

Daily activity timing in the Anthropocene.

Animals are facing novel 'timescapes' in which the stimuli entraining their daily activity patterns no longer match historical conditions due to anthropogenic disturbance. However, the ecological effects (e.g.

The important role of animal social status in vertebrate seed dispersal.

Seed dispersal directly affects plant establishment, gene flow and fitness. Understanding patterns in seed dispersal is, therefore, fundamental to understanding plant ecology and evolution, as well as addressing challenges of extinction and global change. Our ability to understand dispersal is limited because seeds may be dispersed by multiple agents, and the effectiveness of these agents can be highly variable both among and within species.

Large ecosystem-scale effects of restoration fail to mitigate impacts of land-use legacies in longleaf pine savannas.

Ecological restoration is a global priority, with potential to reverse biodiversity declines and promote ecosystem functioning. Yet, successful restoration is challenged by lingering legacies of past land-use activities, which are pervasive on lands available for restoration. Although legacies can persist for centuries following cessation of human land uses such as agriculture, we currently lack understanding of how land-use legacies affect entire ecosystems, how they influence restoration outcomes, or whether restoration can mitigate legacy effects.

Grassland harvesting alters ant community trophic structure: An isotopic study in tallgrass prairies.

Disturbances have long been recognized as important forces for structuring natural communities but their effects on trophic structure are not well understood, particularly in terrestrial systems. This is in part because quantifying trophic linkages is a challenge, especially for small organisms with cryptic feeding behaviors such as insects, and often relies on conducting labor-intensive feeding trials or extensive observations in the field. In this study, we used stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen to examine how disturbance (annual biomass harvesting) in tallgrass prairies affected the trophic position, trophic range, and niche space of ants, a widespread grassland consumer.

Predator-Prey Interactions in the Anthropocene: Reconciling Multiple Aspects of Novelty.

Ecological novelty, when conditions deviate from a historical baseline, is increasingly common as humans modify habitats and communities across the globe. Our ability to anticipate how novelty changes predator-prey interactions will likely hinge upon the explicit evaluation of multiple forms of novelty, rather than a focus on single forms of novelty (e.g.