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Editors for Ecology

We aim to review studies that provide new insights into the different types of interactions that shape the distribution and abundance of organisms on Earth, including everything from new natural history observations to genomic analyses conducted on landscape scales (see also “Ecology in the genomics era of a degraded planet”). We also welcome functional analyses of the traits that matter for an organism’s Darwinian fitness. Read the latest research in this subject area.

Senior editors

  1. George H Perry

    Pennsylvania State University, United States

    George Perry received his PhD in 2008 from Arizona State University, and did postdoctoral work at the University of Chicago. In 2011, he began a faculty position at Penn State University, where he is now Associate Professor of Anthropology and Biology, Chair of the Bioinformatics and Genomics Graduate Degree Program, and member of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. His research interests focus on human evolution, evolutionary ecology, and evolutionary medicine, and how human behavior and biology have affected non-human evolutionary biology. Research methods and theory from anthropology, evolutionary biology, parasitology, and population, comparative, functional, and paleo (ancient DNA) genomics are integrated in this work. He has received the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation, among others.

    Expertise
    Evolutionary Biology
    Ecology
    Genetics and Genomics
    Research focus
    evolutionary biology
    population genomics
    evolutionary ecology
    paleogenomics
    ancient DNA
    human evolution
    Experimental organism
    human
    non-human primates
    parasites
    Competing interests statement
    George Perry has received research support from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Wenner-Gren Foundation, and L.S.B. Leakey Foundation. He is currently an Associate Editor of Evolutionary Anthropology.

  2. Christian Rutz

    University of St Andrews, United Kingdom

    Christian Rutz is Professor of Biology at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, where he heads a research group studying animal tool behaviour. He combines observational, experimental and theoretical approaches, to investigate why tool use is so rare across the animal kingdom, and how rudimentary technologies advance and diversify. Since 2005, he has been leading a long-term field project on New Caledonian crows – tropical birds that have the remarkable ability to fashion complex foraging tools from plant materials. Rutz led the team that discovered in 2013 that the critically-endangered Hawaiian crow is also a highly skilled tool user, opening up exciting opportunities for comparative research. He has pioneered the use of miniature, animal-borne video-cameras and proximity loggers for studying wild birds, and currently serves as Founding President of the International Bio-Logging Society. With long-standing interests in conservation biology and science policy making, he is currently contributing to efforts to extend the scope of UNEP’s Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). Rutz obtained his doctorate as a Rhodes Scholar from the University of Oxford, was subsequently awarded a £1.44-million David Phillips Research Fellowship to establish an independent research group (first at Oxford, and later at St Andrews), and held visiting appointments at the Universities of Oxford, Tokyo and New South Wales. His research has attracted a string of academic awards – including the 2014 Isambard–Kingdom–Brunel Award (British Science Association), the 2014 Hans Löhrl Prize (German Ornithologists’ Union), and the 2013 Marsh Award for Innovative Ornithology (British Trust for Ornithology) – and was showcased at the 2017 Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in London, UK. Rutz was elected in 2013 to the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Young Academy of Scotland (YAS), and has recently been named the 2019–2020 Grass Fellow at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, USA. Christian Rutz's broad areas of expertise are behavioural ecology, evolutionary ecology, urban ecology, comparative cognition, field ornithology and bio-logging science.

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Research focus
    tool behaviour
    social learning and cultural evolution
    animal behaviour and cognition
    foraging ecology
    predator-prey systems
    urban ecology
    conservation biology
    policy making
    animal tracking (bio-logging/bio-telemetry)
    Experimental organism
    crow
    raptors
    birds
    human
    Competing interests statement
    Christian Rutz is employed by the University of St Andrews, UK, holds a Senior Visiting Fellowship at the University of New South Wales, Australia, and is the 2019–2020 Grass Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, USA. Most of his research was, and still is, funded by competitive grants from the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). He was an elected member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Young Academy of Scotland (YAS), and is presently serving as Founding President of the International Bio-Logging Society, Scientific Advisor for UNEP’s Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), and Editor of Ethology.

  3. Meredith C Schuman

    University of Zurich, Switzerland

    Meredith Schuman (Merry) is an Assistant Professor in Spatial Genetics, Departments of Geography and Chemistry, University of Zurich and a member of the Remote Sensing Laboratories and the University Research Priority Program on Global Change and Biodiversity at the University of Zurich. Her background is in the chemical ecology and functional genetics of plant interactions, and plant ecophysiology. She works on projects combining direct analyses of plant tissue, and remote sensing techniques with the aim of developing approaches to assess genetic and chemotypic variation, plasticity, and adaptive potential within plant species, and their interactions in the context of global change. She was previously a Group Leader in the Department of Molecular Ecology at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (MPICE) in Jena and a Junior Group Leader in the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) on the ecological functions of plant genes.

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Plant Biology
    Research focus
    chemical ecology
    spatial ecology
    plant interactions
    functional genetics
    intraspecific diversity
    Competing interests statement
    Merry's position and her research is currently supported by the NOMIS foundation (grant to Michael Schaepman, University of Zurich, project: Remotely Sensing Ecological Genomics) and the University of Zurich, including the Departments of Geography and Chemistry and the University Research Priority Program on Global Change and Biodiversity in which she is a PI. From November 2020 her work will also be funded by the European Commission Horizon 2020 program (UPSCALE consortium, grant number 861998, co-PI and work package lead).

Reviewing editors

  1. Christine Beemelmanns

    Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Germany

    Expertise
    Microbiology and Infectious Disease
    Ecology
    Research focus
    microbe-host interactions
    natural products
    total synthesis
    symbiosis
    bioorganic synthesis
    sphingolipids

  2. Yuxin Chen

    Xiamen University, China

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Research focus
    community ecology
    forest
    demography
    biodiversity

  3. Sarah E Cobey

    University of Chicago, United States

    Expertise
    Microbiology and Infectious Disease
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Epidemiology and Global Health
    Medicine
    Research focus
    B cells
    coevolution
    infectious disease dynamics
    influenza
    mathematical modelling
    vaccination

  4. Maureen L Coleman

    University of Chicago, United States

    Expertise
    Microbiology and Infectious Disease
    Ecology
    Genetics and Genomics
    Research focus
    microbial ecology
    bacterial genomics
    bacteriophage-host interactions
    viral ecology
    microbial phototrophy
    stress response

  5. Barnabas Daru

    Stanford University, United States

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Research focus
    biogeography
    natural history collections
    vascular plants
    phyloregions
    phylogeny

  6. Alok Dhawan

    Centre of Biomedical Research, India

    Expertise
    Medicine
    Ecology
    Research focus
    molecular epidemiology
    DNA damage and repair
    genetic toxicology
    nanomaterial toxicology
    environmental health

  7. David Donoso

    Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Ecuador

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Research focus
    biodiversity
    ecosystem ecology
    community ecology
    global warming
    soil organisms
    tropical forests

  8. Rosalyn Gloag

    University of Sidney, Australia

    Expertise
    Evolutionary Biology
    Genetics and Genomics
    Ecology
    Research focus
    invasive species
    population genetics
    brood parasitism
    social parasitism
    eusociality
    Experimental organism
    birds
    bees

  9. Emilia Huerta-Sanchez

    Brown University, United States

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Genetics and Genomics
    Research focus
    natural selection
    population demography

  10. Nizar Ibrahim

    University of Portsmouth, United States

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Research focus
    vertebrate palaeontology
    morphology anatomy
    dinosaur evolution

  11. Yaroslav Ispolatov

    Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Chile

    Expertise
    Computational and Systems Biology
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Physics of Living Systems
    Research focus
    evolution
    diversification
    adaptive dynamics
    ecology
    systems biology
    CRISPR

  12. Youngsung Joo

    Seoul National University, South Korea

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Research focus
    plant-mediated insect interactions
    plant-herbivore interactions
    volatile-mediated interactions
    plant defense
    climate changes
    endophytic herbivores
    Experimental organism
    plants

  13. Ammie K Kalan

    University of Victoria, Canada

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Research focus
    acoustic monitoring
    animal communication
    animal behaviour
    conservation
    primatology

  14. Merijn R Kant

    University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Plant Biology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Research focus
    plant defense
    biological control
    adaptation
    co-evolution
    pest formation
    effectors
    susceptibility
    resistance
    defense suppression
    Experimental organism
    insects
    mites
    plants

  15. David Lentink

    University of Groningen, Netherlands

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Physics of Living Systems
    Research focus
    animal locomotion
    comparative biomechanics
    animal navigation
    movement ecology
    evolutionary biology
    biofluids
    biophysics
    bioinspired robotics
    bioinspiration & biomimetics
    Experimental organism
    birds
    insects
    bats
    plant seeds
    fish

  16. David Marjanovic

    Museum für Naturkunde, Germany

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Research focus
    vertebrate palaeontology
    morphology

  17. James M McCaw

    The University of Melbourne, Australia

    Expertise
    Epidemiology and Global Health
    Microbiology and Infectious Disease
    Ecology
    Immunology and Inflammation
    Research focus
    mathematical epidemiology
    virus dynamics
    infectious diseases
    mathematical modelling
    pandemics
    influenza
    malaria
    COVID-19

  18. Sara Mitri

    University of Lausanne, Switzerland

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Microbiology and Infectious Disease
    Research focus
    microbial ecology and evolution
    mathematical modelling
    synthetic ecology
    interspecies interactions

  19. Chima Nwaogu

    University of Cape Town, South Africa

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Research focus
    seasonality
    breeding
    moult
    eco-immunology
    body mass variation

  20. Lauren O'Connell

    Stanford University, United States

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Genetics and Genomics
    Neuroscience
    Research focus
    behavior
    evolution
    predator-prey interactions
    toxins
    communication
    sensory systems
    Experimental organism
    amphibians
    lizards
    fish

  21. David A Paz-Garcia

    Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR), Mexico

    Expertise
    Chromosomes and Gene Expression
    Computational and Systems Biology
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Genetics and Genomics
    Microbiology and Infectious Disease
    Plant Biology
    Research focus
    marine life
    coral reefs
    phylogenomics
    population genomics
    morphometrics
    gene expression
    statistics
    coding

  22. Paul Rainey

    Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Germany

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Microbiology and Infectious Disease
    Plant Biology
    Research focus
    adaptive radiation
    evolution of individuality
    evolutionary genetics
    ecological genetics
    emergence of infectious diseases
    forecasting evolution

  23. Sergio Rasmann

    University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Plant Biology
    Research focus
    chemical ecology
    plant-animal interactions
    plant ecology
    herbivory
    phytochemistry
    biotic interactions
    plant-microbe interactions
    soil ecology

  24. Bernhard Schmid

    University of Zurich, Switzerland

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Plant Biology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Research focus
    plant ecology
    evolutionary ecology
    biodiversity
    ecosystem functioning
    community ecology
    experimental ecology
    Experimental organism
    seed plants
    grassland
    forest

  25. Wenying Shou

    University College London, United Kingdom

    Expertise
    Computational and Systems Biology
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Genetics and Genomics
    Research focus
    quantitative biology
    mathematical biology
    evolutionary biology
    synthetic biology
    molecular genetics
    evolution of cooperation
    computer simulations
    Experimental organism
    S. cerevisiae

  26. Daniel Y Takahashi

    Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

    Expertise
    Computational and Systems Biology
    Ecology
    Neuroscience
    Physics of Living Systems
    Research focus
    social interaction
    vocal learning
    neurophysiology
    computational modeling
    ontogeny of behavior

  27. Kristin Tessmar-Raible

    University of Vienna, Austria

    Expertise
    Cell Biology
    Developmental Biology
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Genetics and Genomics
    Neuroscience
    Research focus
    chronobiology
    marine
    photobiology
    rhythms
    clocks
    physiology
    Experimental organism
    platynereis
    clunio
    danio
    medakafish
    oryzias

  28. Jenny Tung

    Duke University, United States

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Genetics and Genomics
    Research focus
    social behaviour
    evolutionary ecology
    evolutionary functional genomics
    hybridization
    Experimental organism
    primates

  29. Yuuki Y Watanabe

    Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Japan

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Research focus
    biologging
    behavioral ecology
    marine biology
    Experimental organism
    fish
    seabird
    marine mammal

  30. Justin Yeakel

    University of California, Merced, United States

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Research focus
    theoretical ecology
    population dynamics
    macroevolution
    paleobiology
    complex systems

  31. Min Zhu

    Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

    Expertise
    Ecology
    Evolutionary Biology
    Research focus
    paleobiology
    vertebrate paleontology
    evolutionary biology
    systematics
    morphology
    paleobiogeography
    ichthyology
    Experimental organism
    E. primordialis
    G. oneiros
    Q. rostrata