Functional ecology is a branch of ecology that focuses on the roles, or functions, that species play in the community or ecosystem in which they occur. In this approach, physiological, anatomical, and life history characteristics of the species are emphasized. The term "function" is used to emphasize certain physiological processes rather than discrete properties, describe an organism's role in a trophic system, or illustrate the effects of natural selective processes on an organism. This sub-discipline of ecology represents the crossroads between ecological patterns and the processes and mechanisms that underlie them. It focuses on traits represented in large number of species and can be measured in two ways – the first being screening, which involves measuring a trait across a number of species, and the second being empiricism, which provides quantitative relationships for the traits measured in screening. Functional ecology often emphasizes an integrative approach, using organism traits and activities to understand community dynamics and ecosystem processes, particularly in response to the rapid global changes occurring in earth's environment.
Neuston, also known as pleuston, are organisms that live at the surface of the ocean or an estuary, or at the surface of a lake, river or pond. Neuston can live on top of the water surface or may be attached to the underside of the water surface. They may also exist in the surface microlayer that forms between the top side and the underside. Neuston have been defined as "organisms living at the air/water interface of freshwater, estuarine, and marine habitats or referring to the biota on or directly below the water’s surface layer."
The Ramon Margalef Prize in Ecology is a prize awarded annually to recognize an exceptional scientific career or discovery in the field of ecology or other environmental science. The award was created to honor the life and work of Dr. Ramon Margalef (1919-2004), one of the founding fathers of modern ecology and one of the most distinguished Spanish scientists of the twentieth century. The award has been presented every year since 2004 and comes with an honorarium of € 80,000 and a sculpture representing a microalga, called Picarola margalefii. It is open to ecologists from anywhere in the world. The award is given by the Generalitat de Catalunya in commemoration of Ramon Margalef.
Specific leaf area (SLA) is the ratio of leaf area to leaf dry mass. The inverse of SLA is Leaf Mass per Area (LMA).
Anne Larigauderie is a French ecologist. She is currently the Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). She was previously the Head of Science in Society at ICSU, the International Council for Science, and the executive director of DIVERSITAS, the international scientific programme dedicated to biodiversity science, under the auspices of ICSU, and UNESCO.
Josep Penuelas or Josep Peñuelas i Reixach is a research professor of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Director of the CREAF-CSIC-UAB Global Ecology Unit located at CREAF -Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. He is an ecologist working on global ecology, plant ecophysiology, chemical ecology, remote sensing, geosciences and atmosphere-biosphere interactions.
Plant functional types (PFTs) is a system used by climatologists to classify plants according to their physical, phylogenetic and phenological characteristics as part of an overall effort to develop a vegetation model for use in land use studies and climate models. PFTs provide a finer level of modeling than biomes, which represent gross areas such as desert, savannah, deciduous forest. In creating a PFT model, areas as small as 1 km2 are modeled by defining the predominant plant type for that area, interpreted from satellite data or other means. For each plant functional type, a number of key parameters are defined, such as fecundity, competitiveness, resorption, etc.; the value of each parameter is determined or inferred from observable characteristics such as plant height, leaf area, etc.
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an intergovernmental organization established to improve the interface between science and policy on issues of biodiversity and ecosystem services. It is intended to serve a similar role to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Brian Joseph Enquist is an American biologist and academic. Enquist is a Professor of Biology at the University of Arizona. He is also external professor at the Santa Fe Institute. He is a broadly trained biologist, plant biologist and an ecologist. He is a Fulbright Fellow, has been listed in Popular Science Magazine as one of their "Brilliant 10", and was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2012 and the Ecological Society of America (ESA) in 2018.
(Iain) Colin Prentice holds the AXA chair in biosphere and climate impacts at Imperial College London and an honorary chair in ecology and evolution at Macquarie University in Australia.
Erika S. Zavaleta is an American professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Zavaleta is recognized for her research focusing on topics including plant community ecology, conservation practices for terrestrial ecosystems, and impacts of community dynamics on ecosystem functions.
Sandra Myrna Díaz ForMemRS is an Argentinian ecologist and professor of ecology at the National University of Córdoba. She studies the functional traits of plants and investigates how plants impact the ecosystem.
Jeannine Cavender-Bares is a Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Ecology, Evolution & Behavior. Her research integrates evolutionary biology, ecology, and physiology by studying the functional traits of plants, with a particular focus on oaks.
Elena M. Bennett is an American ecosystem ecologist specializing in studying the interactions of ecosystem services on landscape. She is currently an associate professor and the Canada Research Chair in Sustainability Science at McGill University. She was inducted to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists in 2017.
Ann M. Bartuska is an ecologist and biologist. She is a senior advisor at Resources for the Future and a former Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics (REE) at the United States Department of Agriculture and former USDA Chief Scientist.
Anna Traveset is a Spanish ecologist, particularly known for her work on ecological interactions between plants and animals, especially on islands.
Mark Westoby is an Australian evolutionary ecologist, Emeritus Professor at Macquarie University, a specialist in trait ecology.
Elena Litchman is a professor of aquatic ecology at Michigan State University known for her research on the consequences of global environmental change on phytoplankton.
Nina Buchmann is a German ecologist known for her research on the physiology of plants and the impact of plants on biogeochemical cycling. She is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and an elected fellow of the American Geophysical Union.
Michelle Cailin Mack is an ecologist working on the connections between plants and climate in polar regions. She is a fellow of the Ecological Society of America and the American Geophysical Union. She currently holds the title of Regent's Professor at Northern Arizona University.
