Behind the Paper
The real stories behind the latest research papers, from conception to publication, the highs and the lows
Filtered by: Ecology & Evolution
When mammalian tooth heights predict a savanna, but plant fossils don’t
The reconstruction of ancient environments depends on proxies from earth and climate science combined with animal and plant fossils. No single proxy will tell the whole story. Or so you’d think.
Mendel meets Tilman – a most daring genetic mapping project
In our recent paper, my co-author Pascal Niklaus and I describe a journey to the genetic roots of poorly understood ecological phenomena.
A global test of ecoregions: Behind the paper
I believe that, by and large, we can break research projects into two main groups.
Identifying long-term stable refugia for relict plant species in East Asia
We don’t know how many times we got lost in the forests...
Baleen whale cortisol levels reveal a physiological response to 20th century whaling
A serendipitous coffee break
The natural history of our changing planet
For me it all started with a telephone call, sometime in 1984, from Joop Jukema, a farmer and specialist potato grower.
