Functional Ecology publishes high-impact papers that enable a mechanistic understanding of ecological pattern and process from the organismic to the ecosystem scale. Because of the multifaceted nature of this challenge, papers can be based on a wide range of approaches. Thus, manuscripts may vary from physiological, genetics, life-history, and behavioural perspectives for organismal studies to community and biogeochemical studies when the goal is to understand ecosystem and larger scale ecological phenomena.
The editors are open-minded about the variety of data, research approaches and types of studies that are published in the journal. Key areas that continue to be emphasized include studies that integrate genomics with ecology, studies that examine how key aspects of physiology (e.g., stress) impact the ecology of animals and plants, or vice versa, and how evolution shapes interactions among function and ecological traits.
Editors: Duncan Irschick, Charles Fox, Ken Thompson & Alan Knapp
2011 ISI® Impact Factor: 4.56, ranking 24/131 (Ecology)
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