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Journals & Publications

• ESA's Journals & Publications

  

  The Ecological Society of America has over 100 years of journal publishing history and offers some of the most widely read and cited journals in the field of ecology. The seven journals in our portfolio encompass a wide range of paper types to include an array of aims and scope of study, making them an important and accessible outlet for scientists, researchers, practitioners, professionals, citizen scientists, and others seeking to publish their work. ESA staff provide editorial support with our publishing partner, John Wiley & Sons, and several discounts towards publication in ESA journals are available from our publisher and from ESA. Publishing in ESA journals contributes to ESA programs for students, early career researchers, and underrepresented groups, and we thank our editors, reviewers, authors, and readers for their support.

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• Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment

  

  Protected areas are critical for the survival of species such as this juvenile vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), photographed here at Cape Vidal in South Africa. Although conservation efforts typically focus inside protected areas, many protected plants and animals move beyond their boundaries and into adjacent environments. In such surroundings, monkeys, for example, can provide ecosystem services (e.g., seed dispersal, aesthetic values) or disservices (e.g., spreading pathogens, stealing food). These “spillover effects” may have a strong influence on support for conservation, but they are poorly understood. Rigorous measurement of the kinds, frequencies, magnitudes, and spatial patterns of spillover effects will be central to improving management and policy responses to enhance or mitigate spillover benefits or costs, respectively, as discussed in a Concepts and Questions contribution from Cumming in the December issue of Frontiers,

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• Ecosphere

  

  In many ecological systems, the extent of intra-population variation in the resources that animals consume and the environmental factors that contribute to this variance remain poorly understood. In their contribution in the December issue of Ecosphere, Dubour et al. use a stable isotope approach to quantify intraspecific diet variation of an avian consumer, the lesser scaup (Aythya affinis), across a large geographic area and test for effects of resource variability on niche partitioning. The abundant wetlands in Alaska's boreal interior, shown on the January cover and captured by drone, provide critical habitat—and diverse foraging opportunities—for many migratory birds, including lesser scaup ducklings. Although the authors did not detect an effect of macroinvertebrate abundance on the diets of pre-fledging scaup, their findings indicate that ducklings have greater dietary flexibility than previously considered. The research results facilitate improved predictions of which species might be best adapted to respond to changing environmental conditions in North America's western boreal forest.

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• Ecology

  

  The photo on the December cover of Ecology features a drone view of the Manchurian mixed forests in fall. Evergreen conifers, Korean pine and Manchurian fir, tower above a broadleaf canopy dominated by Mongolian oak, temperate East Asian maples, and other regional endemics, including Amur cork tree, Amur linden, Castor aralia, Dahurian birch, and Manchurian walnut. This mosaic, characteristic of Northeast Asia's temperate–boreal ecotone, showcases the vertical structure and species richness of these forests. In their paper in the November issue of Ecology, Korznikov et al. use high-resolution drone imagery to analyze fallen tree dimensions across four sites near the Chinese–Russian border that were impacted by tropical storm Maysak in 2020, revealing that emergent conifers were disproportionately affected. With global climate change leading to weather extremes, tropical cyclones are emerging as a disturbance agent in Northeast Asia's temperate-boreal ecotone, transforming ecosystems by removing emergent conifers, simplifying canopy structure, and promoting broadleaf dominance.

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• Ecological Monographs

  

  Fungal emerging infectious diseases pose a significant threat to global food production. The Botryosphaeriaceae fungal family comprises several pathogens of worldwide concern, causing severe diseases in a wide array of economically important crops, including grapevines. Research conducted by Silva-Valderrama et al. and published in the August issue of Ecological Monographs reveals an evolutionary trend towards increased host generalism within this family. The anthropogenic movement of plant species and agricultural practices, such as dense monoculture crop cultivation, may have enabled some pathogens to overcome geographical and phylogenetic constraints, thus creating new ecological opportunities for host shifts. The image on the cover of the November issue of Ecological Monographs shows multiple vineyards in Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada.

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• Ecological Applications

  

  The cover of the January issue of Ecological Applications depicts a Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) in the high-altitude rangelands of the Himalaya. Srinivasan et al.'s article in the December issue studied bird densities and composition as part of a long-running monitoring program in India. Their study, published as part of the journal's Applied Ecology in India Special Feature, highlights the possible role of climate change in causing long-term changes in the avifauna on the tallest mountains on Earth. Anthropogenic land use changes led to long-term shifts in bird densities and communities, with grazed and agricultural habitats being generally unfavorable for birds. The authors show that over two decades, the bird community shifted and bird densities have declined in the least used habitat, including declines in species like the Horned Lark.

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• The Bulletin

  

  The January issue of the ESA Bulletin continues its support of early-career researchers and students with papers that explore the policy–science interface for biodiversity researchers, discuss questions to ask before graduate school, and provide updates to the 4DEE framework. Additional articles summarize ESA annual meeting events and society actions.

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• Earth Stewardship

  

  We are delighted to announce a call for submissions for Earth Stewardship. This exciting new Open Access journal, launched with our publishing partner, John Wiley & Sons, calls for a broad spectrum of scientifically and technologically innovative and groundbreaking contributions including cross-cultural perspectives from leading researchers, policymakers, traditional custodians of land and sea and indigenous communities. Earth Stewardship publishes applied and theoretical articles to promote a broad, intercultural, and participatory foundation for earth stewardship.

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