Javier Ibarra Isassi

• M.Sc. Ecology
• PhD Student at Concordia University

Quantifying trait–environment associations can help elucidate the processes underpinning the structure of species assemblages. However, most work has focused on trait variation across rather than within species, meaning that processes operating at the intraspecific levels cannot be detected. Incorporating intraspecific trait variation in community‐...

Current global challenges call for a rigorously predictive ecology. Our understanding of ecological strategies, imputed through suites of measurable functional traits, comes from decades of work that largely focussed on plants. However, a key question is whether plant ecological strategies resemble those of other organisms. Among animals, ants have...

Invasive species are one of the main threats to biodiversity worldwide and the processes enabling their establishment and persistence remain poorly understood. In generalist consumers, plasticity in diet and trophic niche may play a crucial role in invasion success. There is growing evidence that invasive ants, in particular, occupy lower trophic l...

Land use management influence changes in biodiversity beyond the targeted species. Management practices in coffee plantations have shifted from coffee growing below accompanying (shade) trees, to intensified monocultures in which coffee grows fully exposed to the sun. Anthropogenic disturbance causes changes in species composition relative to adjac...

Animal-pollinated plants can be susceptible to changes in pollinator availability. Honeydew-producing treehoppers frequently occur on inflorescences, potentially enhancing ant-mediated negative effects on pollination services. However, the effect of ant-attended, honeydew-producing insects on plant reproduction remains uncertain. We recorded the ab...

Ant pollination is a debated topic that requires more attention in order to clarify the role of ants as potential pollinators. Although many authors consider ants as mere nectar robbers, there are studies proving that ants may act as pollinators and that some plants even have flower traits acting as ant attractors. In this study, we evaluated the r...