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. We believe that the diverse nature of our journal is a strength, not a weakness, and we are open-minded about the variety of data, research approaches and types of studies that we publish. Certain key areas will continue to be emphasized: 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. Ecology has increasingly moved towards the realization that organismal traits and activities are vital for understanding community dynamics and ecosystem processes, particularly in response to the rapid global changes occurring in earth’s environment, and Functional Ecology aims to publish such integrative papers.

《Functional Ecology》是一本由Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd出版商出版的专业环境科学与生态学期刊，该刊创刊于1987年，刊期Bimonthly，该刊已被国际权威数据库SCI、SCIE收录。在中科院最新升级版分区表中，该刊分区信息为大类学科：环境科学与生态学 2区，小类学科：生态学 2区；在JCR（Journal Citation Reports）分区等级为Q1。该刊发文范围涵盖生态学等领域，旨在及时、准确、全面地报道国内外生态学工作者在该领域取得的最新研究成果、工作进展及学术动态、技术革新等，促进学术交流，鼓励学术创新。2021年影响因子为6.282，平均审稿速度约3.0个月。