Just out this week in Evolutionary Ecology is a special issue put together by Emma Sherratt (University of Adelaide) Erin McCullough (Clark University) and myself, where we collated 14 original papers on the ecological and evolutionary implications of allometry.

We were pleased to get contributions spanning all three levels of biological scaling: ontogenetic allometry (scaling across an individual’s development), static allometry (scaling among individuals of the same developmental stage), and evolutionary allometry (scaling among species). The papers also spanned a wide number of taxonomic groups from insects to reptiles, and used a diverse range of methological approaches to explore the importance of allometry in animal biology.

My paper on size and shape variation in the head weapons of Hoherius meinertzhageni, an endemic anthribid weevil from New Zealand, was included in the issue. They’re pretty photogenic wee critters, so were a great choice for a cover image for the journal. See the paper for more beautiful photos by Pete McGregor, and check out these two fantastic videos (also by Pete) showing how males use their head shields during fights, and some sneaking behaviour by a tiny-headed male.

Thank you to my co-guest editors for putting up with my absence while I was off getting to know kid #2, all the authors who contributed their research to the edition, the reviewers who found time during a pandemic to critique the manuscripts, and to Chief Editor at Evolutionary Ecology Matt Symonds for the invite to put this together.