Identifying reviewers weakens peer review, study suggests

This study does not really show that signin a review weakens peer-review. Because signature is voluntary in Functional Ecology, it is likely that reviewers are more willing to sign reviews on manuscripts they like i.e., which they would rate highly in any case. It would be interesting to compare journals that have a truly open peer-review (reviewer identity is always disclosed) with journals always following the blind practice in the same field. This would reveal if openness always leads to less critical reviewes.