News and Opinion - British Ecological Society

Artificial nests boost African penguin breeding success, but there’s no one-size-fits-all design

Artificial nests can boost the breeding success of endangered African penguins, but different designs are more effective at different colonies according to a new study.

BES awards 2024 - meet the winners

Our annual awards and prizes recognise distinguished ecologists whose work has benefited the scientific community and society.

Transform UK land use approach for a sustainable future

A new report by the international environmental charities Zoological Society of London and the British Ecological Society shows how changes to our land use can benefit nature, climate and people.

<i>Functional Ecology</i> now a fully open access journal

Functional Ecology now a fully open access journal

Today we're pleased to announce that our journal, Functional Ecology, is moving to a fully open access publication.

Marine Protected Areas don’t line up with core habitats of rare migratory fish, finds new research

Nearly two thirds of Marine Protected Areas designated to protect rare migratory fish are outside of their core habitats.

Livestock guardian dogs create landscape of fear for predators

Livestock Guardian Dogs change predator behaviour in ways that both protect livestock and support conservation efforts.

Diverse forests are best at standing up to storms

Forests that are most resilient to storms have a greater diversity of tree species and are dominated by slow growing species.

Conservation detection dogs sniff out rare curlew nests

Conservation detection dogs are nearly twice as likely as humans to find curlew nests according to new research conducted by researchers in Northern Ireland.

Climate change causing 60% of plants and insects to fall out of synch

Seasonal timings of plants are advancing an average of four times faster than insects, throwing key interactions like pollination out of synch.

Does biodiversity offsetting work?

What influences the effectiveness of offsets schemes?

<i>Trophy Hunting</i> named British Ecological Society book of the year

Trophy Hunting named British Ecological Society book of the year

Trophy Hunting by Dr Nikolaj Bichel and Professor Adam Hart, wins The Marsh Ecology Book of the Year,

AI tool helps ecologists monitor rare birds through their songs

Researchers have developed a new deep learning AI tool that generates life-like birdsongs to train bird identification tools, helping ecologists to monitor rare species in the wild.

Research on coral reefs is biased, according to new study

How is academic colonialism affecting publishing about coral reefs?

Invasive plant species threaten 66 percent of India's natural areas

Indian scientists created a unique solution to a lack of invasive plant information.

Is deer culling the answer to Scottish woodland regeneration?

Can deer culling help restore native Scottish pinewoods?