News and Opinion - British Ecological Society

Conservation translocation: trade-offs for species survival and biodiversity

As efforts to help wildlife ramp up after the devastating bushfire season, University of Canberra researchers warn that removing species under pressure from immediate threat must be done in a measured, species-dependent way.

Lava flows tell 600-year story of biodiversity loss on tropical island

A natural experiment created by an active volcano gives new insight into the long-term negative impacts of human colonisation of tropical forest islands.

Amazon forest disturbance is changing how plants are dispersed

New research finds tropical forest disturbance goes beyond species loss and includes a shift towards smaller seeds and an increase in the proportion of trees dispersed by animals, impacting how the ecosystem functions.

Call for policy makers to protect pollinators

Pollinating insects could thrive if improvements are made to agri-environment schemes across Europe, new study led by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) finds.

New software program could boost protections for animals on the move on land and at sea

An international team of conservation scientists has developed an innovative software program to improve protections for wildlife as they roam on land and at sea.

New study: are teen seabirds safe?

Seabirds have an exploratory adolescent phase, often looking for food in ocean areas quite different to breeding adults. A new collaborative BirdLife study warns that current seabird protection measures should not neglect such crucial stages of seabird development.

Closer scientific collaboration needed to save orangutan, say leading experts

Scientists studying animal and human populations in Borneo must work together more closely if they’re to save the orangutan, according to leading conservation and social science researchers .

Fish species benefit from marine protection to varying extents – common and exploited species profit most

Marine protected areas in the Mediterranean Sea are home to more fish species, with the greatest gains found among species most sensitive to exploitation

CSUN study demonstrates marine protected areas are most effective in overfished areas

Northern Ireland’s recovering pine marten population benefits red squirrels, but the urban grey squirrel poses a problem

The recovery of pine marten in Ireland and Britain is reversing native red squirrel replacement by invasive grey squirrels

Local traditional knowledge can be as accurate as 10 years of scientific transect monitoring of animal abundance in the Amazon

New research from a cross-organisational consortium in the Amazon has found indigenous knowledge to be as accurate as scientific transect monitoring.

Participation in citizen science camera trap project dramatically increased school children’s knowledge of UK mammals

Children who participated in a citizen science project called MammalWeb, used camera traps to detect wildlife visiting their schools..

How to handle ‘moving targets’ in the face of climate change

The Scottish Policy Group host a Pie and a Pint night in Edinburgh.

Scientists develop new method to estimate seal breeding frequency

New research, led by the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) at the University of St Andrews, develops method to better record breeding histories of seals, allowing for improved fecundity calculations.

A decade after the predators have gone, Galapagos Island finches are still being spooked

A new study has found that the finches’ fearful response – known as antipredator behaviour - was sustained through multiple generations after the threat was gone, which could have detrimental consequences for the finches’ survival.