News and Opinion - British Ecological Society

Protected areas can be the beating heart of nature recovery in the UK, but they must be more than lines on a map

A report by the British Ecological Society says that the UK government’s 30x30 commitment offers the opportunity to revitalise the contribution of protected areas to nature recovery.

eDNA used to identify endangered fish in wet markets

Researchers present a powerful new tool for monitoring trade of endangered fish in Hong Kong wet markets using environmental DNA (eDNA).

US national park place names contribute to erasing Indigenous cultures

A new study points the way for reckoning with Indigenous sovereignty and US public lands through place names in national parks.

Digitised museum collections reveal impact of climate change on British butterflies

New study is one of the first to to show that computer vision can accurately measure physical characteristics from digital collections and test species’ responses to climate changes.

Why do protected areas matter?

Why should we care about the UK pledge to protect 30% of land and seas by 2030?

Warmer autumns could spell bad news for butterflies, suggests study

New research finds that longer and warmer autumns make it less likely that green-veined white butterflies will survive winter to emerge in spring.

Rolling wildflower blocks: benefits for biodiversity

Rolling wildflower blocks could be the more effective compensation measurement against insect decline than flower strips.

Biodiversity loss has knock-on effects on global markets

Biodiversity losses in countries with smaller, less-developed economies, impact large, developed economies.

Losing the cover of darkness

Study shows advances in street lighting are reducing the efficacy of coastal species’ camouflage.

Birds are laying their eggs earlier, and climate change is to blame

Hundred-year-old museum collections help show that birds are nesting earlier in the spring

Rewilding apex predators can limit the seed dispersal by frugivorous carnivores

New research finds the reintroduction of the Iberian lynx in Southern Spain could be limiting fruit dispersal from smaller carnivores

Protecting our most threatened and vulnerable: What does the future hold for the Wildlife and Countryside Act?

Changes to the Act have raised concerns that some threatened British species may lose important protection.

What do grasshoppers eat? New research shows similarities with mammal teeth

New research identifies startling similarities between the mouths of grasshoppers and mammal teeth.

Restoring tropical peatlands supports bird diversity without impacting livelihoods

A new study has found that oil palm can be farmed more sustainably on peatlands by re-wetting the land.

Scientists estimate invasive insects will kill 1.4 million US street trees by 2050

A new study estimates that over the next 30 years, damage to US street trees from invasive insects could cost over 900 million dollars.