News and Opinion - British Ecological Society

Uncoordinated trade policies aid alien bee invasions

Patagonia may lose its only native bumblebee species due to invasions by alien bee species sanctioned by government policy.

Finding the Common Ground

Read the BES Agricultural Ecology Special Interest Group's report on finding the common ground for a future agriculture policy.

A big picture for the big island

A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology provides a range of options to protect and restore Hawaii's valuable marine ecosystems for the future.

Hunting is changing forests, but not in ways as previously thought

A new study of the Amazon rainforest examines what happens to plants if their seed dispersers are no longer present.

The Environmental Audit Committee launches inquiry into the 25-Year Plan for the Environment.

Contribute to the BES response to the Environment Audit Committee's inquiry into the 25 year plan to improve the environment.

Study reveals long-time scale of recovery for marine sea fans and other species

Pink seafans, Ross corals and white sea squirts could take up to 20 years to recover after an area of the seabed was closed to scallop dredging.

Rethinking environmental legislation to include the conservation ideas of tomorrow

ZSL-led study argues for change in policy focus to capitalise on potential of rewilding to halt biodiversity loss.

A Green Future: Our 25 Year Plan to Improve the Environment; the good, the bad, and the non-committal.

The long awaited 25 year plan for the environment was published in January 2018. Here we draw out the most important issues for BES membership.

Gran Chaco: Biodiversity at high risk

Immediate conservation activities could secure habitats in South America’s largest tropical dry forest

Habitat fragmentation a bigger threat to Chile’s güiña wildcat than persecution by humans

Research by conservationists at the University of Kent has found that habitat fragmentation, and the subdivision of large farms into smaller ones, are the biggest threats facing the güiña wildcat in Chile.

A new method to help recover ecological functions and foster the sustainable development of rural areas

Ecologists have developed a new method to prioritize natural sites for restoration actions aimed to improve the provision of ecosystem services.

Gove outlines post-Brexit farming priorities

The UK will seek sustainability in post-Brexit agriculture

Degrading coral reefs bad news for commercial fishing

The degradation of coral reef fisheries is bad for fisheries in the long term, a new study published in Journal of Applied Ecology reveals.

Listening in: Acoustic monitoring devices detect illegal hunting and logging

Newly developed acoustic loggers are able to record sounds of shotguns and chainsaws, shedding light on the frequency and patterns of illegal exploitation

How fires are changing the tundra’s face

Two young ecologists from the University of Münster are studying the serious consequences fires can have for vegetation, soils and some endangered bird species.