British Ecological Society Journals

In this podcast, Functional Ecology author Fernando Gonçalves talks to Assistant Editor Amelia Macho about his article "Pollen essential amino acids shape bat–flower interaction networks". Fernando's article discusses how pollen protein and amino acid composition influence year-round and seasonal bat–flower interaction networks. Its results underscore the essential role of pollen, not just nectar, as a key reward for attracting flower-visiting bats, and therefore highlights pollen content as an important driver structuring pollination networks. Read the full article here: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.70161 Check out a video of the bat species in this study! https://youtu.be/7FX2x4T45i8?si=be7V7t3gAwBR4yiw

As part of our 'Community' series, we're launching the Emerging Leadership Management (ELM) Network, hosted by Rob Brooker, Thorunn Helgason, and Pen Holland.This is the podcast for people who love to lead or one day might emerge as a leader. This episode features Professor Sallie Bailey, Chief Scientist at Natural England and inaugural BES Fellow. Sallie shares insights from her leadership journey, from shaping strategy and managing expectations to driving cultural change across organisations. We discuss what makes communication effective, how leaders can bring clarity and energy to their teams, and why strong leadership is vital for lasting impact.

For the Journal of Animal Ecology's latest podcast episode, Associate Blog Editor Edie Abrahams speaks with Professor I-Min Tso about his recently published paper, "Prey bioluminescence-mediated visual luring in a sit and wait predator". Professor Tso reflects on his journey into the world of spiders and what he learnt from conducting his study, as well as providing some valuable insights for those who are interested in pursuing a career in the area. You can find some helpful links below: Paper: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.70102 Website: https://www.spiderandsilksupply.com/

This series will be discussing four evidence reports commissioned by Natural England which were deposited on Applied Ecology Resources and explored the importance of nature inclusion across various communities; people with disabilities, older people, ethnic minorities, and those in low-income areas. This series will be deep diving into the importance of nature connection, the potential barriers to inclusion for four specific groups of individuals, and strategies to overcome them. Our guest is Clare Rishbeth, who is a professor in Landscape Architecture from the University of Sheffield and co-authored the reports. Clare explains the reason for the reports and for the focus on four specific groups of people. The reports are linked below: People with Disabilities https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/applied-ecology-resources/document/20220436861/ Low Income Areas https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/applied-ecology-resources/document/20220436862/ Older People https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/applied-ecology-resources/document/20220436863/ Ethnic Minorities https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/applied-ecology-resources/document/20220436860/

This series will be discussing four evidence reports commissioned by Natural England which were deposited on Applied Ecology Resources and explored the importance of nature inclusion across various communities. In this episode, Clare will be discussing the barriers to inclusion for those with disabilities, and how we might be able to overcome them. PEDALL Inclusive Cycling | New Forest National Park - https://www.pedall.org.uk/ Sensing Nature - https://sensing-nature.com/ Applied Ecology Resources Report: People with Disabilities - https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/applied-ecology-resources/document/20220436861/

This series will be discussing four evidence reports commissioned by Natural England which were deposited on Applied Ecology Resources and explored the importance of nature inclusion across various communities. In this episode, Clare will be discussing the barriers to inclusion for those in low-income areas, and how we might be able to overcome them. Applied Ecology Resources Report: Low Income Areas - https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/applied-ecology-resources/document/20220436862/

This series will be discussing four evidence reports commissioned by Natural England which were deposited on Applied Ecology Resources and explored the importance of nature inclusion across various communities. In this episode, Clare will be discussing the barriers to inclusion for older people, and how we might be able to overcome them. Wild at Heart, Sheffield & Rotherham Wildlife Trust - https://www.wildsheffield.com/discover/your-community/wild-at-heart/?srsltid=AfmBOooBDMSVIiz51JkVIAN2lotY4qAD5uogVfGTUXRPAOWbK6BOnBs8 Welcome to DalesBus - https://www.dalesbus.org/ Applied Ecology Resources Report: Older People - https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/applied-ecology-resources/document/20220436863/

This series will be discussing four evidence reports commissioned by Natural England which were deposited on Applied Ecology Resources and explored the importance of nature inclusion across various communities. In this episode, Clare will be discussing the barriers to inclusion for ethnic minorities, and how we might be able to overcome them. The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park: Whose Values, Whose Benefits? by Dr. Bridget Snaith - https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/19291/ 9 Rules for the Black Birdwatcher by J. Drew Lanham - https://orionmagazine.org/article/9-rules-for-the-black-birdwatcher/ Applied Ecology Resources Report: Ethnic Minorities - https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/applied-ecology-resources/document/20220436860/

This series discussed four evidence reports commissioned by Natural England which were deposited on Applied Ecology Resources and explored the importance of nature inclusion across various communities. Clare ends the series by discussing her current and future research focus, as well as future reports for Natural England. Young People Act - https://treescapes-voices.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/454/2024/11/Young-People-Act-Nature-Climate.pdf Informal Sport and Social Inclusion - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/02614367.2022.2162109?needAccess=true Clare's Sheffield Links - https://sheffield.ac.uk/architecture-landscape/people/academic/clare-rishbeth

In this podcast, Functional Ecology author Jennifer Apland chats to Assistant Editor Amelia Macho about her research article, " Jennifer experimentally manipulated the temperature of model flowers to evaluate how flower temperature impacts visitation and behavior of wild bee and fly pollinators. Her research highlights that wild insect pollinator responses to floral temperature depend on ambient temperature. It also suggests that flowers with traits facilitating warming in cool conditions and cooling in warm conditions may experience higher rates of pollinator visitation and resultant reproductive success. You can read Jennifer's full research article here: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.70037 You can also check out Jennifer's blog post about this work (as mentioned in the podcast!) here: https://functionalecologists.com/2025/06/04/jennifer-apland-does-flower-temperature-affect-pollinator-behaviour/

For our ‘Editor Expertise' series, we will be meeting with each of our Senior Editors, who will share the reason they went into animal ecology, their current and future research focus, and their experience working as an editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology. Our aim is to spread awareness of their research area and give you a chance to get to know the editors behind the journal. This month's guest is Dr. Mariano Rodríguez-Cabal, Research Highlights Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology.

En nuestra serie 'Experiencia editorial', nos reuniremos con cada uno de nuestros editores principales, quienes compartirán los motivos por los que se dedicaron a la ecología animal, sus áreas de investigación actuales y futuras, y su experiencia como editores de la revista Journal of Animal Ecology. Nuestro objetivo es dar a conocer su área de investigación y ofrecerle la oportunidad de conocer a los editores que hay detrás de la revista. El invitado de este mes es el Dr. Mariano Rodríguez-Cabal, editor de Research Highlights para la revista Journal of Animal Ecology. Gracias a nuestro editor del blog, Rowan Kuminski, por presentar este episodio.

In this podcast episode, we spoke with Dr Daniel Gomez-Gras, Guest Editor for our latest cross-journal Special Feature on "Marine Heatwaves". The Special Feature ran across the Journal of Animal Ecology, Journal of Ecology, and Functional Ecology, and provides an interdisciplinary and cross-taxonomic view of one of the most pressing topics in marine animal science, rendering a general overview of the vulnerability of animal life to current and future marine heatwave conditions. You can explore a curated list of all the articles published at the link below: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1002/(ISSN)9999-0033.marine-heatwaves Thank you to Daniel, Pol, and Cristina, the Guest Editors of this incredible Special Feature.

Methods in Ecology and Evolution author René Steinmann chats to Harriet about his research article 'Decoding the footsteps of the African savanna: Classifying wildlife using seismic signals and machine learning'. The study investigates the seismic signal properties of African savanna species during locomotion and employs machine learning techniques to classify wildlife based on these footfall signals. Read René's full research article here: https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.70021 Read René's post on the Methods Blog here: https://methodsblog.com/2025/05/19/the-ground-beneath-their-feetlistening-in-on-africas-wildlife-using-seismic-sensors/

As part of our 'Community' series, we're launching the Emerging Leadership Management (ELM) Network, hosted by Rob Brooker, Thorunn Helgason, and Pen Holland. This is the podcast for people who love to lead or one day might emerge as a leader. In this episode, they interview Professor Malcom Press, Vice-Chancellor at the Manchester Metropolitan University and former BES President. Listen in to hear Malcom share his experience with leadership and discuss how vision and wisdom are essential for effective leadership. #leadership #management #ecology #science #emergingleader #leader #manager

For our ‘Editor Expertise' series, we will be meeting with each of our Lead Editors, who will share the reason they went into animal ecology, their current and future research focus, and their experience working as an editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology. Our aim is to spread awareness of their research area and give you a chance to get to know the editors behind the journal. This month's guest is Dr Roberto Salguero-Gómez, Commissioning Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology. (0:00) – British Ecological Society intro (0:35) – Podcast introduction (1:29) – Rob's journey into animal ecology (6:30) – Rob's current and future research focus (11:30) – Shoutouts to past supervisors and colleagues (13:56) – Ad break (14:36) – Rob's experience as Commissioning Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology (22:05) – Advice for people who want to become journal editors / are thinking of a career in ecology (24:53) – British Ecological Society outro Links referred to in the podcast: Rob's Elton Prize paper - https://animalecologyinfocus.com/2017/03/28/2016-elton-prize-winner-rob-salguero-gomez/ An editorial on writing a good review / long term study paper - https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.13821 An editorial on writing a good concept paper - https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2656.14206

Welcome to the first episode of Journal Club, a new series that explores research papers to empower early-career researchers to read, utilise, and critically assess academic literature with confidence. In this episode, our host, Matt Town, Professional Development Manager, discusses the Journal of Applied Ecology paper titled 'Climbing Route Development Affects Cliff Vascular Plants More Than Subsequent Climbing: A Guide to Evidence-Based Conservation Management to Regulate Climbing.' Tune in to hear key insights from BES Assistant Editor Lydia, Associate Editor Phil Martin and Ardian Ardiantiono, and PhD student Lira Lewis. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14785

For our ‘Editor Expertise' series, we will be meeting with each of our Senior Editors, who will share the reason they went into animal ecology, their current and future research focus, and their experience working as an editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology. Our aim is to spread awareness of their research area and give you a chance to get to know the editors behind the journal. This month's guest is Dr Darren Evans, Senior Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology. (0:00) – British Ecological Society intro (0:58) – Podcast introduction (1:30) – Darren's journey into animal ecology (15:30) – Darren's current and future research focus (34:30) – Shoutouts to past supervisors and colleagues (38:30) – Darren's experience as Senior Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology (47:00) – Advice for people who want to become journal editors / are thinking of a career in ecology (52:50) – British Ecological Society outro

Functional Ecology author Dr Abbey Yatsko chats to Amelia Macho about her research article, 'Why are trees hollow? Termites, microbes, and tree internal stem damage in a tropical savanna' Abbey's study sought to understand how two important biotic decomposers, termites and microbes, decompose wood on the inside of living tree stems, shedding a light on previously concealed wood decomposition dynamics occurring inside trees. Abbey's research has implications for for accurate carbon estimation across savanna ecosystems, and suggests that tree carbon models should make efforts to incorporate the effects of internal stem damage. Read Abbey's full research article here: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14727 Abbey's second research article, 'Rotten to the core? Drivers of the vertical profile and accumulation of internal tree stem damage' has also been published in Functional Ecology! Check it out here: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.70061

Functional Ecology author Adam Devenish chats to Amelia Macho about his research article, 'Mutualistic interactions facilitate invasive species spread' Adam's study explored the impact of invasive Argentine ants on seed dispersal involving both native and invasive plants. Through field experiments comparing invaded and non-invaded areas, he observed shifts in seed dispersal patterns and examined how traits like seed size and chemical composition affected ant-seed preferences. Adam's findings, that in areas invaded by Argentine ants, seeds from invasive plants were three times more likely to be dispersed than native seeds, highlight that impact of invaders may be greater than initially perceived, driving losses in both biological and functional plant diversity. Read the full research article here: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14688 You can view images of Adam's research, mentioned in this podcast, in the article's plain language summary: https://fesummaries.wordpress.com/2024/10/15/how-invasive-argentine-ants-disrupt-native-seed-dispersal-and-promote-plant-invasions/

For our ‘Editor Expertise' series, we will be meeting with each of our Senior Editors, who will share the reason they went into animal ecology, their current and future research focus, and their experience working as an editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology. Our aim is to spread awareness of their research area and give you a chance to get to know the editors behind the journal. This month's guest is Professor Jean-Michel Gaillard, Senior Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology. (0:00) – British Ecological Society intro (0:33) – Podcast introduction (01:15) – Jean-Michel's journey into animal ecology (02:58) – Jean-Michel's current and future research focus (07:20) – Shoutouts to past supervisors and colleagues (08:50) – Jean-Michel's experience as Senior Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology (12:40) – Jean-Michel's editorial highlights and challenges during his time with the journal (15:40) – Advice for people who want to become editors / are thinking of a career in ecology (17:32) – British Ecological Society outro

As part of our 'Community' series, we're launching the Emerging Leadership Management (ELM) Network, hosted by Rob Brooker, Thorunn Helgason, and Pen Holland. This is the podcast for people who love to lead or one day might emerge as a leader. In this episode, they interview Jane K Hill, Professor of Ecology at the University of York, former BES Trustee and chair of the publications committee. Tune in to hear Jane discuss her thoughts on leadership, including different leadership styles and exploring what motivations to lead can look like. #leadership #management #ecology #science #emergingleader #leader #manager

We spoke with Dr Alex Maisey, author of "Foraging activity by an ecosystem engineer, the superb lyrebird, ‘farms' its invertebrate prey", to hear the story behind the paper. Alex also shared his personal journey into animal ecology and some unexpected sounds from a local lyrebird. You can read Alex's full paper, co-authored by Angie Haslem and Andrew F. Bennett, here: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2656.70009

Functional Ecology author Ella Plumanns Pouton chats to Amelia Macho about her research article, 'How do intervals between fires influence canopy seed production and viability?' Ella's study sought to understand how the frequency of fire shaped the quantity of available cones and the seeds within those cones. Her findings, in the context of expected increases in wildfire frequency and droughts in Mediterranean ecosystems, suggest that serotinous species' reproduction and recruitment will be differentially impacted depending on a suite of functional traits. Read the full research article here: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14619

As part of our 'Community' series, we're launching a new series called the Emerging Leadership Management (ELM) Network, hosted by Professor Rob Brooker, Professor Thorunn Helgason, and Professor Pen Holland. The new BES ELM network is born out of a shared vision to help and celebrate researchers' transitions into management and leadership roles. In this episode, they interview Yadvinder Malhi, a former BES president and Professor of Ecosystem Science at the Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, and Senior Research Fellow at Oriel College. Tune in to hear Yadvinder discuss transitioning into a leadership role and the key aspects of managing and leading a team. ELM Network | What leadership looks like with Professor Yadvinder Malhi By British Ecological Society is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Host Rob Brooker, Head of Ecological Sciences at The James Hutton Institute and Honorary Secretary at the British Ecological Society. Host Thorunn Helgason, Chair in Ecology, School of Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh and Board of Trustee at the British Ecological Society. Host Pen Holland, Deputy Head of Department (Education) at the University of York.

For our ‘Editor Expertise' series, we will be meeting with each of our Senior Editors, who will share the reason they went into animal ecology, their current and future research focus, and their experience working as an editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology. Our aim is to spread awareness of their research area and give you a chance to get to know the editors behind the journal. This month's guest is Dr Lesley Lancaster, Senior Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology. (0:00) – British Ecological Society intro (0:25) – Podcast introduction (1:03) – Lesley's journey into animal ecology (04:00) – Lesley's current and future research focus (16:50) – Shoutouts to past supervisors and colleagues (19:40) – Lesley's experience as Senior Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology (23:00) – Advice for people who want to become journal editors / are thinking of a career in ecology (27:59) – British Ecological Society outro

For Black History Month UK 2024, the British Ecological Society is celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world. In this episode, Mthokozisi Moyo shares his experience in ecology and academia. Mthokozisi previously shared a blog post on The Applied Ecologist in 2022 detailing his background in African Ecosystems, Seasonality, and Functional Traits, and his thoughts on Black History Month (see link below). We are pleased to have the opportunity to catch up with him! Blog post: https://appliedecologistsblog.com/2022/10/19/mthokozisi-moyo-accidental-ecologist-to-seasonality-expert/ Mthokozisi's contact details: Twitter: https://x.com/mtho_moyo Email: mottomoyoza@gmail.com

For Black History Month 2024, the British Ecological Society is celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world. In this episode, Dr Damilola Grace Olanipon speaks to Amelia Macho about her experiences in the field, working on plant-mycorrhizal relationships in forest ecosystems. Damilola discusses the importance of reclaiming narratives for Black ecologists in Africa, as well as the importance of equal opportunities. You can find Damilola on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damilola-olanipon-86b9ab76/ Check out all of the British Ecological Society's BHM 2024 blog posts and podcasts here: https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/membership-community/black-history-month/

Amelia Macho chats to Functional Ecology author Patrick Finnerty about his recently published research article "Odour information enables patch choice by mammalian herbivores from afar, leading to predictable plant associational effects". The team demonstrated that elephants can make patch choice decisions from afar using plant odour cues alone, and that these decisions lead to predictable associational effects on the susceptibility of high-quality focal plants to be being eaten. They also used a new method to reduce an entire complex odour profile of a low-quality plant species and reproduce this odour information artificially. This simplified odour set was as effective as real low-quality neighbours in shaping elephant patch choice and subsequently providing associational refuge to the focal plant. This research could offer a new tool to influence herbivore foraging decisions, with implications for wildlife management and conservation, including plant protection. Read the full research article here: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14665 Check out our YouTube channel for a video of an elephant walking through the giant Y-maze Patt and his team built: https://youtu.be/OBY_xsbU-0k

As part of our 'Community' series, we're bringing together a global community of ecologists to discuss their experience and relation to ecology. In this episode, we chatted with Nina Bosch, a PhD student from the University of York and a valuable member of the BES. Nina's research focuses on the recovery of landscapes after fire disturbance in alpine heathlands with an emphasis on the partnership between plants and fungi. Tune in to understand how attending the BES Annual Meeting has helped Nina to network and build friendships as a young ecologist.

As part of our 'Community' series, we're bringing together a global community of ecologists to discuss their experience and relation to ecology. In this episode, Lydia Groves is joined by eight committee members of the newly-launched Rewilding Special Interest Group. A range of topics are discussed, including what rewilding is, how it can be used effectively, and what the committee hopes to achieve through the SIG. You can find out more about the BES Rewilding SIG here: https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/membership-community/special-interest-groups/rewilding-group/ And join their mailing list here: https://britishecologicalsociety.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=b3fd69e742034d545c02c0932&id=e4ee09c0cb

As part of our 'Community' series, we're bringing together a global community of ecologists to discuss their experience and relation to ecology. In this episode, we are focusing on the most exciting event on the BES's calendar – our Annual Meeting with renowned ecologist and a longstanding BES member Dr. Rob Brooker. Tune in to understand what makes this event such a special one for the ecological community.

For our ‘Editor Expertise' series, we will be meeting with each of our Senior Editors, who will share the reason they went into animal ecology, their current and future research focus, and experience of working as an editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology. Our aim is to spread awareness of their research area and give you a chance to get to know the editors behind the journal. Our first guest is Dr Nathan J Sanders, Executive Editor. (0:38) – Introduction (1:03) – Nate's journey into animal ecology (10:15) – Nate's current and future research focus (20:00) – Nate's experience as Executive Editor for the Journal of Animal Ecology

Amelia Macho speaks with André Luza, whose review article "Going across taxa in functional ecology: Review and perspectives of an emerging field" has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology's 2023 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. André's review mapped the limitations of current research in functional ecology involving multiple taxa, presented ecological questions to a functional cross-taxa research and showed directions to pushing the limits of this research field. It aimed to encourage researchers in the field of functional ecology to move beyond single taxa and traits, and to integrate more branches and dimensions of the Tree of Life in their research.

Lydia Groves, publishing assistant for Journal of Applied Ecology, sits down with Dominic McAfee to discuss the research article 'Soundscape enrichment enhances recruitment and habitat building on new oyster reef restorations'. Dominic is the author of one of the shortlisted research articles for the Southwood Prize 2023, celebrating early career ecologists. You can read Dominic's research article here: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14307 You can find out more about the Southwood Prize here: https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/publications/best-paper-by-an-early-career-researcher/southwood-prize/

In this podcast, Ximena Cibils discusses her research "Silicon and Epichloë-endophyte defences in a model temperate grass reduce feeding efficiency and immunity of an insect folivore”, which has been nominated for Functional Ecology's Haldane Prize for early career researchers. Ximena presented the first report of silicon defences and Epichloë-endophyte derived alkaloids compromising insect immunity via reduced melanisation response. Deploying both physical and chemical defences against multiple insect herbivore traits, including feeding efficiency, growth and immunity, may be a successful defence strategy in temperate grasses.

For Black History Month 2023, the British Ecological Society is celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world. In this episode, Jeanelle Brisbane joins Amelia Macho. Jeanelle is an Assistant Forest Officer at Dominica's Forestry, Wildlife & Parks Division, and the founder of WildDominique, a conservation organization. Here, she speaks about her early experiences of nature growing up in Dominica, her international studies, and the impact of Hurricane Maria on both Dominica's ecology and her career. You can read Jeanelle's 2022 blog post here: https://functionalecologists.com/2022/10/28/jeanelle-brisbane-building-on-island-capacity-as-the-foundation-for-conservation-success/ Check out all of the British Ecological Society's BHM 2023 blog posts and podcasts here: https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/membership-community/black-history-month-2023/

In this podcast for Functional Ecology, Frank Harris sits down with Samuel Ross and Darren O'Connell to discuss their recently published review article in Functional Ecology—Passive acoustic monitoring provides a fresh perspective on fundamental ecological questions. Sam and Darren hope their review paper motivates the use of passive acoustic monitoring approaches to think about blue-skies research and the grand challenges affecting our planet, because much of what we can learn by recording and experiencing natural soundscapes is fundamental to our knowledge of life on earth. - Paper: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2435.14275 - PLS: https://fesummaries.wordpress.com/2023/01/23/passive-acoustic-monitoring-provides-a-fresh-perspective-on-fundamental-ecological-questions/ - Sam's website: https://samuelrpjross.com/ - Darren's website: https://people.ucd.ie/darren.oconnell

For Black History Month 2023, the British Ecological Society is celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world. In this episode, Jhan Salazar joins Frank Harris to discuss his early fascination with nature and the importance of representation in academia. Jhan is fifth-year graduate working on understanding patterns of evolution and adaptation of species to mountain environments in the Neotropics. Jhan is doing this research in Dr. Jonathan Losos' Lab in the Department of Biology and Biomedical Sciences at Washington University, St. Louis, USA. Check out all of the British Ecological Society's BHM 2023 blog posts and podcasts here: https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/membership-community/black-history-month-2023/

For Black History Month 2023, the British Ecological Society is celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world. In this episode, Gideon Deme joins Frank Harris to discuss his journey towards becoming an ecologist, highlight barriers to accessing ecology for black ecologists, and inspiring figures that helped him along the way. Gideon is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Biology at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA. Gideon is also an Associate Editor for Ecological Solutions & Evidence Check out all of the British Ecological Society's BHM 2023 blog posts and podcasts here: www.britishecologicalsociety.org/membersh…th-2023/

For Black History Month 2023, the British Ecological Society is celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world. In this episode, Reuben Fakoya-Brooks joins Amelia Macho. Having studied Zoology, Reuben worked as researcher for the NHS before starting a PhD in Human Behavioural Ecology at University College London. He has worked closely with the BES, founding the Racial & Ethnic Equality & Diversity (REED) ecological network here, which he also chaired. Reuben talks about his journey navigating work and academia, as well as his passion for photography, and discusses the importance of representation and support for under-represented communities. Check out all of the British Ecological Society's BHM 2023 blog posts and podcasts here: www.britishecologicalsociety.org/membersh…th-2023/

For Black History Month 2023, the British Ecological Society is celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world. In this episode, Dr Perpetra Akite speaks to Amelia Macho about her experiences in academia, as a researcher and lecturer at the University of Makerere, Kampala, Uganda. Perpetra discusses the importance of representation and role models for Black ecologists, as well as the need for more effective collaboration. You can read Perpetra's blog post, referenced in the podcast, here: https://relationalthinkingblog.com/2020/10/13/perpetra-akite-my-ugandan-ecological-journey-against-all-odds/ Check out all of the British Ecological Society's BHM 2023 blog posts and podcasts here: https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/membership-community/black-history-month-2023/

An analysis of 75 years of Peregrine Falcon monitoring data shows that performance increased substantially following the reduction in the use of organochlorine pesticides. Gradual recovery of the population occurred over four decades. Our results suggest that the temporal pattern of organochlorine pesticide use strongly influenced Peregrine reproductive parameters but that the pattern of influence differed regionally. Image Copyright M. McGrady

For Black History Month 2023, the British Ecological Society is celebrating the work of Black ecologists around the world. In this first episode, Yoseph Araya joins Lydia Groves to discuss how we can encourage more people to experience nature, highlight role models and suggest what we can do to improve Black ecologists' experiences in academia. Yoseph is a Senior Lecturer at the Open University and Lydia is the Publishing Assistant for Journal of Applied Ecology. Check out all of the British Ecological Society's BHM 2023 blog posts and podcasts here: https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/membership-community/black-history-month-2023/

Douglas Cirino, shortlisted for the Southwood Prize 2022, talks to Lydia Groves about his research article ‘Balanced spatial distribution of green areas creates healthier urban landscapes' as well as what he's been up to since the prize nomination. Read the full article here: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14195

In this podcast, Amelia Macho chats with Ricardo Correia - Assistant Professor at the Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku - about his paper 'The searchscape of fear: A global analysis of internet search trends for biophobias'. This research was published in People and Nature in July 2023. It investigated Google search trends for biophobias between 2004 and 2022. Its findings, that 17 out of the 25 biophobias investigated increased in search prevalence worldwide, particularly in urban populations, suggest an increasing disconnectedness from nature, which has implications for perceptions towards biodiversity conservation. Read the article here: https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10497 Read the Plain Language Summary here: https://relationalthinkingblog.com/2023/06/14/plain-language-summary-internet-searches-reveal-the-prevalence-of-multiple-biophobias-across-the-world/ Hissing Cockroach sound clip from Pixabay

Hillary Smith joins Lydia Groves, publishing assistant for Journal of Applied Ecology, to discuss the research article ‘Sea-weeding: Manual removal of macroalgae facilitates rapid coral recovery'. Read the full article here: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14502

In this podcast, Frank Harris sits down with Michael Belitz—a Post-Doc at Michigan State University, USA—to discuss his recently published paper: Phenological research based on natural history collections: Practical guidelines and a lepidopteran case study. This paper featured in a Special Feature on Natural History Collections was published jointly in Functional Ecology, Journal of Animal Ecology, Journal of Ecology and Methods in Ecology and Evolution. Belitz et al. provide a set of best practice recommendations to utilize NHC data for phenology and showcase these practical guidelines through a case study that utilizes natural history collection data to test hypotheses about trends in when North American adult butterflies and moths are in flight. * Special Feature: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/leveraging_natural_history?= * Article: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.14173 *PLS: https://fesummaries.wordpress.com/2022/09/06/guidelines-for-using-natural-history-collections-to-better-understand-how-seasonal-biological-events-are-responding-to-global-change/

In this podcast for Functional Ecology, Assistant Editor, Frank Harris, sits down with Fernanda Santos, Joe Bailey, and Jen Schweitzer who guest edited the recently published Functional Ecology special feature titled "Fire as a dynamic ecological and evolutionary force." This collection of studies provide recommendations on how to: engage in developing ecological and evolutionary databases for fire ecology; integrate hierarchical genetic structure or phylogenetic structure; develop new experimental frameworks that limit context dependent outcomes,; increase sample size and availability of curated datasets; increase functional trait knowledge; and increase representation of ecological communities in the literature and context-dependency.

In this podcast, Frank Harris sits down with Nicki Mitchell—Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia, and Deputy Director at the UWA Oceans Institute—to discuss her recently published paper: Activity of a freshwater turtle varies across a latitudinal gradient: Implications for the success of assisted colonisation Nicki et al's results conclude that poor growth of turtles in the southern wetland was likely a result of lower body temperatures, stemming from a reduced ability to thermoregulate in water. Consequently, for assisted colonisation of juvenile P. umbrina to be successful, recipient wetlands must offer aquatic microclimates that are sufficiently warm to promote foraging activity that leads to growth, and ultimately to maturation. * Article: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2435.14338 * PLS: https://fesummaries.wordpress.com/2023/05/15/seeking-a-just-right-site-for-the-western-swamp-turtle/

In this podcast for Functional Ecology, Assistant Editor, Frank Harris, sits down with Philip Zylstra—Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Australia—to discuss his recently published paper: Mechanisms by which growth and succession limit the impact of fire in a south-western Australian forested ecosystem Philip's paper shows that, left alone, Red Tingle forests burn with much smaller flames, store far more carbon, and provide safe habitat for the many species now threatened by frequent fire. Once we know such natural controls on fire, it is possible to work with and reinforce them. * Article: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.14305 * Plain language summary: https://fesummaries.wordpress.com/2023/03/21/forests-that-keep-fires-small-and-how-they-do-it/