Category Archives: Ecology
Urban Waterways Can Be Wildlife Rich Too
Despite the frequent public preconception that urban waterways such as canals and ditches are polluted eyesores, devoid of almost all wildlife, recent research has shown that they can have more macroinvertebrate diversity than similar water systems in rural areas. They … Continue reading
Yellow Wagtail Populations Hit By Poor Soil Quality
Recent research has shown that the decline in yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava flavissima) populations may be partly attributed to reduced soil penetrability. Yellow wagtail populations declined by 65% between 1972 and 2006, resulting in the species being placed on the … Continue reading
Magpie Controversy Erupts in the Media
British ecological controversy has suddenly found itself in the media glare, as wildlife charities publicly dispute the role of magpies in limiting songbird populations. The Songbird Survival Trust has urged people to trap and kill magpies over the next three … Continue reading
Toxic Bioaccumation Ends Faroese Whale Consumption
Medical advisers on the Faroes Islands have announced that pilot whales should no longer be consumed because dangerous levels of toxins have been found amongst the islanders. Traditionally thousands of pilot whales are killed each year for consumption by the … Continue reading
Ecology and Policy Blog Named in Top 50 Green Technology Blogs
The BES blog has recently been listed in the top fifty ‘green technology’ blogs, in a poll on a fellow green blog. The listing follows the continued rise in readership of the BES blog, having been recognised earlier in the … Continue reading
Darwin Exhibition Launches in London
The biggest ever exhibition on the life and work of Charles Darwin has today opened at the Natural History Museum in London. Highlights of the exhibition, which is on until 19 April 2009, include rare specimens of Galapagos mockingbirds, never … Continue reading
Fiddler Crabs Use Dishonesty to Deter Rivals
Dishonesty in ecology, as a policy for deterring potential rivals, has not been thought of as a common strategy across the animal kingdom until recently. Dishonesty has been a long-standing conundrum in evolutionary ecology. Previously, well-respected researchers such as Harper … Continue reading
Art Meets Ecology: Short Films Represent Ecological Challenges
Tuesday 4 November saw the launch of the RSA’s Arts and Ecology showcase of STOP.WATCH. The event comprised of seven short films, alluding to the fragility of nature and artistically representing ecological problems. The films were commissioned especially for the … Continue reading
Forthcoming Conferences: September 2008
Two conferences are taking place in the next two weeks which may be of interest to readers of the Blog…. The BES Annual Meeting and AGM The BES is holding its annual meeting next week, from 3 – 5 September … Continue reading
Motorway Verges Benefit Biodiversity
New research published in Biological Conservation suggests that strips of land alongside motorways play an important role in maintaining plant and spider diversity within intensive agricultural landscapes. The research was conducted along one 50km stretch of Motorway near Paris, collecting … Continue reading