The journal prize winners are as follows: The Functional Ecology Haldane Prize – Indra Boving  The Journal of Animal Ecology Elton Prize – Clara Woodie The Journal of Applied Ecology Southwood Prize – Dominic McAfee  The Journal of Ecology Harper Prize – Tyler Coverdale The Methods in Ecology and Evolution Robert May prize – Willem Bonnaffé The People and Nature Rachel Carson Prize – Marc Tadaki The Ecological Solutions and Evidence Georgina Mace Prize – Melanie Dickie The Ecological Solutions and Evidence Chico M ..read more

Donate This year, we’ve been selected to be part of Big Give‘s Green Match Fund, meaning that during 18 – 25 April all of your donations towards breaking down barriers for aspiring ecologists will be doubled. The problem The environment sector is the second-least diverse in the UK, making it particularly challenging for people from low-income backgrounds or under-represented groups to start a career in this field. We need the next generation of ecologists to provide solutions to the unprecedented environmental challenges we are facing and it is critical that these are founded in diverse p ..read more

We’ve seen the headlines, read the eye-popping investigations, and heard the exchanges between government, activists and water companies. From Joe Lycett on Channel 4 to the Environment Agency Chair at the NFU Conference last month – the calls for action to help our freshwater ecosystems are getting louder and more urgent. Within the UK, England’s rivers are in the worst health; only 16% classify as having ‘good’ ecological status and the public are increasingly horrified by what they’re hearing. The Environment Act (2021) sets out much-needed targets for both water quality and biodiversity. T ..read more

Forests make up 31% of the Earth’s land area and contain more than 80% of the world’s biodiversity, making them some of our most vital ecosystems on the planet. Moreover, 1.6 billion people in the world currently rely on forests for their livelihood. Forests provide us with food, fuel, medicine, spirituality, and – for 300 million people across the globe – homes. Forests are also massive carbon stores, meaning they help keep our air clean and mitigate the damaging effects of the climate crisis by storing carbon. Trees store carbon using photosynthesis, and use it to grow their trunks, bark, br ..read more

International Women’s Day is on 8th March every year to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness of discrimination and take action to drive gender parity. Take a look at how we are celebrating #IWD2024 across British the Ecological Society below. From the BES Journals To celebrate International Women’s Day 2024, we are excited to share a collection of blog posts showcasing the work of some of our new Associate Editors. In each post, our editors discuss their experiences in ecology, as well as what this year’s theme, ‘Inspire Inclusion‘, means to them. Click the links below to take a loo ..read more

In 2024 a significant milestone is being reached at the BES – the 10th anniversary of the flagship Undergraduate Summer School.  Over those 10 years there have been changes: a greater focus on supporting individuals with barriers to progression, various locations across the UK, and changes to the ecological programme to bridge skills gaps and keep content current.  Alongside these the Summer School has remained a significant opportunity for upcoming ecologists to build networks, consider career pathways and absorb the passion and expertise of all involved.   I could write e ..read more

Led by researchers at the University of Tasmania, Zoos Victoria, and the University of Melbourne, the study, published in Ecological Solutions and Evidence, uncovers the pivotal role of Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGDs), particularly Maremma sheepdogs, in reshaping red fox behaviour in north-eastern Victoria. “The study shows that from an ecological viewpoint, the effect of LGDs on foxes is similar to a landscape of fear imposed by large wild predators,” said lead researcher Dr Linda van Bommel. “This shows that we can use these dogs to help us manage the impact of predators in many different sit ..read more

A new study by researchers at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) reveals that in Europe, the forests that are most resilient to storms are those with a greater diversity of tree species and dominated by slow growing species with high wood density, like oaks. The researchers also found that the positive effect of tree diversity on resistance to storms was more pronounced under extreme climatic conditions, such as the hot-dry conditions of the Mediterranean region and the cold-wet conditions of northern Scandinavia. Our study argues for forest m ..read more

At the end of last year, Defra published a guidance document on how England will deliver on the 30by30 target, a commitment made by the UK Government in 2020 to protect 30% of its land and sea by 2030.  The new document includes a map with two area categories:   Those that can already count towards 30by30, including a) protected sites, irrespective of their condition (7.8% of land in England); and b) National Nature Reserves and areas of woodland under favourable management for biodiversity (0.7%). Those that can potentially contribute in the future (an additional 26.8 ..read more

Professor Yadvinder Malhi, BES President and Professor of Ecosystem Science at University of Oxford. “The COP28 final statement emphasised that the climate and biodiversity crises are intimately connected. From seagrass to rainforests, natural ecosystems have enormous potential to fight climate change. But the capabilities of the biosphere are being stretched to the limit by climate change; we have seen this in the last few months how unprecedented heat, drought and fire in the Amazon forest may well be turning it from an absorber to an emitter of carbon.  The biosphere cannot save us on ..read more