Conferences and events, Human-wildlife interactions, Research summaries, The Applied Ecologist community

How wild is wild? Social and cultural considerations when designing nature recovery

Last month, the British Ecological Society’s Rewilding Special Interest Group hosted Rewilding and 30 by 30 at ZSL in London, a one-day symposium on how rewilding can contribute to the global target of protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030. Guillemette Gandon is an Associate Programme Officer at the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), where she works on nature-based solutions and … Continue reading How wild is wild? Social and cultural considerations when designing nature recovery

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The Applied Ecologist community

The Regeneration of Mining Communities in South Wales

The Big Pit National Coal Museum By Arwen, Tom, Kerith & Justin – University of Surrey Students on the BSc in Environment and Sustainability programme Introduction The Big Pit National Coal Museum is a former coal mine renovated and opened as a tourist attraction on 1 April 1983. It offers underground tours and an above-ground interactive museum. Since opening, Big Pit has attracted over 4 … Continue reading The Regeneration of Mining Communities in South Wales

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Plain language summaries, Research summaries

How does Stellera chamaejasme recruit soil bacteria to fuel its expansion?

Under the dual pressures of climate change and overgrazing, poisonous weeds are spreading rapidly across grasslands, gradually displacing grasses and sedges that livestock prefer. While soil microbes are widely recognized as “hidden allies” that help plants grow, how underground microbial communities change during the rapid spread of poisonous weeds remains poorly known. We focused on Stellera chamaejasme, one of China’s most destructive poisonous weeds, and … Continue reading How does Stellera chamaejasme recruit soil bacteria to fuel its expansion?

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The Applied Ecologist community

Exploring regeneration projects in South Wales

A Case Study By Doha, Cassidy, Cara, Katya and Annya – Students from the University of Surrey’s BSc Programme Introduction The coal-fields that span the geography of South Wales are considered ‘valleys’; whilst the history behind what is now dispersed soil tips, is considered to have started mid-19th century, its history can be traced back to the iron-ore extraction industry, where British exportation made its … Continue reading Exploring regeneration projects in South Wales

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Research summaries

Can we count elephants from space? Towards a remote alternative to aerial surveys for large land mammals

Wilks et al. share their experience investigating the potential use of satellite surveys to identify elephants in the heterogeneous terrain of Botswana, Africa. A small Cessna plane flies low across the vast expanse of the Okavango Delta in Botswana, with all eyes abord peeled to detect and record elephants as part of the country-wide aerial survey every 4 years. The survey will fly over 20,000 … Continue reading Can we count elephants from space? Towards a remote alternative to aerial surveys for large land mammals

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The Applied Ecologist community

From Coalfield to Community: How Pentref Tyleri Is Regenerating South Wales

Case Study of Pentref Tyleri written by students of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Surrey By Aiyushi, Oliver, Anaya, Konnie, and Jasmine A Community Rebuilding After Coal As part of the Environment and Sustainability course at the University of Surrey, we have had the opportunity to visit South Wales to explore community and environmental regeneration after the closure of local coal mines. During … Continue reading From Coalfield to Community: How Pentref Tyleri Is Regenerating South Wales

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Research summaries

Going the extra mile: environmental data collected by citizen scientists help shape new models of UK pollinating insect trends

Authors: Francesca Mancini, Claire Carvell and the PoMS partnership Our new paper “Modelling pollinator trends using multi-scale environmental data from the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme”, recently published in Ecological Solutions and Evidence, represents an important milestone for the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS). Established in 2017, PoMS was designed to fill a critical evidence gap by collecting standardised data on bees, hoverflies and other flower-visiting … Continue reading Going the extra mile: environmental data collected by citizen scientists help shape new models of UK pollinating insect trends

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The Applied Ecologist community

Restoring the valleys & regenerating communities

From Industrial Legacy to Ecological Recovery: Tracking the Revival of the Afon Ebbw Fach By Ahmed, Olivia, Moritz, and Sophie from the Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey The Legacy of Coal As Environment and Sustainability students, we recognise that aquatic biodiversity is imperative to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Rivers are complex systems; polluting one creates a positive feedback loop with … Continue reading Restoring the valleys & regenerating communities

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Plain language summaries, Research summaries

Short-term forecasts for better river flows

Rivers around the world are under pressure because we extract water and change river flows. To help protect wildlife, managers release “environmental flows” to support ecosystems. But decisions about how to release environmental flows are often based on long-term predictions, which can be uncertain and hard to test. In this study, we took a different approach: using short-term forecasts to guide decisions. Instead of asking … Continue reading Short-term forecasts for better river flows

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Plain language summaries, Research summaries

Is hunting of migratory birds in Europe sustainable? A science-based assessment

Hunting can affect bird populations both by reducing their numbers and by changing how they behave. In Europe, many bird species that can legally be hunted are already in poor conservation status. Under the EU Birds Directive, hunting these species should only take place as part of a management plan that supports their recovery. To do this, it is important to know whether current hunting … Continue reading Is hunting of migratory birds in Europe sustainable? A science-based assessment

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