Research summaries

Munib Khanyari – Finding the ghosts: Snow leopard density and distribution in the multi-use region of Jammu and Kashmir, India

Shortlisted for the Georgina Mace Prize About the research Overview Jammu and Kashmir has been an extremely understudied area, especially its high elevation. Over 2 years of political instability has made this task even more challenging. In this paper, we wanted to first understand where snow leopards are found in Jammu and Kashmir. Following this large-scale survey, we then wanted to understand the status and … Continue reading Munib Khanyari – Finding the ghosts: Snow leopard density and distribution in the multi-use region of Jammu and Kashmir, India

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Research summaries

Juliano Zardetto: Widespread negative effects of Leucaena leucocephala (white-popinac) invasion on regenerating areas of the Atlantic Forest

Shortlisted for the Georgina Mace Prize About the research Overview Our research provides evidence on the severe impacts caused by a widespread invasive species in Brazil: Leucaena leucocephala (white-popinac). We reinforce the urgency of avoiding the use of white-popinac in restoration projects and agroforestry, and focusing on early detection and management in recently invaded areas. Against some common sense, we found that white-popinac invasions can … Continue reading Juliano Zardetto: Widespread negative effects of Leucaena leucocephala (white-popinac) invasion on regenerating areas of the Atlantic Forest

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Careers, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Taylor Craft: Remote sensing and GPS tracking reveal temporal shifts in habitat use in nonbreeding Black-tailed Godwits

Shortlisted for the 2025 Southwood Prize About the research Overview For decades, research has focused on the breeding grounds of migratory shorebirds in Northwest Europe. Yet much of their annual cycle is elsewhere along the East Atlantic Flyway, particularly in West Africa. Using tracking data from black-tailed godwits alongside field data from a key nonbreeding site, the Senegal Delta, we examined how different habitats support godwits … Continue reading Taylor Craft: Remote sensing and GPS tracking reveal temporal shifts in habitat use in nonbreeding Black-tailed Godwits

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Careers, Forests, Research summaries

Lovasoa Rakotozafy: How large native trees and leaf litter promote amphibian diversity in Malagasy agroforests

Shortlisted for the 2025 Southwood Prize About the research Overview Agricultural expansion is the main driver of forest loss in many tropical regions including Madagascar, leading to increasingly fragmented habitats and forcing many species to persist in human-dominated landscapes. This creates a major challenge: how can we conserve biodiversity while supporting local livelihoods? Agroforestry is widely promoted as a solution to reconcile conservation and agriculture, but … Continue reading Lovasoa Rakotozafy: How large native trees and leaf litter promote amphibian diversity in Malagasy agroforests

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Careers, Research summaries

Emily Warner: Integrated above- and below-ground ecological monitoring for nature-based solutions

Shortlisted for the Georgina Mace Prize About the research Overview Our research produced an ecological monitoring framework for practitioners developing nature-based solutions (NbS) projects. Biodiversity should be at the heart of NbS, underpinning the benefits they provide to humans. Being able to effectively track above- and below-ground biodiversity outcomes of projects is key, but can be an overwhelming task for practitioners, faced with a wide … Continue reading Emily Warner: Integrated above- and below-ground ecological monitoring for nature-based solutions

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Careers, Forests, Research summaries

Skjold Alsted Søndergaard: Year-round grazing as a driver of plant diversity

Shortlisted for the 2025 Southwood Prize About the research Overview In temperate Europe, open ecosystems are typically managed through mechanical cutting or seasonal grazing, practices the EU subsidizes to the tune of 6 billion euros annually. Despite these massive financial efforts, protected grasslands are still losing species. My shortlisted paper, based on field data collected during my Master’s and realized during my PhD at Aarhus University, … Continue reading Skjold Alsted Søndergaard: Year-round grazing as a driver of plant diversity

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Careers, Coastal and marine, Research summaries

Abigail Keller: Managing a marine invasive species in a changing world

Shortlisted for the 2025 Southwood Prize About the research Overview When should an environmental manager stop resisting change and accept a new ecological trajectory? This question will become a hallmark of natural resource management under global climate change, particularly for a marine invasive species like the European green crab. While this crab species can drive profound ecological change, it can quickly recolonize after removal, leaving many … Continue reading Abigail Keller: Managing a marine invasive species in a changing world

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Careers, Research summaries

Luisana Barrios: Archetypes of nature-based solutions for farming in the North York Moors National Park

Shortlisted for the Chico Mendes Prize About the research Overview We investigate how Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have been applied within the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme in the North York Moors National Park, analysing how different interventions contribute to biodiversity, ecosystem services and climate adaptation. Our research identifies common archetypes and approaches across 31 projects, such as ecological restoration, water quality enhancement, tree planting and … Continue reading Luisana Barrios: Archetypes of nature-based solutions for farming in the North York Moors National Park

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Careers, Research summaries

Noelia Valderrama Bhraunxs – Great minds map alike: Citizen science can stand next to expert data (and why that matters for schistosomiasis)

Shortlisted for the Georgina Mace Prize About the research Overview Neglected tropical diseases often follow an uncomfortable rule: the people most affected are the ones least covered by surveillance. And if you cannot measure risk, you end up reacting late, or not at all. Schistosomiasis is a clear example. It affects more than 250 million people worldwide and disproportionately impacts people living in poverty. Around … Continue reading Noelia Valderrama Bhraunxs – Great minds map alike: Citizen science can stand next to expert data (and why that matters for schistosomiasis)

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Careers, Forests, Research summaries

Xiaoling Wang: Using forest inventory and LiDAR observations to uncover plant traits cooling and humidifying effects

Shortlisted for the 2025 Southwood Prize About the research Overview Our paper investigates how to maximize the cooling effect of urban forests. We wanted to know whether a tree’s leaf traits (like nutrient content) are more important than its physical structure (like canopy size) for reducing air temperature and increasing humidity in cities. By combining traditional forest surveys with advanced LiDAR technology in Shanghai, we sought … Continue reading Xiaoling Wang: Using forest inventory and LiDAR observations to uncover plant traits cooling and humidifying effects

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