Careers, Human-wildlife interactions, Research summaries

Qing Cao: Coexistence between Przewalski’s horse and Asiatic wild ass in the desert

Shortlisted for the 2025 Southwood Prize About the research Overview Our paper explores how two closely related wild equids—Przewalski’s horses and Asiatic wild asses—coexist in the extremely water-limited deserts of the Dzungarian Gobi. Classical niche theory would predict competitive exclusion under such scarcity, especially since horses are more water-dependent. By combining controlled water-use experiments with long-term camera trap data, we asked: what defines their fundamental water … Continue reading Qing Cao: Coexistence between Przewalski’s horse and Asiatic wild ass in the desert

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Research summaries

Allan Edelsparre: Fast-tracking species at risk conservation: A framework for addressing recovery actions through multi-agency collaboration

Shortlisted for the Chico Mendes Prize About the research Overview Our paper asks a simple but uncomfortable question: why do so many species recovery strategies fail to translate into recovery outcomes? Using more than a decade of collaborative work on the endangered semi-aquatic queensnake (Regina septemvittata) in Ontario, we developed and tested a framework for coordinating recovery actions across agencies and organizations. Recovery actions are … Continue reading Allan Edelsparre: Fast-tracking species at risk conservation: A framework for addressing recovery actions through multi-agency collaboration

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Research summaries

Jessica Gauld: Towards a process of translational palaeoecology: A practical guide to research co-production

Shortlisted for the Georgina Mace Prize About the research Palaeoecology – the ecology of the past – has much to offer in addressing complex conservation challenges. By providing a long-term perspective of ecological change, palaeoecology can provide insight on pre-disturbance conditions, long-term processes, and the responses of ecological systems to dynamic climatic and anthropogenic change. However, the persistence of a palaeoecology research – conservation practice … Continue reading Jessica Gauld: Towards a process of translational palaeoecology: A practical guide to research co-production

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Careers, Human-wildlife interactions, Research summaries

Akshay Bharadwaj: Microclimatic niche shifts predict long-term survival and body mass declines in a warmer and more degraded world

Shortlisted for the 2025 Southwood Prize About the research Overview The eastern Himalaya is a global biodiversity hotspot housing nearly 10% of the world’s bird diversity. In recent years, the region has experienced rapid climate warming (three times faster than the global average), which is further compounded by habitat degradation. The determinants of how various bird species respond physiologically and demographically to these synergistic changes is … Continue reading Akshay Bharadwaj: Microclimatic niche shifts predict long-term survival and body mass declines in a warmer and more degraded world

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Careers, Coastal and marine, Research summaries

Leia Navarro-Herrero: Seabird-vessel interactions in industrial fisheries of Northwest Africa

Shortlisted for the 2025 Southwood Prize About the research Overview Seabirds and fisheries almost inevitably meet at sea because we depend on the same marine resources. Interactions become direct when seabirds deliberately follow vessels to take advantage of what seems like an easy meal. We have long known this can pose a serious threat. A seabird may dive for bait on a longline or approach a … Continue reading Leia Navarro-Herrero: Seabird-vessel interactions in industrial fisheries of Northwest Africa

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Research summaries

Rachel Nichols: Forming and managing a Farmer Cluster for improved farmland biodiversity in Europe

Shortlisted for the Chico Mendes Prize About the research Overview Farmer Clusters are groups of neighbouring farmers that come together to select their own biodiversity targets in a “bottom-up” approach and therefore offer an amazing opportunity to tackle agricultural biodiversity declines across the landscape. They allow farmers to take control of the conservation initiatives on their land, each tailored to their specific goals, and work … Continue reading Rachel Nichols: Forming and managing a Farmer Cluster for improved farmland biodiversity in Europe

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Careers, Grasslands, Research summaries

Hudson Fontenele: Consequences of seven consecutive annual dry-season fires to the unburned Cerrado grass layer

Shortlisted for the 2025 Southwood Prize About the research Overview Our paper explores the community, population, and functional aspects of tropical savanna grasses in response to an extreme, prolonged fire regime of seven consecutive annual dry season fires. We were interested in understanding how the repeated fires would affect community composition, species persistence, population turnover, functional composition and structure, and ecosystem functioning. So, we used permanent … Continue reading Hudson Fontenele: Consequences of seven consecutive annual dry-season fires to the unburned Cerrado grass layer

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Agriculture, Careers, Research summaries

Luuk Croijmans: Herbivore prevalence poorly predicts yield in diverse cropping systems

Shortlisted for the 2025 Southwood Prize About the research Overview Our study was part of my PhD thesis. I tried to understand how increasing diversity within cropping systems changes trophic interactions and crop damage, together with my knowledgeable promotors, Erik Poelman and Dirk van Apeldoorn; an analytical behemoth, Daan Mertens; and two diligent MSc thesis students, Yufei Jia and Nelson Ríos Hernández. Sustainable alternatives to pesticide … Continue reading Luuk Croijmans: Herbivore prevalence poorly predicts yield in diverse cropping systems

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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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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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