How can we limit wind turbine impacts on biodiversity?

There are growing concerns about the impact of renewable energy development on biodiversity. In their latest research, Camille Leroux and colleagues from the National Museum of Natural History of Paris, France, explore how wind turbines impact bat spatial distribution. World-wide policies have led to a drastic increase in renewable energy developments to tackle climate emergencies, either using solar, tidal or wind energy. While these energies … Continue reading How can we limit wind turbine impacts on biodiversity?

Yoseph Araya: Stepping up – towards diversifying learning and participation in natural spaces for all

For Black History Month, the British Ecological Society (BES) journals are celebrating the work of Black ecologists from around the world and sharing their stories. The theme for UK Black History Month this year is Time for Change: Action Not Words. Yoseph Araya—a researcher at The Open University—joins us again, following his 2020 blogpost, to share his story and recent journey. How did you get … Continue reading Yoseph Araya: Stepping up – towards diversifying learning and participation in natural spaces for all

Thobeka Gumede: A girl who made it against all odds

For Black History Month, the British Ecological Society (BES) journals are celebrating the work of Black ecologists from around the world and sharing their stories. The theme for UK Black History Month this year is Time for Change: Action Not Words. Thobeka Gumede – a PhD researcher at Centre for Functional Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa – shares her story below. How … Continue reading Thobeka Gumede: A girl who made it against all odds

Peer Review Week 2022: Creating and supporting trust in research 

Peer Review Week is an annual event to celebrate the value of peer review and its role in scholarly communication. In this post, we explore how the British Ecological Society journals support this year’s theme, ‘Research Integrity: Creating and supporting trust in research’.  The peer review system has been around for centuries and, despite some of its criticisms, remains a widely accepted method for research … Continue reading Peer Review Week 2022: Creating and supporting trust in research 

Editor’s Choice 58:9 Identifying a pathway towards recovery for depleted wild Pacific salmon populations in a large watershed under multiple stressors

Associate Editor, Hedley Grantham, introduces this month’s Editor’s Choice article by Lia Chalifour and colleagues, which evaluates the potential benefits of 14 management strategies on 19 conservation units of the five Pacific salmon species in the lower Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada. Salmon are an iconic and globally recognisable species. In the Northeast Pacific they are also an important commercial and recreational fish species with … Continue reading Editor’s Choice 58:9 Identifying a pathway towards recovery for depleted wild Pacific salmon populations in a large watershed under multiple stressors

Machine learning has an important role to play in marine conservation

Ecological monitoring is critical for conservation efforts, yet these data often feature strong class imbalances which complicate the development of models to predict such events. In their latest research, Michael W. Wade and colleagues propose two modelling frameworks for predicting exceptionally rare aggregatory behaviour of bull and blacktip sharks along the Gulf coast of Texas. Across many industries, leaders have begun leveraging the immense potential of … Continue reading Machine learning has an important role to play in marine conservation

Associate Editor mentoring: 2023 applications now open

If you are less than five years post-PhD, based in or from the Global South, and looking to develop your editorial experience alongside a revered board of Senior Editors, why not apply for the Journal of Applied Ecology Associate Editor mentoring opportunity? Each year the board welcomes new mentee Associate Editors with little or no editorial experience to take up this training post and gain experience of … Continue reading Associate Editor mentoring: 2023 applications now open

Research stories: Boxing for conservation

Authors Brian Burke and Darren O’Connell discuss the conservation of roseate terns at Europe’s largest colony on Rockabill Island in Dublin, Ireland, with their latest research highlighting the important role artificial nestboxes have played in the species’ population growth and recovery. The role of a tern warden on Rockabill Island has been described on more than one occasion as a dream job. A summer spent … Continue reading Research stories: Boxing for conservation

Applied autoethnography: A method for reporting best practice in ecological and environmental research

Kilian Murphy and colleagues propose applied autoethnography, a form of structured reflection whereby researchers use personal experience to contribute to understanding collaborative processes, as a repeatable protocol to describe inter-organisational interactions during the research process in ecology and environmental research. The publication of a scientific manuscript is the culmination of the long process of research, whereby the scientist shares the results of their study in … Continue reading Applied autoethnography: A method for reporting best practice in ecological and environmental research

Mapping 35 years of prescribed fire history

Authors Erin Rowland-Schaefer and Elizabeth Bach describe their latest Data Article presenting a visual record of the long fire history of Nachusa Grasslands, a tallgrass prairie restoration site in Illinois, USA. Fire has played a significant role in the development and management of tallgrass prairie ecosystems since before European colonization. While historically, fire was used by Indigenous communities to manage the movements of bison, today, … Continue reading Mapping 35 years of prescribed fire history