VIDEO: Saving seagrass isn’t just a pipefish dream – strategies to enhance its resilience

In this post Richard Unsworth discusses his recent Practitioner’s Perspective article with Leanne Cullen-Unsworth ‘Strategies to enhance the resilience of the world’s seagrass meadows‘ Over the last few years we’ve been increasingly interested by the #oceanoptimism movement on Twitter. It seeks to try and reframe the marine conservation story from a narrative of doom and gloom to one that seeks to see the positives in conservation around … Continue reading VIDEO: Saving seagrass isn’t just a pipefish dream – strategies to enhance its resilience

Getting on with interviews

This piece is written by Heather Crump, Aberystwyth University, BES Conservation Ecology SIG Early Career Representative @hec72012. It has also been posted on the BES and ZSL Wild Science blogs. Many doors can open as a result of a PhD, whether they lead to continued research, lectureships or work with a non-governmental organisation; none are to be left unexplored. However, finding the key to open … Continue reading Getting on with interviews

The nuances of networking and the crux of the CV

This piece is written by Lydia Cole, Rezatec, BES Conservation Ecology SIG Liaison Officer @lydcole. It has also been posted on the BES and ZSL Wild Science blogs. “Who enjoys networking?” Silence. And then we all hear the news: our first task is a game, which consists in spending 20 minutes networking our very hardest.  The rule is simple: the winner of the ‘competition’ is … Continue reading The nuances of networking and the crux of the CV

Showing the way for carnivore conservation: lions can survive without fences with the help of Community Conservancies

In this post Sara Blackburn discusses her paper ‘Human–wildlife conflict, benefit sharing and the survival of lions in pastoralist community-based conservancies‘ Recent work on African lions indicates that they’re in trouble. Widespread declines have been identified across the continent, except in intensively managed fenced reserves, signposting a bleak future for free-ranging lions. This is due to conflict with people; lions kill livestock and, understandably, they … Continue reading Showing the way for carnivore conservation: lions can survive without fences with the help of Community Conservancies

Publicising your work to support your career aspirations

This piece is written by Katherine Baldock NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellow, University of Bristol, BES Conservation SIG early career rep @Kath_Baldock This blog has also been posted on the BES and ZSL Wild Science blogs. Publicising your research and learning to communicate with a range of audiences is key to raising your profile as a researcher, especially in the early career stages when you may … Continue reading Publicising your work to support your career aspirations

Writing successful grant applications: power in numbers

This piece is written by Claudia Gray, ZSL, BES Conservation SIG Communications Officer and has also been posted on the BES and ZSL Wild Science blogs. To contribute successfully to biodiversity conservation, you will almost certainly have to get money from somewhere. Your salary, your research assistants, your equipment, any engagement with stakeholders and ultimately the conservation of your focal habitat or species are likely … Continue reading Writing successful grant applications: power in numbers

Fledging the nest: an early career event for the next generation of Conservation Ecologists

This piece is written by Lydia Cole, Rezatec, BES Conservation Ecology SIG Liaison Officer @lydcole, Katherine Baldock, University of Bristol, BES Conservation Ecology SIG Early Career Rep @Kath_Baldock, Claudia Gray, Zoological Society of London, BES Conservation Ecology SIG Communications Officer @ClaudiaLGray, Heather Crump, Aberystwyth University, BES Conservation Ecology SIG Early Career Rep @hec72012 This blog has also been posted on the BES and ZSL Wild … Continue reading Fledging the nest: an early career event for the next generation of Conservation Ecologists

Giant Panda Conservation

Minerva Singh is a PhD Candidate at the University of Cambridge and she is involved with the BES Conservation Ecology Special Interest Group. In this post Minerva looks at whether zoos can help in the conservation of charismatic megafauna. For International Women’s Day, we asked Minerva about her career in science and the challenges and improvements she is seeing in STEM. You can read all … Continue reading Giant Panda Conservation

Using maths to guide conservation law enforcement

In this post Kiran Dhanjal-Adams discusses her recent paper ‘Optimizing disturbance management for wildlife protection: the enforcement allocation problem’ For International Women’s Day, we asked Kiran about her career in science and the challenges and improvements she is seeing in STEM. You can read all of our posts for International Women’s Day here. Determining where and when to carry out enforcement patrols can be a … Continue reading Using maths to guide conservation law enforcement

Ecological traits shape bee species’ fates in European agriculture

In this post Adriana De Palma discusses her recent paper ‘Ecological traits affect the sensitivity of bees to land-use pressures in European agricultural landscapes’. The article is open access courtesy of Imperial College London. For International Women’s Day, we asked Adriana about her career in science and the challenges and improvements she is seeing in STEM. You can read all of our posts for International … Continue reading Ecological traits shape bee species’ fates in European agriculture