The deadline for the call for symposia, roundtables, panel discussions, workshops, and training courses has been extended until November 15th! Call for abstracts will open Dec 1st. Visit: eccb26Leiden.eu to learn more. @eccb26leiden.bsky.social @scbeurope.bsky.social #conservation #networking

📣📣📣Members of SCB Europe: this is your chance to influence who makes decisions in the our board! Vote for your favorite candidates by November 25th. You can find the link to the voting system in your email ✉️

The deadline for the call for symposia, roundtables, panel discussions, workshops, and training courses has been extended by 2 weeks! Apply before November 15th. The call for abstracts (parallel sessions) will open on December 1st, and closes January 31st, 2026. Visit: eccb26Leiden.eu.

The deadline for submitting symposium, workshop etc. proposals has been extended until November 15th, submit your proposal and join the meeting next summer!

Welcome to the 8th European Congress for Conservation Biology in Leiden (NL)! Here we will explore how biodiversity can be safeguarded effectively in the long term. First call is open now! Check eccb26Leiden.eu for more info. We are looking forward to your contributions!

Still a few days left to nominate yourself for the society board, deadline is on October 31st!

📣 Deadline for nominations has been extended until October 31st! 📣

There is still time before the call for symposia etc. closes! Submit your proposal before October 31st, 2025. The call for abstracts (parallel sessions) will open on December 1st, 2025 and close on January 31st, 2026. Join the conversation! Visit: eccb26Leiden.eu

Soon we'll share some exciting news about the program we’re developing! For now, you can still submit your ideas for contributions to the 8th European Congress of Conservation Biology in Leiden, one of Europe’s ten BiodiverCities! Call is open until 31/10 — don’t miss out! Visit eccb26Leiden.eu

Follow the ECCB2026 Bluesky account to stay updated!

@scbeurope.bsky.social is hosting a free webinar series with interesting & diverse sessions including talks on DEIJ, rights for organisms, habitat restoration, or conservation narratives. 📆October & November 2025 🚩Zoom (online) 📝Registration: bit.ly/4nYatdM Full program: conbio.org/groups/secti...

New on global conservation science: A new analysis shows the Edge Influence index, often used to measure habitat fragmentation, mostly reflects habitat amount and not fragmentation itself. Simpler metrics can better guide conservation decisions. Martin et al. in Cons. Let. doi.org/10.1111/conl...

Join the SCB Europe Fall Webinar 2025! Thought-provoking sessions coming up this October & November: 20/22/29 Oct: DEIJ in conservation 23 Oct: Rethinking conservation narratives 7 Nov: Rights for organisms! 12 Nov: Habitat restoration & ecopsychology Register here: bit.ly/4nYatdM

Here's your chance to join the SCB Europe board and impact conservation science and practice. This is a great opportunity also for the early career conservationists so don't hesitate to nominate yourself!

Join the SCB Europe Fall Webinar 2025! Thought-provoking sessions coming up this October & November: 20/22/29 Oct: DEIJ in conservation 23 Oct: Rethinking conservation narratives 7 Nov: Rights for organisms! 12 Nov: Habitat restoration & ecopsychology Register here: bit.ly/4nYatdM

New on global conservation science: Most bird species overlap with Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), yet gaps remain, especially for northern and temperate species. Expanding KBA coverage could better safeguard global avian diversity. Lansley et al. in Conservation Biology doi.org/10.1111/cobi...

New on European conservation science: Conservation value in Swedish forests often relies on aboveground habitat features, missing soil fungal diversity. Including soil-related features helps to protect hidden biodiversity. Kyaschenko et al. in Conservation Biology doi.org/10.1111/cobi...

The SCB Europe Fall Webinar is back this year! In October and November, we will have six interesting sessions covering many perspectives of conservation. Stay tuned for the full programme and registration information! Picture by Laura Bosco

New on global conservation science: 20 years since launch, Important Plant Areas (IPAs) remain a key tool for plant conservation but face gaps, e.g. in funding. Strengthening IPA programs could boost global biodiversity protection. Kor et al. in Conservation Biology doi.org/10.1111/cobi...

New on European conservation science: 🦋 study: Survival of nearly all Southern White Admiral life stages are driven by solar radiation. Sunlit forest patches boost reproduction, which is vital for conserving open-forest butterflies. Hinneberg et al. in Cons. Sci. Prac. doi.org/10.1111/csp2...

New on European conservation science: Survey shows that Mediterranean stakeholders agree on priorities: regulating ecosystem services, taxonomic diversity & nature’s value. Building on this consensus can boost conservation action. Hernández-Agüero et al. in Cons. Letters doi.org/10.1111/conl...

🌿 SCB Europe Region seeks nominations for its Board (8 seats, 3-year term starting January 2026). We're especially looking for people to lead membership and education committees. Open to SCB members in Europe, apply by October 15th! For more information, see conbio.informz.net/InformzDataS...

🚨 First call! 🚨 European Congress for Conservation Biology (Leiden, the Netherlands in July 6th to 10th 2026) is open for proposals: symposia, panels, workshops & training on effective biodiversity conservation. Deadline Oct 31st 2025 👉 eccb26Leiden.eu #ECCB2026

The 8th European Congress for Conservation Biology will take place in Leiden, NL! They will explore how #biodiversity can be safeguarded effectively in the long term. First call is open now! Check out: eccb26leiden.eu/calls/ for more info, we are looking forward to your contributions!

New on global conservation science: Public engagement is vital for biodiversity but barriers e.g. lack of knowledge, misaligned values & low personal relevance persist. Tailored approaches are needed in different contexts. Gregg et al. in Conservation Biology doi.org/10.1111/cobi...

🌍 Call open for #ECCB2026! The 8th European Congress for Conservation Biology (Leiden, July 6–10 2026) seeks proposals for symposia, panels, workshops & training. 📅 Deadline: Oct 31, 2025 🔗 eccb26leiden.eu/calls/ Join us in building effective biodiversity conservation.

New on global conservation science: Artificially mimicking ecosystem engineers, e.g. beaver dams, can restore processes and aid species recovery, but unintended impacts are possible ➡️ more research on effectiveness, scalability & trade-offs Goss et al. in Cons. Biol. doi.org/10.1111/cobi...

New on European conservation science: Climate change will reshape European bat communities: losses in the south, gains in the north, changes in functional diversity. Conservation should target key traits, habitats & connectivity. Fialas et al. in Conservation Biology doi.org/10.1111/cobi...

New on European conservation science: 25-year study of amphibians in Italy shows abundance data detects declines sooner but with more uncertainty compared to occupancy data. Data types together give stronger extinction risk assessments. Falaschi et al. in Cons. Biol. doi.org/10.1111/cobi...

New on European conservation science: Satellite & field data reveal 25 years of change in Italian coastal dunes: vegetation encroachment, shifts in habitat types and forest homogenization show succession and management needs. Cini et al. in Conservation Science and Practice doi.org/10.1111/csp2...

New: Strong global support for the 30x30 conservation target *Data from 5 continents (N=12k) show 82% in support of 30x30 *2 experiments find highly consistent expansion policy preferences, incl. prioritization of nature and rich countries bearing higher costs Out now OA in @pnas.org. Viz. below.

New on European conservation science: Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas cover only <30% of megafaunal predators. Species distributions vary greatly, leading to drastically different spatial conservation priority areas. Boyse et al. in Conservation Science and Practice doi.org/10.1111/csp2...

New on conservation science: Coexistence with large carnivores is a conservation challenge. Revisiting Volterra principle (more mortality on both prey and predators leads to more prey & fewer predators) can inform modern conservation strategies. Boyce et al. in Cons. Biol. doi.org/10.1111/cobi...

New on European conservation science: Unsown strips in winter fields boosted skylark breeding success, prey density & habitat use without reducing yields. ➡️ adopt strips at large scale to aid skylark conservation in farmland. Blösch et al. in Cons. Science and Practice doi.org/10.1111/csp2...

New on European conservation science: North Sea offshore wind farms can increase artificial light pollution, posing risks to migratory birds and bats. Anticipatory marine governance is needed to reduce impacts. Walsh et al. in Conservation Science and Practice doi.org/10.1111/csp2...

New on global conservation science: 🌳Biodiversity-sensitive urban design 🌳 Urban nature must go beyond green space. Rethinking nature as a design opportunity, not a constraint, can help cities thrive for both people and wildlife. Visintin et al. in Conservation Biology doi.org/10.1111/cobi...

New on global conservation science: Protected areas can safeguard genetic diversity but benefits vary by species, body size & connectivity. Limited data availability hinders systematic incorporation of genetic diversity into PA design. Schmidt et al. in Conservation Letters doi.org/10.1111/conl...

New on European conservation science: Wolf-dog hybridization can rapidly increase without intervention. Model shows sterilization or removal of hybrids reduces admixture. Success depends on mate choice, immigration & mortality by humans. Santostasi et al. in Cons. Biology doi.org/10.1111/cobi...

New on European conservation science: Reptile diversity in western Mediterranean peaks 15–40 years post-fire, especially in afforested areas. Pyrodiverse landscapes boost richness, but more frequent fires may be harmful to reptile communities. Santos et al. doi.org/10.1111/cobi...

Gender imbalances among top-cited scientists: Gender gaps in science are narrowing but slowly. Men still outnumber women 2.3x among top-cited authors (down from 6.4x in the past). Just 18% of fields have gender parity. Progress varies widely by discipline and country. doi.org/10.1371/jour...

SCB Europe board is visiting the next city and university to host ECCB. The conference planning is well under way, stay tuned!

SCB Europe Region's Policy Committee in @peopleandnature.bsky.social: Science played a key role in EU debates on nature and agrochemical laws but misinformation & economic interests shaped outcomes. E.g. open letter from 6000 scientists helped pass Nature Restoration Law. doi.org/10.1002/pan3...

Just a bit over a year until the next ECCB, put the dates in your calendar ✍

We received exceptional applications for the 2025 SCB Europe Early Career Conservation Award and decided to award two candidates. Congratulations to the winners Dr Hanna Pettersson (University of York UK) and Dr Volen Arkumarev (Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds / BirdLife Bulgaria) 👏🥳

New on global conservation science: Empowerment is central to people-centered conservation but rarely defined or grounded in theory. A review finds rhetoric often outweighs practice & research often focuses on communities in the Global South. Petriello et al. in Cons. Biol. doi.org/10.1111/cobi...

Who else is presenting at #ICCB2025 ? So many exciting talks and posters in the program! Repost this slide and let us know when / where to find you!

New on global conservation science: Seagrass & kelp beds need better impact-mitigation tools. A review of 47 methods shows gaps in valuing these habitats, especially kelp. New flowchart helps managers to identify most suited tools. Pausch et al. in Conservation Biology doi.org/10.1111/cobi...

Stephen Venn joins the SCB Europe Board! Thank you to all members who voted in the election for the open seat in the SCB Europe Board. Stephen @stiivi1.bsky.social is affiliated with the University of Lodz (Poland) & University of Helsinki (Finland) and will start as board member in August 2025.

📣SAVE THE DATE📣 The European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB) 2026 will be held in Leiden, 6–10 July! The theme of the conference is “Effective Conservation Science”. Join global experts to explore effective conservation science through keynotes, workshops, field trips, and more.

New on European conservation science: Free-ranging domestic cats occur deep in the forests, with >10% occupancy even 1 km from homes. Their presence near edges suggests persistent risks to biodiversity well beyond suburbs. Nyheim et al. in Conservation Science and Practice doi.org/10.1111/csp2...