I had a fantastic time this week at #Ento25 in Glasgow organized by @royentsoc.bsky.social. I presented a poster based on data generated our PhD student @femi-benny.bsky.social (with @waspwoman.bsky.social)! Thank to @ucl.ac.uk and @uclcber.bsky.social for the funding Research Progression Grant!

#HamOrJam #PicnicWaspSurvey Offered ham (aka protein) and an apple (‘jam’ aka sweet) - It’s ‘jam’ for this wasp today! Pls submit your wasp food choices at your picnic! Help us reach 500 records for August! Read about it & submit data here: www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/au... @uclcber.bsky.social

What do wasps eat? First molecular data for native zone Vespula Yellowjackets. So happy to see this out, finally! Started in 2018.. or maybe 2017.. 🫣involving @uclcber.bsky.social MRes (Ben Bellekom) and MSci (Georgia Law) students @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @dr-bob-brown.bsky.social

Our review 'Recent evidence on the effectiveness of European PAs for species conservation in the face of climate change' shows understanding is patchy - but their value to conservation under climate warming indisputable🐦 link.springer.com/article/10.1... @rspbscience.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social

So fab to hear these stories of dining with wasps! PLEASE submit your observations on the #HamOrJam #WaspPicnicSurvey to help us learn more about how wasp preferences change with season and location. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... @uclnews.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social #WaspLove

Really great free course content on species distribution modelling from @uclcber.bsky.social. Really good for the underlying theory and easy to follow www.youtube.com/watch?v=8inE... #ecology #science

Wasps (and me!) in @thesundaytimes.bsky.social today. Thanks @ben-spencer.bsky.social for championing wasps! Get involved with #WaspPicnicSurvey and #BigWaspSurvey! #SummerOfWaspLove Links below! @uclcber.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social @adamhartscience.bsky.social

One of the great things about writing for @theconversation.com is that your article can be picked up & republished (under your name) elsewhere. Here's my #WaspPicnic #HAmOrJam article (free) in @the-independent.com @uclnews.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social www.independent.co.uk/life-style/h...

UCL People and Nature Lab are looking for partner organisations in the conservation sector for Nature Smart Challenge 2026! Could you be one of them? #UCL @freshwaterizzy.bsky.social

It's a bumper-wasp year: here are my top tips on how to dine alongside wasps, without getting stung. GET INVOLVED! Tell us what wasps want at YOUR picnic: www.sumnerlab.co.uk/wasp-picnic-... theconversation.com/what-to-do-w... @uclcber.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social @uk.theconversation.com

Have had a very exciting and unexpected start to this week, travelling to Salford for an interview with BBC Breakfast talking all things #wasps! Many thanks to @waspwoman.bsky.social for trusting me with this opportunity, and the fantastic #WorldOfWasps at @uclgrantmuseum.bsky.social for the props!

We are happy to share a new paper featuring Dr Alejandro Maeda Obregon and Prof Julia Day. "Persisting at the Edge of Ecological Collapse: The Impact of Urbanization on Fish and Amphibian Communities From Lake Xochimilco" in Environmental DNA dx.doi.org/10.1002/edn3...

Very proud: 'The Lives of Frogs' is published today! Hardback and ebook available globally 🐸 #frogs #amphibians #conservation #ecology #naturalhistory #biodiversity 🐸 @princetonupress.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social @ucl-pnl.bsky.social @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk ac.uk 🐸 🧪

🔥 Super happy with this new paper led by @sbradshaw26.bsky.social and collab with @andrewpom.bsky.social 🔥 published in Proc B today We find that meiotic drive impacts metabolic phenotypes: mito function, metabolic rate and food consumption royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10....

Izzy Bishop @freshwaterizzy.bsky.social at the Sustainable Stand Up UCL Comedy Course Show. Watch the livestream: youtube.com/live/rEWiUXy...

This Monday, another of our CBERians, @idrisadams.bsky.social shared a sneak peek of his fascinating PhD work on the evolution of solitary wasps 🧠🐝. He walked us through the evolutionary traits and behaviours that make these insects so unique. A big thank you for such a insightful talk!

This Monday, @cintiaoi.bsky.social gave us a glimpse into her fascinating research! 🧠🐝 She took us through her field expeditions and the challenges of working with stinging insects—experiences that are shaping the questions she asks about wasp behaviour. Thanks for such an engaging talk!

A couple of weeks ago, we had the pleasure of welcoming Prof. Ralf Seppelt from the University of Luxembourg for a fascinating seminar. He delivered an engaging talk on his work on biodiversity. A huge thank you to Prof. Seppelt for an inspiring and thought-provoking session!

New📄Embracing global biodiversity toward a better planet - delivering on the CBD's Global Biodiversity Framework by aligning national biodiversity goals & targets with local circumstances & building capacity @rspbscience.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.ee...

Happy that everyone had a great time at the CBER retreat, featuring ECR research talks, PI career paths, great food and drink, and dastardly two truths and a lie with an ecological twist. And an eco haiku competition! @uclcber.bsky.social @ucl-pnl.bsky.social Thanks to my fellow organisers!

Yesterday was #WorldBeeDay. Bees get all the attention - but bees are just vegetarian wasps! Thanks @tomwhipple.bsky.social for giving me the chance to cheerlead for wasps on @thetimes.com radio, alongside @bbka.org.uk www.thetimes.com/radio/show/2... c40mins in. @uclcber.bsky.social #WaspLove

Our study on the biodiversity impacts of agriculture in @natureecoevo.bsky.social rdcu.be/ekept Minimizing biodiversity loss requires a balance of expansion and intensification,while preserving unmodified land #Biodiversity #LandUse #ConservationScience @dleclere.bsky.social @tnewbold31.bsky.social

A couple of weeks ago Dr Ming Liu from Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford gave a very insightful External CBER Seminar on ‘Warmer environments harbor greater thermal trait diversity’ @mingpapilio.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk @dunnschool.bsky.socia

Great plenary for #ASABSpring2025 by @rmash.bsky.social on parental care and the evolution of genetic variation 🪲🪲🪲

Our 2025 Bicentenary Medal winner, Dr Joanne Littlefair, has developed an exceptional research programme—the first studies to adapt molecular biodiversity monitoring by isolating DNA from the air, which will have major implications for conservation. @jlittlefair.bsky.social www.linnean.org/the-...

In 2025, the peak cherry blossom of happened on April 4th. This long-run data is a proxy for how the climate has changed. Since the early 20th century, the combined effects of urbanization and higher temperatures due to climate change have gradually moved the peak blossom earlier in the year.

The Soil exhibition at Somerset House was truly beautiful. More like this! 🌱

Congratulations to @jlittlefair.bsky.social who is the recipient of the 2025 Bicentenary Medal from @linneansociety.bsky.social

Huge congratulations to our very own @jlittlefair.bsky.social! @ucl-pnl.bsky.social

A new study by @alexpigot.bsky.social and colleagues reveals the critical role of biodiversity in the functioning of ecosystems. @uclcber.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Guest lecture to 1st yr @ucllifesciences.bsky.social #Biosciences students today. I talked about importance of #NatureLiteracy & #NaturalHistory education for science, society & innovation. Of 500+ students <40 came 😭 But encouraged by impact... @uclcber.bsky.social @curlewaction.bsky.social

Attending @unepwcmc.bsky.social 'Nature Action Dialogues' today supporting a Cambridge Conservation Initiative discussion on 'Emerging issues & reflections on financing nature conservation' @birdlifeglobal.bsky.social @wcs.org Fauna & Flora Environment Bank @uclcber.bsky.social @rspb.bsky.social 🌍🌏🌎

Researchers from @imperiallifesci.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social @dalhousieu.bsky.social and @unepwcmc.bsky.social describe new simulations of life on Earth, revealing hidden diversity of undiscovered species. academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan...

@andypurvisnhm.bsky.social, @ukladybirds.bsky.social, Ben Woodcock, and @drnickisaac.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social, @uclcber.bsky.social, @zslscience.bsky.social, @zslofficial.bsky.social, @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social, @nhm.org, @qmulrivercomms.bsky.social, @qmulse.bsky.social

NEW PAPER from the GLiTRS team! 🎉 We review how best to use different types of evidence to better understand global insect declines 🦗🪳🪲🦋🐛🐜 "Integrating multiple evidence streams to understand insect biodiversity change" published in @science.org 🔗 tinyurl.com/mr35bdaa A summary 🧵 below (1/7)

Feel free to DM if you would like more information.

Nice one @mothyblackburn.bsky.social! #IAS #biodiversity #invasivespecies #conservation @uclcber.bsky.social @ucl-pnl.bsky.social @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk 🧪

In the UCL Dept of Genetics, Evolution & Environment, we are advertising for people interested in applying for senior fellowship funding. I can say personally that it is a fantastic place to hold a fellowship. Apply at www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/... @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social

"We have a moral duty to address the environmental problems we’ve caused, and there is plenty we can do to stem the tide of alien species": Prof Tim Blackburn @mothyblackburn.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social writes about the impact of invasive species on local ecosystems, for @theguardian.com

New📄'Developing spatially comparable biodiversity indicators using objective scale-dependent species selection' @rspb.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social @simon-butler.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🐦🐦

Some recent updates… I’ve been taking a break from my PhD to work on some other projects: I’ve just finished the first, a UKRI-Innovate UK grant learning about biocontrol, mostly with parasitoids, in Brazil 🇧🇷 and Ghana 🇬🇭. Lots of knowledge gained and exchanged 🐝 @waspwoman.bsky.social

Mine and @bennyhawksbee.bsky.social’s episode of the Our Plant Stories podcast is here! 🌱 Listen and read more about our morning spent meeting bees and celebrating weeds in a London community garden at www.ourplantstories.com/episodes/luc... @theorchardproject.bsky.social @rhulbiology.bsky.social

Congrats to the new Dr Santiago Martinez Balvanera @ucl-pnl.bsky.social - we even managed a drink outside to end the week! Was lovely to bump into @alex-rogers.bsky.social - a longer chat is needed next time you are around.

The newest DR in @ucl-pnl.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social - the wonderful Santiago Martinez Balvanera - passed his PhD viva today! Thanks to Dan Maynard and Alex Rogers for examining!

...and what a lovely bunch (not biased... honest!)

Watch the below from @ucllifesciences.bsky.social looking at the real world impact of research conducted in the Faculty. Featuring CBER members Alex Pigot and Joanne Littlefair. shorturl.at/mYLQV @alexpigot.bsky.social @jlittlefair.bsky.social

Discover how our researchers are creating real-world impact, developing innovative solutions to tackle humanity's most pressing challenges. Watch the full video here: shorturl.at/mYLQV

New office view. Black Redstart already on the window list.

Glorious day and location to teach @alexisggk.bsky.social and @cminnaar.bsky.social the art of catching (bumblebee) queens- what a ridiculous and brilliant job this is (Caught with permission from Windsor Great Park)

The Faculty of Life Sciences was honoured to welcome Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to the People and Nature Lab at UCL East yesterday. Find out more about The Princess Royal's visit and the ecological technologies she was introduced to while there: www.ucl.ac.uk/lifesciences...