Conservation
World Forum on Natural Capital: valuing ecosystems
Guest post by Caroline Vevers, Event Manager at the World Forum on Natural Capital, where the Society of Biology‘s Natural Capital Initiative special interest group is organising two sessions. Against a backdrop of increasing international interest in how we value the economic benefits we derive from our natural environment, business leaders, policy makers and sustainability … Continue reading
Help us name the House Spider Survey app
Each autumn there’s a sudden increase in the number of house spiders we see indoors, and this year we are developing an app to record their arrival. We now need your help to name the app. All suggestions are gratefully received in the comments below or vote in the poll. [yop_poll id=”2″]
The plight of Tasmanian devils
Guest post by Cecile Lamy, who has an MSc in Wildlife Biology and a lifelong passion for conservation, and has worked for animal charities as well as wildlife hospitals and rehabilitation centres Tasmanian devils are carnivorous marsupials native to the Australian island state of Tasmania. They are known for their extremely loud and disturbing nocturnal … Continue reading
Weird and wonderful species adapted to their hostile habitats
By Amy Whetstone, Qualifications and Skills Officer at the Society of Biology The yeti crab and axolotl are two bizarre but brilliant species that are rarely in the limelight, but I believe deserve to be. So broaden your animal lexicon and spread the word about these peculiar aquatic species, who have adapted to cope in … Continue reading
World Biodiversity Day
Caroline Bellingan, a student at Wimbledon High School, shares her thoughts on World Biodiversity Day Biodiversity is the term given to the degree of variation in life forms with in a given species or ecosystem and it is a hot topic that is being flagged up very frequently at the moment amongst those in the … Continue reading
Environmentalism- what are our motivations?
Lauren is a recent graduate in microbiology interning at the Society of Biology until June 2013. She is interested in a career in science communication and writes for her own blog, Science Says as well as for the Student Hubs blog. When probed on my motivations for trying to live sustainably, my standard reply is … Continue reading
Are neonicotinoids distracting us from the bigger picture?
by Rebecca Nesbit, Society of Biology The much awaited vote by EU member states on the potential neonicotinoid ban takes place on Monday. There has been strong environmental lobbying to encourage Environment Minister Owen Patterson to vote in favour of a ban, but to what extent is the fate of bees really hanging on this … Continue reading
Badger bats
by Jackie Caine, Senior Science Policy Adviser at the Society of Biology New species of animals and plants are discovered on a surprisingly regular basis; in Europe alone, around 700 species are being discovered each year, and that doesn’t take into account the hugely rich diversity of tropical forests including the Amazon. Insects account for … Continue reading
A Society of Biology travel grant to Madagascar
Guest blogger Alex Cole from Swansea University talks about receiving the Society of Biology Travel Grant to attend a field course in Madagascar Madagascar’s dry deciduous forests are highly threatened and unfortunately Kirindy forest qualifies as one of these endangered forests. In previous years logging has taken place in Kirindy, threatening many of its species, … Continue reading