Conservation
Climate Week: biology, art and inspiration
By Rebecca Nesbit At the Society of Biology we are firm believers that biological research is fundamental to tackling the world’s challenges, and climate change has to be near the top of the list. Biology will help make predictions and provide solutions, but that is only part of the story. Technology and the behaviour of … Continue reading
Bad news for pollination – a decline in Britain’s larger moths
by Rebecca Nesbit ‘Moths are declining rapidly in the UK’ was, unsurprisingly, the message from the State of Britain’s Larger Moths report launched last Friday by Butterfly Conservation. In a week when the controversial topic of bees and neonicotinoids was headline news, it was interesting to hear about the fates of a different group of … Continue reading
Species of the week: The Scottish wildcat
By Amy Whetstone, Qualifications and Skills Officer at the Society of Biology. The Scottish wildcat, Felis silvestris grampia, is an iconic species with a long history of roaming the British landscape. The Highland tiger, as the wildcat is otherwise affectionately known, previously ranged across the whole of mainland Britain but is now restricted to the … Continue reading
Ecological adventures during Biology Week
As we start to plan Biology Week 2013 here at the Society of Biology we take inspiration from some of the successes of 2012. Here Nick O’Connor, a teacher at Highcliffe School, describes his A level field course in Dorset The Year 13 A level Biologists spent a superb 3 days along the Jurassic Coast … Continue reading
Fires threaten Indonesian Borneo
Susan Cheyne is Director of Gibbon and Field Research and Conservation Orang-utan Tropical Peatland Project (OuTrop) This is my first blog for the Society of Biology and I write it with a heavy heart. Indonesian Borneo, where I have spent the last 10 years working, was on fire again this year. While the rains have … Continue reading
Varroa – the trigger to the viral downfall of the honeybee?
Richard Wooding, a recent biological sciences graduate, studied Varroa for his dissertation What do many consider to be one of the key drivers of the planet’s concerning honeybee losses? Perhaps Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite that feeds on the haemolymph (basically the blood) of the honeybee. It is now found across honeybee populations globally, with … Continue reading
Even chance favours the panda
Zara’s last blog introduced the “Save a Species” election that was held at our Parliamentary launch during Biology Week. I now share the highs and lows of my experience representing the spoon-billed sandpiper in an attempt to save this critically endangered bird from extinction. As a quick reminder: Six candidates were chosen, each to represent … Continue reading