Citizen Science Podcast: Chris Latimer

The third episode in our Citizen Science Special Issue podcast is live. Chris Latimer tells us about their paper Habitat loss and thermal tolerances influence the sensitivity of resident bird populations to winter weather at regional scales, which was part of the Citizen Science Special Feature. Featured image by Jeremy Cohen Coming up: 19/02/2021 – Journal of Animal Ecology: Citizen Science Special Issue, episode 4 … Continue reading Citizen Science Podcast: Chris Latimer

Is beta-diversity the elephant in the room?

Do you understand beta-diversity? If not, you are likely not alone. Here to explain this under-appreciated concept is Dr Ollie Wearn, an AXA Research Fellow at the Institute of Zoology, London. He is interested in a broad-range of topics, including land-use change, habitat fragmentation, biodiversity monitoring and practically anything involving camera-trapping and-or mammals. There’s a problem in land-use change research, and we’re not talking about … Continue reading Is beta-diversity the elephant in the room?

How do birds avoid their sibling-species competitors?

Being similar can be problematic. When ecologically-similar species co-occur, competition can result. So how can this be avoided? A recent paper published in the Journal of Animal Ecology shows how birds avoid their sibling-species competitors. Authors Lechosław Kuczyński, Anna Skoracka, Jiri Reif and Radka Reifova explain. Mechanisms that enable coexistence of ecologically-similar species are crucial in maintaining biological diversity. When such species co‑occur they inevitably compete for resources, such as … Continue reading How do birds avoid their sibling-species competitors?

It’s a bear! Adopting a ‘computer vision for animal ecology’

How can automated image processing be applied for detecting, counting and identifying animals in natural landscapes? A recent review article published in the Journal of Animal Ecology covers this exact question! Dr Ben Weinstein is a postdoctoral fellow at Oregon State University interested in community ecology, Bayesian modeling and data science. He studies a wide range of taxa including tropical hummingbirds, Antarctic whales, and temperate trees. … Continue reading It’s a bear! Adopting a ‘computer vision for animal ecology’

Insights for Sustaining Life on Earth

Primate researcher Dr Xyomara Carretero-Pinzón, from the University of Queensland (Australia), recently attended the International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB) in Colombia.  Here she reports back on the conference in general and why it was so special for her in particular, finishing with a vital message for conservationists.       Late last month, between July 23rd and 27th, the 28th International Congress for Conservation Biology … Continue reading Insights for Sustaining Life on Earth