Congratulations to @hollieboothie.bsky.social et al. who have won the AAEA ENV 2025 Best Article! For "Conservation impacts and hidden actions in a randomized controlled trial of a marine pay-to-release program", published in Science Advances last year. The paper 👇 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Conservation impacts and hidden actions in a randomized controlled trial of a marine pay-to-release program

Pay-to-release program encouraged live release of endangered marine taxa but led some fishers to increase catches of those taxa.

science.org

Our research spans 9 countries across Southeast Asia, where our team works with valued partners to understand tiger ecology, reduce human–tiger conflict, model habitat connectivity and help inform national conservation strategies. Learn more 👉 wildcru.org/species/tige... 1/2 @biology.ox.ac.uk

A new IOI study has revealed that industrial poultry farming has increased the movement of Campylobacter - the world's No. 1 bacterial cause of diarrhoea - between wild birds and poultry, and has created ideal conditions for bacteria to adapt, thrive and spread. Read more👉https://ow.ly/xWfu50Zse8x

WildCRU’s 2025 Impact Report is live! From understanding wildlife behaviour and threatened populations to supporting community-led conservation and informing policy, WildCRU's research is helping deliver positive outcomes for people and wildlife drive.google.com/file/d/1UcQP... @biology.ox.ac.uk

For a fish, not all murky water is the same 🐠 New research shows that different sources of turbidity don't just reduce visibility - they change the colour and structure of underwater light in different ways, changing what fish are actually able to see 👇

Deer management is often seen as highly divisive, but is public opinion really that polarised? Researchers surveyed 4,830 people across four U.S. regions and found surprising agreement. >66% of respondents supported deer management when it improved outcomes for people and nature. 1/3

Would you like to study for a degree in human-wildlife conflict and coexistence at the University of Oxford? Help us shape the new course by letting us know your thoughts in this very short survey 👉 forms.gle/HGZc9Ar1SWyy... Thank you! @biology.ox.ac.uk @mplsoxford.bsky.social

What makes some plant populations more resilient than others to year-to-year environmental change? Not reproduction or growth, but simply surviving: and it depends most on aridity, not temperature. New from @robsalgo.bsky.social @salgoteam.bsky.social @ecosantos.bsky.social 👇

For plants facing climate change, staying alive beats reproducing

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Can video games encourage people to care about biodiversity? 🎮 Researchers reviewed 380 papers covering 450 video games across 5 languages to find out how gaming links to nature engagement. Read the paper led by WildCRU’s Katie Blake 👉 doi.org/10.1145/3811... 1/6

Thanks, Steve! tldr: great tits are faster at the start, but blue tits eventually catch up in the air.

Steve Portugal@sjportugal.bsky.social · 3w ago

Congrats first author Kyu Min Huh on our paper out in @royalsocietypublishing.org Journal of the RS Interface. Titled "Natural take-off flight performance is repeatable and scalable in mixed flock tit species". Link: doi.org/10.1098/rsif...

How can we move beyond reading virus genomes as strings of letters on a phylogenetic tree, and instead place those genetic changes in their biological context? 🧬 A blog by @mghafari.bsky.social discusses new ways of thinking about old problems 🦠👇

From viral histories to protein structures: new directions for understanding virus evolution

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Congratulations to our amazing staff and students who have been recognised in this year's MPLS divisional awards! They've received awards across Impact, Teaching, and Professional Services 👇

Biology staff and students recognised in MPLS Awards 2026

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At our 2026 Early Career Researcher conference, Ben Pascoe from the University of Oxford gave a flash talk on how interpretable machine learning models are being used to identify resistance patterns with high accuracy. Watch his talk👉 https://ow.ly/gAmp50YT81P

Can oral vaccination help save one of the world's rarest canids? With approximately 500 Ethiopian wolves remaining, rabies transmitted by domestic dogs is one of the greatest threats to their survival. @bethpreston.bsky.social @biology.ox.ac.uk

🧬 Don't miss Evolution on BBC! This new five-part series is guided by academic consultant Prof Peter Holland (Oxford Biology), bringing more than 4 billion years of life's history to the screen with the help of 600+ scientists worldwide. 📺

Evolution | BBC Earth

Chris Packham uncovers the 4 billion year story behind five iconic animals, revealing how evolution shaped them in the most surprising ways.

bbcearth.com

Many of the world's biggest companies are making nature commitments but most still lack the transparency and accountability needed to show they're delivering real outcomes. New Oxford research highlights why robust reporting and meaningful action matter for nature recovery. 

World’s most influential companies make nature promises, but most lack accountability

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17 years of camera-trap data from Brazil's Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve reveals the first estimates of survival and recruitment for Amazonian jaguars. Paper led by Raíssa Sepulvida & coauthored by WildCRU’s Gui Costa Alvarenga 👉 besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 1/3

In 2023, a big supplier of rainforest carbon offsets was exposed: over 90% of offsets were worthless Although the carbon credit industry questioned the validity of the research, a new study shows that while some projects reduced deforestation, over-crediting was rife 👇

Unobserved confounders cannot explain the discrepancy between claimed and actual carbon offsets

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New paper out today! We found increased oral vaccine bait uptake by Ethiopian wolves soon after deployment of baits; in areas further from human settlement; and areas with lower domestic dog density. Read the full paper here: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Designing effective oral rabies vaccination strategies for endangered carnivores: Lessons from bait uptake in Ethiopian wolves

Our methods and framework offer valuable insights for designing effective oral vaccination strategies in wild carnivores globally, especially where domestic animal interference threatens wildlife hea....

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Almost every European plant species is out of equilibrium. Climate change is only part of the story—disturbance greatly shapes where species actually occur. 🚨Our new paper 🌱in @natecoevo.nature.com analysed 3,047 species across >1.1M European vegetation plots. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Did elephant endurance shape one of history’s most famous military journeys? A study led by @biology.ox.ac.uk and @uni-jena.de reveals that the Col de la Traversette was likely the least energy-intensive route for Hannibal’s famous crossing of the Alps with 37 war elephants ⬇️ https://bit.ly/4vgs6Zu

How do #bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics ? This Essay by @craigmaclean.bskyb.social &co argues that the evolution of #AntibioticResistance is catalyzed by ‘resistance potentiators’ that accelerate evolution in a trait-specific manner. 🧪 #AcademicSky @biology.ox.ac.uk plos.io/4flYKnF

Think you know aquatic plants? 7 facts that might surprise you 👇🌊 Read more: shorturl.at/0bCm1 As highlighted in @currentbiology.bsky.social, while at @ox.ac.uk @biology.ox.ac.uk

Seaweeds are not plants – and six other surprising facts about aquatic flora

The rules for plants can be different in water.

shorturl.at

Large carnivore coexistence in Europe is at a critical point, with the European Commission's downlisting of wolves potentially leading to increased use of lethal control. What do people really think about killing wolves, lynx, and bears? 👉 doi.org/10.1098/rspb... 1/4 @biology.ox.ac.uk

An aerial photo of the John Krebs Field Station taken today - part of the @biology.ox.ac.uk at @ox.ac.uk

The Dinosaur Highway team has returned to Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire to excavate one of Britain’s most remarkable fossil sites. Dating back 166-168 million years, it preserves trackways left by giant sauropods and a predator, potentially Megalosaurus ⬇️ https://bit.ly/4oWGDIr

"Few people have the opportunity (or should that be misfortune) to bookend their scientific career by moving a large, internationally important herbarium" Stephen Harris reflects on moving the Oxford Herbaria, around 1.7 million objects, to the Life and Mind Building 👇

Shifting leaves: relocating the Oxford Herbaria

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🧵 New paper! 🚨 Delighted to see our GETCampy-Africa protocol published in BMJ Open. *Protocols for genomic epidemiology and source attribution of enteric bacteria causing diarrhoeal disease across Africa* @bmj.com @bmjmedicine.bsky.social 📄 bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/6... 👇

We're privileged to have @marycreagh.bsky.social the UK's Minister for Nature, delivering closing remarks at our #Nature Festival on Saturday. Come along, there is something for everyone. Full programme here: thenaturefestival.org @biology.ox.ac.uk @morethanadodo.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social

🌱 Oxford at #Groundswell2026! Come find us at Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Festival! 🎪 Marquee number E13 📍 Groundswell Festival, Lannock Farm 📅 1–2 July 2026 Showcasing research from across @ox.ac.uk, coordinated by the Agricultural Resilience Impact and Innovation Hub (AGRIIH)