Rob Cooke
@r-cooke.bsky.social
Ecologist interested in biodiversity change through space and time 🦋🪲🦗🦤🦒
A short summary of our last paper on the first attempt at a global butterfly index of population trends theconversation.com/a-global-but...
A global butterfly index could advance insect conservation worldwide
A global butterfly index could help track butterfly populations worldwide and how environmental changes are impacting them.
theconversation.com
1/🧵 📢New Release: #RangeShifter 3.0📢 — available for both the batch interface and #RangeShiftR. RangeShifter is a spatially explicit, individual-based simulation platform for #modelling species’ range dynamics, dispersal, and #eco-evolutionary processes across landscapes.
New UKCEH-led study warns of closing 20-year window in which decisions on climate & land use will determine fate of 200+ species of native #birds, #butterflies & #plants across Britain. But sustainable climate & land policies would save many of the species. www.ceh.ac.uk/press/we-hav... 🧪 1/
We’re missing a global indicator to track insects. By analyzing thousands of butterfly populations, we highlight both promising signals and key challenges—showing why these taxa are strong candidates for building a Global Index to support conservation. conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Addressing Gaps in Butterfly Population Monitoring to Catalyze Global Insect Conservation
The conservation community sorely lacks a global indicator of change in insect populations. Given widespread insect declines, addressing this gap is key for conservation and policy targets. We sugges...
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
IPBES Insights – the value of taking part 🧩🗨️ On the eve of #IPBES12, we were thrilled to welcome 80+ guests to the UKCEH networking event at Manchester Art Gallery. Thanks to all for a terrific evening of learning, connection & inspiration for the next generation of IPBES scientists!
We just released the latest update of the European Grassland Butterfly Indicator. doi.org/10.5281/zeno... With nearly 50% decline since 1991 and the decline not reversing, this is again an urgent call for actions for bending the curve, restore habitat and protect biodiversity
EU Grassland Butterfly Index 1991-2024 Technical report
Executive Summary Butterflies have been systematically monitored in Europe for several decades using standard protocols that are now adopted in over 30 countries. Butterflies are ideal biological indi...
doi.org
UKCEH is excited to be part of #IPBES12 in Manchester, the first IPBES Plenary in the UK. This brings scientists, policymakers & business together to connect #biodiversity science with policy. Tonight we welcome IPBES Fellows and early career researchers to our Pathways to IPBES networking event.
🚨 New paper out in @ecography.bsky.social ! 📝 Led by Dr. Søren Faurby, we built upon the estimated unrecorded bird extinctions by @r-cooke.bsky.social et al. 2023 and try to estimate the corresponding unrecorded loss of phylogenetic diversity. 🦤🧬 Check the full paper here: doi.org/10.1002/ecog...
Quantifying the unrecorded loss of avian phylogenetic diversity
Humans have drastically reduced avian diversity, with the majority of extinctions occurring on islands. Previous studies have quantified various aspects of this decline, including both taxonomic and ...
doi.org
First global analysis of its kind, led by UKCEH, has shown the impacts of invasive alien species on insects. The study found the non-native animals & plants on average reduce abundance of terrestrial insects by 31% and species richness by 21%. www.ceh.ac.uk/press/insect... 🧪 1/ #biodiversity
Do you like islands? And/or arthropods? Please get in touch with me (m.t.jezierski[at]bham.ac.uk) or another member of the supervisory team! We will help you study island evolution in arthropods with a (funded) PhD @unibirmingham.bsky.social. 🪲🏝️🦋 centa.ac.uk/studentship/... *Please share this!*
2026-B22 The island syndrome in arthropods – CENTA
centa.ac.uk
Interested in island life and arthropods? There's a new PhD project advertised at the University of Birmingham to study the evolution of 'island syndromes' in a chosen group of island arthropods, with both museum and fieldwork-based research are expected. More details at: centa.ac.uk/studentship/...
2026-B22 The island syndrome in arthropods – CENTA
centa.ac.uk
Interesting paper using @ukbms.bsky.social data to examine extreme weather impacts on butterfly populations. Winter heatwaves and periods of high rainfall appear bad for many species. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🌍
Butterfly abundance changes in England are well associated with extreme climate events
Climate change exerts significant impacts on ecosystems through extreme climate events (ECEs), which are linked to various climate variables and can o…
sciencedirect.com
What moths live on farmland? Despite covering 67% of England, farmland is a biodiversity “dark zone”. Discover how AI & citizen science are revealing its hidden moth life in our FREE webinar: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1496618569... @ukceh.bsky.social @abigaillowe.bsky.social @mjopocock.bsky.social
🚀 New paper led by Dr Becks Spake! We make the case for precision ecology—using big data & predictive tools to tailor conservation actions to local contexts. Can ecology learn from medicine & marketing to boost impact? We think so. Read it here: rdcu.be/eoaR4 #Conservation #Ecology #BigData
Precision ecology for targeted conservation action
Nature Ecology & Evolution - The fields of medicine and marketing use large data volumes and computational power to target individuals. This Perspective argues that applied ecologists should...
rdcu.be
Our new GLiTRS paper! 🎉🦗🦋🐝 A tricky paper (evidence synthesis is hard!) but one with bags of potential to improve our understanding of insect biodiversity change 📊
GLiTRS@glitrs.bsky.social · last yr.New GLiTRS paper led by @joemillard.bsky.social 🚨📝 "Our database provides a framework for the first global meta-analytic overview of the response of insects to a range of major anthropogenic drivers" onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
New GLiTRS paper led by @joemillard.bsky.social 🚨📝 "Our database provides a framework for the first global meta-analytic overview of the response of insects to a range of major anthropogenic drivers" onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
A Multithreat Meta‐Analytic Database for Understanding Insect Biodiversity Change
Aim Widespread declines in insect biodiversity have been attributed to a diverse set of anthropogenic drivers, but the relative importance of these drivers remains unclear. A key reason for this unc...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Without so much as a whisper NE this week updated the condition assessments of all the Dartmoor Commons SSSIs - it really is not a pretty picture ... headline? Of those newly assessed SSSI units, only 26ha of 22,494ha are in favourable condition. www.dartmoornature.org.uk/post/sssicon...
New Natural England assessments reveal the appalling condition of Dartmoor’s Protected Sites
Tony WhiteheadWithout so much as a whisper publicly, Natural England this week updated its assessment of Dartmoor’s protected sites, the three big Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) that cov...
dartmoornature.org.uk
New GLiTRS paper out today!
GLiTRS@glitrs.bsky.social · last yr.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)
Our new paper combines wildlife surveillance data and spatial risk modelling to map suitability for TBEV in GB. We identified key drivers linked to TBEV exposure in deer and produced risk maps, which can guide future surveillance and interventions. www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2...
Identifying hotspots and risk factors for tick-borne encephalitis virus emergence at its range margins to guide interventions, Great Britain
Background Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is expanding its range in Europe, with increasing human cases reported. Since the first detection of TBEV in ticks in the United Kingdom in 2019, one po...
eurosurveillance.org
Great to be at the #FutureforButterflies. Tomorrow I will speak about this new paper and our work with #biodiversitymonitoring using #Insect #cameratraps and #AI as part of @mambo-project.eu @onestop-project.eu and @insectai.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...?
Emerging technologies for pollinator monitoring
Efficient tools for monitoring pollinator populations are urgently needed to address their reported declines. Here, we review advanced technologies fo…
sciencedirect.com
It's published! The largest research work I've ever undertaken: Lords of the flies: dipteran migrants are diverse, abundant & ecologically important Published in Biological Reviews: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... Thanks so much to co-authors @koralwotton.bsky.social & Myles Menz 1/x
Deadline tomorrow to apply for our paid internship on modelling restoration
James Bullock@jmbecologist.bsky.social · last yr.We’re offering a paid internship! “Restoring for ecological recovery and resilience: a global approach” Look for Internship 3 (also peruse the other internships) at: ceh.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/CEH_Careers/...
Our new paper, based on data from 1,705 studies, shows that pesticides are toxic to organisms they are not intended to harm, including fungi, microbes, plants, insects, & vertebrates such as ourselves. Questions the wisdom of applying over 3 million tonnes of them every year...
Come and join us in @nhm-london.bsky.social's Biodiversity Futures Lab! We're looking for a geospatial analyst to join the #PredictsProject team for 12 months (with possibility to extend) to help us further develop the Biodiversity Intactness Index. #job deadline 3 Mar jobs.nhm.ac.uk/internal/Job...
Geospatial Analyst:South Kensington
jobs.nhm.ac.uk
As the clowns in charge of the American circus pull out of the #ParisClimateAgreement, the @who.int, and probably a host of other international agencies, I'm reminded of this paragraph we wrote in 2021 (from doi.org/10.3389/fcos...):
🚨 Interested in using #AI to help develop real-time early warnings of human-wildlife conflict? Apply for a fully-funded #PhD supervised by Vicky Boult (University of Reading) and our own @robboyd.bsky.social Part of the AI-INTERVENE programme. Deadline 27 Jan: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Real-Time Early-Warnings of Human-Wildlife Conflict at University of Reading on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Real-Time Early-Warnings of Human-Wildlife Conflict at University of Reading, listed on FindAPhD.com
findaphd.com
Quick thread on some new papers on the science of impacts of bird feeding since the publication of our papers here www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... and here britishbirds.co.uk/journal/arti... #Ornithoogy #UKBirding🧵 1/
Alexander Lees@alexanderlees.bsky.social · 2y ago20 years on from the start of a novel avian disease epidemic that has led to catastrophic population declines in several UK species we are finally getting some significant movement on advice regarding bird feeding www.theguardian.com/environment/... 1/2 #Ornithology #UKbirding
My own #OA contribution is "Bending the curve of #biodiversity loss requires a ‘satnav’ for nature". I argue we'll only reach the #KMGBF goals by combining model predictions of expected future outcomes of today's choices with rapid feedback from monitoring royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Bending the curve of biodiversity loss requires a ‘satnav’ for nature | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Georgina Mace proposed bending the curve of biodiversity loss as a fitting ambition for the Convention on Biological Diversity. The new Global Biodiversity Monitoring Framework (GBMF) may increase the chances of meeting the goals and targets in the ...
royalsocietypublishing.org
Andy Purvis@andypurvisnhm.bsky.social · 2y ago‘Bending the curve towards nature recovery: building on Georgina Mace's legacy for a biodiverse future’ - a special issue of Phil Trans R Soc B in honour of a very special biodiversity scientist - is published today by @royalsociety.org. royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...
‘Bending the curve towards nature recovery: building on Georgina Mace's legacy for a biodiverse future’ - a special issue of Phil Trans R Soc B in honour of a very special biodiversity scientist - is published today by @royalsociety.org. royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1917
royalsocietypublishing.org
🎄🎁 Need help navigating the mFD R package for your analyses of #functionaldiversity? The team has a Christmas present for you: an FAQ based on your most common questions since 2021! ➡️ cmlmagneville.github.io/mFD/articles... + New functions to work with functional entities (in the dev vers)📦