Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity

New #YorkResearch from our department argues that habituation - the process of people or animals becoming used to something, so that they no longer find it unpleasant or think it is a threat - is a much more complex two-way process than scientists have previously assumed..

Urban green spaces matter most where people and biodiversity are most vulnerable As tropical low- and middle-income countries share trends in biodiversity loss, climate risk and rapid urbanisation, green spaces can serve as multifunctional oases in otherwise concrete jungles.

Urban green spaces have the potential to mitigate some of the negative effects of urbanisation, delivering broad positive impacts to people, biodiversity & the urban ecosystem. LCAB PhD student Rebecca Morris talks about her project investigating these spaces in LMICs

www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...

Rethinking Conservation Strategies in Brazil Discover how lessons from UK National Parks are inspiring locally adapted strategies to support sustainable land management and biodiversity conservation in Campos Gerais and the Atlantic Rainforest, ...

Very exciting @yesiuoy.bsky.social seminar coming up. Prof. Rocha challenges our thinking about land ownership in national parks, and moves toward some possible solutions for Campos Gerais in Brazil!

www.york.ac.uk/yesi/events/...

Very excited to be working with some excellent partners across Europe and Africa to strengthen our understanding on the importance of Mountains for navigating future climate, biodiversity and sustainability challenges @mtnresearchmri.bsky.social
@yesiuoy.bsky.social
@anthropocenebio.bsky.social

Huge congratulations to @rob-marchant.bsky.social & team, including LCAB Director Lindsey Gillson & Fellow @christophlyon.bsky.social, on their new ERC-funded project examining how East African mountain ecosystems & the communities who rely on them interact & evolve.

www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...

Time to rethink nature conservation?

Ecologists call for an ecosystem approach to halt UK wildlife decline and protect the vital services nature provides us in our new report with @nationaltrust.org.uk 

@pettorelli.bsky.social

🎉 Hard to believe it’s already been a month since I passed my PhD viva! Still feeling very grateful, proud, and a little bit in disbelief that I am #PhDone!

📢🦋Paper: butterfly trends over the past 166 years

Rather than systematic declines, @tiff-ki.bsky.social & others found evidence of reshuffling in butterfly community composition; some species becoming more common, others staying stable & some declining.

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

YESI and LCAB host Panel on National Parks At an event co-hosted by YESI and LCAB, researchers and stakeholders shared experiences in managing and working with diverse National Parks in Brazil and the UK.

Differing approaches to National Park management in the UK & Brazil provided grounds for a lively discussion at our recent panel event, co-hosted with @yesiuoy.bsky.social & including visitors from Paraná State in Brazil who are interested in the Campos Gerais NP.

www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...

Across southern Europe & North Africa, landscapes that once supported thriving agricultural communities are increasingly under threat. @tomtimberlake.bsky.social gives an overview of his work on the TERRASAFE project to empower communities to combat desertification.

www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...

Thought provoking day @anthropocenebio.bsky.social exploring how participatory scenarios can be used to maximising the benefits from protected areas for nature, for people and the for wider environment @uoyenvironment.bsky.social @yesiuoy.bsky.social

Humans driving extinctions on scale not seen since dinosaurs, scientists say Human activity may be triggering the greatest extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs, according to scientists.

A review led by @anthropocenebio.bsky.social @biologyatyork.bsky.social concludes that we have not reached the threshold of 'mass extinction', but could do so if biodiversity loss continues to increase

#openaccess manuscript via White Rose Research Online eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/23... 🔓 📄

Contextualising anthropogenic extinctions. Jack Hatfield discusses his recent article resulting from a series of LCAB funded workshops bringing together paleobiologists and ecologists to discuss the evidence around how current extinctions compare to the fossil record.

www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...

Loved roaming Yorkshire Arboretum & Bog Hall last week for the LCAB field trip. Mushroom season is in full swing! @anthropocenebio.bsky.social

Thanks to @green-goddess.bsky.social from the Yorkshire Arboretum & Guy Thallon from @castlehowardestate.bsky.social for hosting a visit for us yesterday. A fantastic day hearing about both the challenges & opportunities of our changing landscapes.

Hot from the @consletters.bsky.social press: "Now What? The Conundrum of Successful Recovery of Wolves and Other Species for European Conservation", where Erica Von Essen and I discuss future trajectories of species recovery and management in Europe. Here summarised by @sthlmresilience.bsky.social.

📢🐺New paper: Now What? The Conundrum of Successful Recovery of Wolves & Other Species for European Conservation

Given their ongoing recovery, decision-makers need to plan for future scenarios of large carnivores in human-dominated landscapes.

conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

What do we mean when we say that carnivores and other wildlife are "habituating" to people? Who actually habituates to whom? Is this bad or god? Who decides? All of this and more in our new paper, expertly led by @ethanddoney.bsky.social, out now in @peopleandnature.bsky.social.

Huge congratulations to @janehillyork.bsky.social on being recognised in the first round of @britishecologicalsociety.org Fellows, awarded to those making outstanding contributions to ecology across research and teaching.

The Greatest Extinction Event in 66 Million Years? Contextualising Anthropogenic Extinctions Species and ecosystems are changing rapidly in response to human actions, but how does this compare with the deeper past? We review and compare the current extinction event to those over the last 66 ...

In our new article just out we examine the current extinction event in the context of the longer fossil record. We conclude it is likely the greatest event in the last 66 million years

doi.org/10.1111/gcb....

The Infinite Monkey Cage - Series 33 - Moths v Butterflies - Katy Brand, Jane Hill and Chris Jiggins - BBC Sounds Brian Cox and Robin Ince adjudicate a fluttery face off!

A lively and light hearted moth vs butterfly discussion on The Infinite Monkey Cage with @janehillyork.bsky.social, @chrisjiggins.bsky.social, Katy Brand, @profbriancox.bsky.social & Robin Ince.

Are you team butterfly or team moth 🦋💡?

Listen to the episode in full: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

🌾What can today’s policymakers + food innovators learn from Britain’s postwar Agricultural Revolution?

Join us for a workshop exploring lessons from farming rapid transformation after 1940 + it's relevance for the future of food.

🔗 buff.ly/Vx6JWBE @shamilto.bsky.social @sabineclarke.bsky.social

Our resident bat expert @jessbotha.bsky.social agrees it's likely a Whiskered Bat - possibly been disturbed from a loft hence all the cobwebs but doesn't look like the happiest of chaps unfortunately.

Inga Jackson reflects on her recent visit to the @britishlibrary.bsky.social Unearthed: The Power of Gardening exhibition which reinterprets the classic & most well-known narratives of garden history as well as interweaving voices that have been more marginalised.

➡️ www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...

Visual abstract titled "Why would I apply a qualitative approach to my biodiversity conservation impact evaluation?" Four key benefits are listed: (1) Understand change and test assumptions, (2) See processes of change in different ways, (3) Flexibly use different types of evidence, (4) Strengthen the rigour of the evaluation. Includes icons, two illustrated figures, a lightbulb, butterflies, and a QR code linking to the paper.

🆕 Publication alert! I’m excited to share a new paper I co-authored, just published in a special issue of Conservation Science and Practice:
👉 conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

A footpath across a flat moor landscape with a grey cloudy sky. The text reads 'A new path #moorviews'

This #BogDay seems apt to announce that I am starting a PhD @york.ac.uk in September with @anthropocenebio.bsky.social and the Department of Archaeology. I will be researching the past ecology of the North Yorks Moors and using this evidence to explore views about the future landscape #MoorViews 🪧

🎓🎉Huge congratulations to all our graduates!

A fantastic achievement and a lovely day celebrating all your hard work with family and friends.

A new Ecological Management Plan is being developed, with the aim of delivering a nature-positive campus for all.

The @york.ac.uk campus includes parkland, grassland, meadows, lakes, ponds, wetlands, reedbeds & landscaped gardens. Tell us what you'd like to see:

york.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Lessons from a POST Fellowship PhD student Charlie Le Marquand reflects on her three month POST Fellowship at the Houses of Parliament.

Earlier this year @charlielem.bsky.social undertook a 3 month @britishecologicalsociety.org POST Fellowship at the Houses of Parliament where she worked as a Committee Specialist for the Environmental Audit Committee.

Find out about her experience & what she learnt:
www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...

Can Nature & People Thrive Together?
🌍🧑‍🌾🌽🌎🌴🐬🌏🚵‍♀️🍄🌐👍
An Aspirational Approach to Planetary Futures @nature.com.web.brid.gy
www.nature.com/articles/s41...