Nigel Taylor

🌍 New release: #GuardIAS Newsletter #1! From early-warning AI systems to field eradication trials, see how we’re turning science into action against #AquaticInvasions across Europe. Read it here: guardias.eu/wp-content/u...

@guardias.bsky.social
#bioinvasions
#InvasiveSpecies
#MarineEcology
🧪🌐🌍🌊🐟

Biodiversity conservation has an evidence problem — it’s time to fix it Globally, more than one million species are threatened with extinction, but often interventions intended to protect biodiversity are not rooted in robust research. The field has an opportunity to change that.

Biodiversity loss is continuing at an unprecedented rate, with species becoming extinct at between 100 and 1,000 times the average pre-human, or ‘background’, rate

go.nature.com/4rxrWvn

Headline: "Scientists discover emperor penguin colony in Antarctica using satellite images"

Yesterday it was cows using tools, today its penguins using satellite imagery.

This infographic from the World Economic Forum shows global risks ranked by severity over two time periods: 2-year (short term) and 10-year (long term). The title reads "Global risks ranked by severity" with the WEF logo in the top right corner. The chart is divided into two columns, with risks color-coded into four categories: Environmental (green), Geopolitical (orange), Societal (red), and Technological (purple). In the short term (2 years), the top risks are: Geoeconomic confrontation Misinformation and disinformation Societal polarization Extreme weather events State-based armed conflict In the long term (10 years), the ranking shows: Extreme weather events Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse Critical change to Earth systems Misinformation and disinformation Adverse outcomes of AI technologies Both columns continue to rank risks through position 10, with environmental concerns featuring more prominently in the long-term outlook. The source is cited as "World Economic Forum Global Risks Perception Survey 2025-2026."

New World Economic Forum Global Risks data provides a stark warning: While short-term crises dominate headlines, "Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse" jumps to the 2nd highest risk over the 10-year horizon.

The long term is sooner than we think. Science-based policies via IPBES are crucial.🌍

Overall text reads: "Unbelievable". Below that, two images of a frying pan. The first image is full of spinach and has accompanying text: "amount of reading I did". The second image (presumably after the process of wilting) shows only one small, shrunken piece of spinach with accompanying text: "citations I got out of it."

Except, sadly, it is believable. Today I offer you a spinach-based insight from the research / writing / academia meme stash. #highered #academicchatter #academicsky #PhDchat #resdev #resdevmemes

Have you worked on / do you know of a conservation project that changed what it was doing after looking at the evidence or undertaking a test? Replies welcome below, or on Bill's original post. Thanks!

InvaPact III workshop is now over: WHAT A WEEK! ~60 experts from 30 countries putting their brainpower together for an unique collaborative project.
Work hard, play hard: they really followed my motto!
Powerful publications on the way!

A new Special Issue on aquatic invasions has just been released in NeoBiota. Read the editorial to gain an overview of all the papers: Invasions in aquatic systems.

Use this link:
neobiota.pensoft.net/article/1678...

#bioinvasions @neobiota.pensoft.net

Opening for Lucy Cavendish College Postdoctoral Research Associates Join our growing community of researchers shaping solutions for the future.

🔍 Are you a Cambridge postdoctoral researcher looking for a College affiliation?

We are inviting applications for Postdoc Research Associates to join our diverse, impact-driven community of researchers shaping solutions for the future.

Find out how to apply at www.lucy.cam.ac.uk/news/opening...

Conservation concepts for undergraduates and postgraduates - YouTube Key concepts underpinning undergraduate ecology and conservation courses

Are you a student studying ecology or conservation? Do you lecture ecology or conservation? I created this playlist for you and hope it is useful. youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Culturomics: a low-cost opportunity to evaluate conservation campaigns | About Conservation Evidence Diogo Veríssimo and Gabriel Caetano share their new research on the effects of conservation awareness campaigns, using Wikipedia page views as an indicator ...

about.conservationevidence.com/2025/09/25/c...

Addressing the policy and business drivers of global freshwater biodiversity loss While they are important, local or catchment-level conservation efforts are by themselves unlikely to bend the curve of dramatic global-scale biodiversity loss in rivers, lakes, and freshwater wetland...

(1/n)

🆕: Addressing the policy & business drivers of global freshwater biodiversity loss.
cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full/10....

Or (to provoke a debate), is restoration of #rivers, #lakes & #wetlands a sufficient response to the global collapse in freshwater biodiversity?

A 🧵...

Making Restoration Effective for Dynamic Coastal Wetlands Coastal wetlands are among the most important ecosystems on Earth but have been severely depleted and degraded. Despite increasing global efforts to restore lost and degraded coastal wetlands, succes....

Excited to see our new review published! It explores the challenges that spatial and temporal dynamism pose to #restoration of coastal #wetlands - but also how we can exploit these dynamics to boost restoration success.

➡️ doi.org/10.1111/gcb....

When invasive species become part of our culture Biological invasions are widely acknowledged as a serious threat to biodiversity, global economies, and a good quality of life. Yet, they are...

When invasive species become part of our culture 🌵

A new study involving ICTA-UAB researcher Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares warns that embracing biological invasions can seriously hinder efforts to control and manage them.

www.uab.cat/web/sala-de-...

Aerial view of Männikjärve Bog, Estonia, from an observation tower. Dark bog pools contrast against green and red mossy carpets, with a few stunted trees peppered across the landscape.

Happy International #BogDay! I was lucky enough to visit some stunning bogs in #Estonia and #Latvia earlier this month. They're home to unique species and store vast amounts of carbon in the saturated peat.

NEW: Global Wetland Outlook 2025
www.global-wetland-outlook.ramsar.org/outlook

Some highlights:
📉 >400 million ha wetlands lost since 1970
⚠️ ca. 25% of remaining wetlands are degraded
💰 But they contribute $39 trillion in benefits annually
📈 There are clear pathways for restoration and protection

Two cans of INTECOL Wetlands Conference beer, photographed against a backdrop of a church in Tartu, Estonia.

And the locally brewed conference beers were a great touch too!

The talks were also high-quality and thought-provoking. Personal highlights were talks on: restoration of Florida wetlands, the FIT principle for wetland restoration, economics of wetland restoration, lakes in a warming world, side effects of invasive species removal, Rights of Wetlands...

Panoramic view of a bog, with dark bog pools scattered among green and red hues of Sphagnum, all traversed by a wooden boardwalk.

One of the best field trips at any conference I've been to: visiting the stunning Männikjärve bog: a near-natural bog within the Endla Protected Area.

Scientists’ attempts to eliminate bass from Adirondack lake backfire Scientists wanted to eradicate smallmouth bass from an Adirondack lake. What happened came as a surprise and a lesson in evolution.

Attempted eradication of bass from a lake has selected for fish growing faster, maturing at smaller sizes, and investing more of their energy into reproduction than the fish did when removal started ~20 yrs ago.
www.wwnytv.com/2025/07/10/s...

The impact and return-on-investment of evidence-based practice in conservation and environmental management: A machine learning-assisted scoping review protocol Evidence-based Practice (EBP) is a vital principle, with its origins in the 1970s, that has transformed the disciplines of medicine and healthcare. The use of best available evidence to inform decisio...

Where is the evidence for evidence-based conservation? We're doing a review to find out! Protocol just published here: doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Cover of programme book, INTECOL Wetlands Conference 2025

Entrance of the conference venue, the Estonian National Museum, Tartu. Illuminated by the sunlight even at 9 pm: the days are long in Estonia at this time of year!

Made it to #Tartu, Estonia, for the INTECOL Wetlands / SWS Europe meeting. Excited for a few days talking wetland science!

Douglas Boyes Fund - Royal Entomological Society The Douglas Boyes Fund has been established in honour of Douglas Boyes (1996-2021), an esteemed entomologist specialising in Lepidoptera. The Fund aims to provide young people aged 14-18 with access…

Do you know a young person with an interest in insects? 🦋

The Douglas Boyes Fund aims to provide people aged 14-18 with access to entomology equipment, fostering their passion for insects and inspiring them to engage and share their interest with other young individuals 🔽

60th birthday garden party at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. A group of people on a lawn, with a gazebo, and buildings in the background.

Happy 60th Birthday @lucycavcoll.bsky.social 🎊

Looking great in the sunshine!

Discarded clothes from UK brands dumped in protected Ghana wetlands Garments thrown out by consumers from Next, George, M&S and others found in or near conservation areas

Discarded clothes from UK brands dumped in protected Ghana wetlands www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Wetland restoration is seen as sunk cost – but new research shows why it should be considered an investment Traditional cost-benefit analyses treat wetland restoration as a one-off expense with fixed returns. New research shows this misses long-term climate and biodiversity benefits.

Wetland restoration is seen as sunk cost – but new research shows why it should be considered an investment theconversation.com/wetland-rest...

Should Ecology be more proactive & vocal on one of the key issues of our times? What systemic & institutional changes are needed for the ecological community to be at the forefront of the response? If these are questions that speak to you, this new paper may be of interest lnkd.in/eXfXG4xM

Many thanks to all who contributed ideas to the report, via workshops, discussions, or presentations. Also thanks to @clr-cambridge.bsky.social for making connections that developed into this project!

An image of two lionfish. Overlay text reads: Major New Resource, Global Impacts Dataset of Invasive Alien Species

🗞️Authors from the @ipbes.net #InvasiveAlienSpecies Report have published the Global Impacts Dataset of Invasive Alien Species derived from the report, creating a global resource for investigating and managing the impacts of invasive alien species. 🌍🧪

Read more in ‪@nature.com‬ bit.ly/43APoP7

Panoramic view of Somerset Levels, UK - a lowland peat landscape that could potentially incorporate, and benefit from, areas of paludiculture.

A landscape mosaic approach – interspersing paludiculture types, and other land uses, in space and time – stands out as a way to balance positive and negative impacts. There is also a clear need for adaptive management: monitoring impacts of paludiculture and responding appropriately. 📷 Nigel Taylor