Search results (43)
« Back to NewsStudy finds that bees need food up to a month earlier than provided by recommended pollinator plants
26 March 2024
Biology Food security & biodiversity Research
New research from the Universities of Oxford and Exeter has revealed that plant species recommended as ‘pollinator friendly’ in Europe begin flowering up to a month too late in the spring to effectively contribute to wild bee conservation.
Researchers discover a coral superhighway in the Indian Ocean
12 March 2024
Biology Earth sciences Food security & biodiversity Research
Despite being scattered across more than a million square kilometres, new research has revealed that remote coral reefs across the Seychelles are closely related. A network of ocean currents scatter significant numbers of larvae between these distant islands, acting as a ‘coral superhighway.’
The world’s most prolific carbon-fixing enzyme is slowly getting better
7 March 2024
Biology Food security & biodiversity Research
New research led by the University of Oxford has found that rubisco – the enzyme that fuels all life on Earth – is not stuck in an evolutionary rut after all; it is improving all the time – just very, very slowly. These insights could potentially open up new routes to strengthen food security.
From The Conversation: Wild solitary bees offer a vital pollination service – but their nutritional needs aren’t understood
4 March 2024
Biology Food security & biodiversity The Conversation
Ellen Baker from the Department of Biology writes about the important role played by solitary bees and the need to ensure the right flower foods are available to them.
Unprecedented conservation triumph: Saiga antelope return from the red list
12 December 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity
The antelope, which roamed the Eurasian Steppe alongside woolly mammoths, has been restored from near extinction by conservation efforts, including those of Professor E J Milner-Gulland in the Department of Biology.
End-of-the-world scare stories have the opposite effect: celebrated conservationist EJ Milner-Gulland accentuates the positive
22 November 2023
Biology Climate Food security & biodiversity
Professor Milner-Gulland, who leads three programmes at the Oxford Martin School, has been a conservationist for more than 30 years. But, she maintains, end-of-the-world scare stories will make people fear it is too late, there is nothing they can do, and they will bury their heads in the sand.
Nature-based solutions are essential for Brazil to meet its 2050 net zero pledge
1 November 2023
Biology Climate Food security & biodiversity Research
The study by researchers in the Department of Biology also concluded that halting deforestation is the single most important mitigation measure Brazil can take towards net zero emissions by 2050 while preventing biodiversity loss.
The outdoor lab on the doorstep of Oxford’s students
1 November 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity Teaching
Professor Andy Hector (Department of Biology) describes a unique living resource, Wytham Woods, and how this contributes to the distinctive and immersive learning experience for students at Oxford.
Bumblebees make decisions ‘on the fly’ to maximise energy returns
25 October 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity Research
A new study led by researchers in the Department of Biology has demonstrated that bumblebees make choices while foraging to maximize the rate of energy return, i.e. the amount of nectar sugar collected each minute.
Researchers issue urgent call to save the world’s largest flower - Rafflesia - from extinction
21 September 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity Research
An international group of scientists, including botanists at the University of Oxford’s Botanic Garden, has issued an urgent call for coordinated action to save the iconic genus Rafflesia, which contains the world’s largest flowers. This follows a new study which found that most of the 42 species are severely threatened.
Lions on the brink – New analysis reveals the differing threats to African lion populations
12 September 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity
New research co-led by the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU, Department of Biology) has revealed alarming data about dwindling lion populations in Africa, but gives new insight into conservation strategies.
From The Conversation: China makes developers pay compensation for their ecological impacts – here’s how this unique scheme works
10 September 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity The Conversation
Professor EJ Milner-Gulland and other researchers from the Department of Biology/Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science explore how the ecological compensation system in China works.
The race to save the world’s most trafficked wild species
1 September 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity
A feature article on the work of Dr Tin (Henry) Hung (Department of Biology) to save Dalbergia, the rosewood tree, which is severely threatened across all countries in its distribution range.
More than 900 at-risk animal and plant species not covered by global trade protections, new research shows
12 July 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity Research
A new study from the Department of Biology has revealed that two-fifths of species likely threatened by the international wildlife trade are not covered by the global agreement that regulates it.
Oxford biologists comment on new Genetic Technology Act
24 March 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity Sustainability & the environment
Oxford biologists comment on new legislation that will unlock key technologies to improve UK food security, reduce pesticide use, and enhance climate-resilience in our crops.
From The Conversation: UN biodiversity conference: what does living in harmony with nature look like?
20 December 2022
Biology Food security & biodiversity The Conversation
Senior Research Fellow Dr Alexandra Zimmermann from the Department of Biology writes about the complexities of resolving human-wildlife conflict and achieving coexistence.
Oxford University delegation to champion nature at UN biodiversity conference
7 December 2022
Biology Climate Food security & biodiversity
Launching today, the United Nations Conference of the Parties for Biodiversity (COP15) will convene governments from nearly 200 countries to agree to a new set of goals to tackle the biodiversity crisis over the next decade.
Big egos, lack of staff training and policy enforcement are major barriers to island conservation
6 December 2022
Biology Food security & biodiversity Research
A new study led by the University of Oxford is the first to quantify the day-to-day barriers that conservation workers face as they try to conserve and manage island ecosystems around the world.
Most Asian countries are unlikely to meet future biodiversity targets for protected areas
5 December 2022
Biology Climate Food security & biodiversity Sustainability & the environment
Ahead of COP15, researchers make key recommendations for policymakers to support Asian countries to meet 2030 biodiversity targets.
Twelve new UK sites created or restored for globally endangered Large blue butterfly
25 August 2022
Biology Food security & biodiversity
The sites are being restored to flower-rich meadows suitable for Large blue butterflies. Professor Jeremy Thomas of the Department of Biology, and Chair of the Joint Committee for the Re-establishment of the Large Blue Butterfly, spearheaded the successful reintroduction in the UK.