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« Back to NewsSchmidt Faculty Fellowship Programme opens for applications
28 March 2025
The inaugural Schmidt Faculty Fellowship Programme has officially launched and is now accepting applications.
From The Conversation: The global plant trade is spreading invasive species to Europe
29 January 2025
Amy Hinsley, Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Biology, and Silviu Petrovan, Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, investigate the risks involved in the increasing trade in trees, cut flowers, pot plants, bulbs and foliage.
Logged tropical forests are still valuable for biodiversity, study finds
13 January 2025
A research team led by the University of Oxford has carried out the most comprehensive assessment to date of how logging and conversion to oil palm plantations affect tropical forest ecosystems.
New study confirms beehive fences are highly effective in reducing human-elephant conflict
30 October 2024
A ground-breaking, nine-year study has revealed that elephants approaching small-scale farms in Kenya avoid beehive fences housing live honey bees up to 86% of the time during peak crop seasons, helping to reduce human-elephant conflict for local farmers and boost income.
Study finds that better ocean connectivity boosts reef fish populations
24 October 2024
Research led by the University of Oxford has found that oceanographic connectivity (the movement and exchange of water between different parts of the ocean) is a key influence for fish abundance across the Western Indian Ocean (WIO).
New analysis indicates UK hunting trophies law would cause more harm than good
18 September 2024
A new study led by researchers from the Department of Biology and the Oxford Martin Programme on Wildlife Trade concludes that the proposed UK Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill could cause more harm than good for the species it is intended to protect.
Patents can help us understand wildlife trade trends, new study shows
6 August 2024
Researchers from the Oxford Martin Programme on Wildlife Trade at the University of Oxford have demonstrated that patent data could provide a novel source of evidence that can help identify future commercial trends associated with the overharvesting of wildlife.
Study finds that bees need food up to a month earlier than provided by recommended pollinator plants
26 March 2024
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.