10 March 2025
\n \n \n \nNew research from the Department of Biology has provided fresh insights into how bird songs evolve over time, revealing a significant role for population dynamics in shaping song diversity and change. The findings \u2013 based on an analysis of over 100,000 bird songs \u2013 have been published today in Current Biology.
\n \n\n \n \n17 February 2025
\n \n \n \nA new research study led by researchers in the Department of Biology demonstrates that sustainable agricultural practices that both protect pollinator populations and mitigate climate risks could help secure \u2013 and even improve \u2013 global cocoa yields.
\n \n\n \n \n29 January 2025
\n \n \n \nAmy 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.
\n \n\n \n \n28 January 2025
\n \n \n \nInstead of using their communication networks to transmit warning signals, the Department of Biology led findings suggest it is more likely that plants \u2018eavesdrop\u2019 on their neighbours.
\n \n\n \n \n16 January 2025
\n \n \n \nFor more than 500 years, no lynx had roamed the British countryside. That changed with the recent release of four of these large cats in the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland.
\n \n\n \n \n13 January 2025
\n \n \n \nA 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.
\n \n\n \n \n16 December 2024
\n \n \n \nScientists have announced the discovery of a species of lipstick vine completely new to science, from the depths of the Philippine rainforest.
\n \n\n \n \n9 December 2024
\n \n \n \nThe University of Oxford will play a leading role in a new project to develop indicators to measure progress towards globally agreed conservation targets, backed by $1.9 million funding from The Global Environment Facility (GEF).
\n \n\n \n \n6 December 2024
\n \n \n \nA new study led by the University of Oxford suggests that the fundamental abilities underlying human language and technological culture may have evolved before humans and apes diverged millions of years ago.
\n \n\n \n \n26 November 2024
\n \n \n \nA team led by the University of Oxford has solved a mystery that has intrigued scientists for centuries: how does the squirting cucumber squirt? The findings were achieved through a combination of experiments, high-speed videography, image analysis, and advanced mathematical modelling.
\n \n\n \n \n25 November 2024
\n \n \n \nResearchers are reporting a previously undocumented behaviour of Ethiopian wolves \u2013 feeding on the nectar of Ethiopian red hot poker flowers \u2013 the first large carnivore species ever to be documented feeding on nectar.
\n \n\n \n \n18 November 2024
\n \n \n \nClimate change and biodiversity policies have largely evolved in isolation, even though the two crises are deeply intertwined. The three summits in quick succession make this is an important opportunity to align these agendas. Healthy ecosystems are crucial for climate resilience, while a stable climate is essential to protecting biodiversity.
\n \n\n \n \n31 October 2024
\n \n \n \nA comprehensive review of the economic impacts of nature-based solutions (NbS), led by the University of Oxford and published this week in PLOS Climate, concludes they can unlock prosperity by boosting local economies, increasing agricultural productivity and creating jobs.
\n \n\n \n \n30 October 2024
\n \n \n \nA 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.
\n \n\n \n \n24 October 2024
\n \n \n \nResearch 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).
\n \n\n \n \n17 October 2024
\n \n \n \nA multi-disciplinary team from Jimma University, University of Oxford, University of Oslo and Bahir Dar University discuss how cultural connection can guide conservation in Ethiopia and South Sudan.
\n \n\n \n \n24 September 2024
\n \n \n \nInstead of nurturing their sick young, ant queens eat their infected offspring at the first sign of illness then \u2018recycle\u2019 them into producing new eggs, a new study led by the University of Oxford has shown.
\n \n\n \n \n18 September 2024
\n \n \n \nA 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.
\n \n\n \n \n5 September 2024
\n \n \n \nThe ERC - the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research - has announced the awarding of 494 major ERC Starting Grants to young scientists and scholars across Europe, including six Oxford University researchers, two of whom are from MPLS.
\n \n\n \n \n8 August 2024
\n \n \n \nNew research from the Department of Biology on wild lions has revealed that males and females experience vastly different changes to their social network throughout their lives, and that this may shape their survival.
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