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Predictability or pondering prediction – Methods Blog
Post provided by Marieke Wesselkamp At the beginning of this project, we often found ourselves contemplating on the evolution of various environmental systems - some vast and global, others local. These were, for example, the trajectory of elephant populations in the Southern African Kruger national park over the next decades, the change in plant species…
Our June Issue is out now! – Methods Blog
This issue contains the latest methods in ecology and evolution, including papers from the special feature Innovation in Practice. Read to find out about this month’s featured articles and the article behind our cover! Featured ECKOchain: A FAIR blockchain‐based database for long‐term ecological data Open data practices in ecology are increasingly accepted, yet primary long-term…
Simple, intuitive tool for population management decision-making – Methods Blog
Post provided by Izzy McCabe Predictions of insect populations from phenology models and sampling can help growers manage pests and beneficial insects on their farms. Phenology models relate accumulated heat units after winter to pest development and thereby inform timing of control actions, while sampling relies on regular on-site data collection (daily, weekly, etc.) to…
Improved order selection method for hidden Markov models: a case study with movement data. – Methods Blog
Post provided by Fanny Dupont. About the first author My PhD focuses on animal movement and the impact of vessels on Arctic marine mammals (lab website). Specifically, I develop statistical tools to analyse narwhal (Monodon monoceros) behaviour and assess the effects of increased shipping on marine ecosystems. I am co-supervised by Dr. Marie Auger-Méthé (University…
Capturing diversity below the species level using HyRAD : a nuclear-DNA enrichment-based capture method (HyRAD) applied to environmental DNA. – Methods Blog
Post provided by Stéphanie Manel. Why use HyRAD for eDNA capture? Traditional population genetics approaches require sampling tissue from individuals, which is problematic in aquatic environments where specimen collection is often challenging. Filtering water allows researchers to collect environmental DNA (eDNA), genetic material shed by organisms into their surroundings. Unlike approaches targeting a single DNA…
The Ground Beneath Their Feet: Listening in on Africa’s wildlife using seismic sensors – Methods Blog
Post provided by René Steinmann Hi, I’m a geophysicist by training, but I’ve recently shifted my focus from studying the solid Earth to some of its living inhabitants. I now work at the intersection of geophysics, wildlife biology, and machine learning. My recent research brings together these seemingly distant worlds in a project that’s all…
Tracking animals with particles – Methods Blog
Post provided by Edward Lavender, Andreas Scheidegger, Carlo Albert, Stanisław W. Biber, Janine Illian, James Thorburn, Sophie Smout, Helen Moor. It’s morning on Scotland’s west coast. In the Firth of Lorn, the deep-blue water sparkles in the early sunlight. Heading south, I glance back across the sea, taking in the snow-speckled mountains beyond. Two hundred…
Our May Issue is out now! – Methods Blog
This issue contains the latest methods in ecology and evolution. Read to find out about this month’s featured articles and the article behind our cover! Featured Impact of acoustic index parameters on soundscape comparisons Ecoacoustic indices are often used to characterise specific aspects of the acoustic environment. For several commonly used indices, the impacts of…
The best of both worlds: a predictive home range model for colonial animals combining biological realism with minimal data requirements. – Methods Blog
Post provided by Holly Niven. I’m Holly, an ecology PhD student at the University of Glasgow, with a background in mathematics and physics. My research is in quantitative ecology, with a current focus on investigating the exposure of animals to disturbances in their environment and understanding the drivers of their population dynamics. What are home…
Robert May Prize 2024: Winner announced for early career researcher award – Methods Blog
We’re excited to announce Maëlis Kervellec as the winner of the 2024 Robert May Prize, celebrating the best article in the journal by an author at the start of their career. Winner: Maëlis Kervellec Research: ‘Bringing circuit theory into spatial occupancy models to assess landscape connectivity‘ About the research One of the wonders of ecological research is…
Expanding Our View: The Benthic Observation Survey System (BOSS). – Methods Blog
Post provided by Brooke Gibbons. Marine scientists often rely on underwater cameras to survey seabed habitats, but traditional methods come with limitations—small fields of view, restricted coverage, and logistical constraints. Enter the Benthic Observation Survey System (BOSS): a new wide-field, self-righting drop-camera system that significantly expands our ability to survey and map the seafloor. The…
Fay Morland: Including the invisible fraction in whole population studies: A guide to the genetic sampling of unhatched bird eggs – Methods Blog
Throughout March and April, we are featuring articles shortlisted for the 2024 Robert May Prize. The Robert May Prize is awarded by the British Ecological Society each year for the best paper in Methods in Ecology and Evolution written by an early career author. Fay Morland's article' Including the invisible fraction in whole population studies: A guide…
Becky Heath: Spatial ecosystem monitoring with a Multichannel Acoustic Autonomous Recording Unit (MAARU) – Methods Blog
Throughout March and April, we are featuring articles shortlisted for the 2024 Robert May Prize. The Robert May Prize is awarded by the British Ecological Society each year for the best paper in Methods in Ecology and Evolution written by an early career author. Becky Heath's article 'Spatial ecosystem monitoring with a Multichannel Acoustic Autonomous Recording Unit…
Our April Issue is out now! – Methods Blog
This issue contains the latest methods in ecology and evolution. Read to find out about this month’s featured articles and the article behind our cover! Featured The fallacy of single imputation for trait databases: Use multiple imputation instead The past few years have seen the publication of many new trait databases. However, trait databases usually have…
Grace Ridder: Generating spatially realistic environmental null models with the shift-&-rotate approach helps evaluate false positives in species distribution modelling – Methods Blog
Throughout March and April, we are featuring articles shortlisted for the 2024 Robert May Prize. The Robert May Prize is awarded by the British Ecological Society each year for the best paper in Methods in Ecology and Evolution written by an early career author. Grace Ridder's article 'Generating spatially realistic environmental null models with the shift-&-rotate approach…
Benjamin Van Doren: Nighthawk: Acoustic monitoring of nocturnal bird migration in the Americas – Methods Blog
Throughout March and April, we are featuring articles shortlisted for the 2024 Robert May Prize. The Robert May Prize is awarded by the British Ecological Society each year for the best paper in Methods in Ecology and Evolution written by an early career author. Benjamin Van Doren's article 'Nighthawk: Acoustic monitoring of nocturnal bird migration in the…
Maëlis Kervellec: Bringing circuit theory into spatial occupancy models to assess landscape connectivity – Methods Blog
Throughout March and April, we are featuring articles shortlisted for the 2024 Robert May Prize. The Robert May Prize is awarded by the British Ecological Society each year for the best paper in Methods in Ecology and Evolution written by an early career author. Maëlis Kervellec's article 'Bringing circuit theory into spatial occupancy models to assess landscape…
Alba Motes Rodrigo: Precise tactile stimulation of worker ants by a robotic manipulator reveals that individual responses are density- and context-dependent – Methods Blog
Throughout March and April, we are featuring articles shortlisted for the 2024 Robert May Prize. The Robert May Prize is awarded by the British Ecological Society each year for the best paper in Methods in Ecology and Evolution written by an early career author. Alba Motes Rodrigo's article 'Precise tactile stimulation of worker ants by a robotic…
Jonathan Sauder: Scalable semantic 3D mapping of coral reefs with deep learning – Methods Blog
Throughout March and April, we are featuring articles shortlisted for the 2024 Robert May Prize. The Robert May Prize is awarded by the British Ecological Society each year for the best paper in Methods in Ecology and Evolution written by an early career author. Jonathan Sauder's article 'Scalable semantic 3D mapping of coral reefs with deep learning'…
Nicolas Mongiardino Koch: Chronospaces: An R package for the statistical exploration of divergence times promotes the assessment of methodological sensitivity – Methods Blog
Throughout March and April, we are featuring articles shortlisted for the 2024 Robert May Prize. The Robert May Prize is awarded by the British Ecological Society each year for the best paper in Methods in Ecology and Evolution written by an early career author. Nicolas Mongiardino Koch's article 'Chronospaces: An R package for the statistical exploration of…
Omar Saif: Fieldwork in conservation organisations–A review of methodological challenges, opportunities and ethics – Methods Blog
Throughout March and April, we are featuring articles shortlisted for the 2024 Robert May Prize. The Robert May Prize is awarded by the British Ecological Society each year for the best paper in Methods in Ecology and Evolution written by an early career author. Omar Saif's article 'Fieldwork in conservation organisations–A review of methodological challenges, opportunities and…
2024 Robert May Prize Shortlist: Methods Ecology and Evolution’s Award for Early Career Researchers – Methods Blog
The Robert May Prize is awarded by the British Ecological Society each year for the best paper in Methods in Ecology and Evolution written by an early career author. With entries spanning the 15th Volume of the journal, our Senior Editors carefully shortlisted the following 10 papers: Natasha Klappstein: Step selection functions with non-linear and random effects Omar Saif:…
From Kenya to Ohio – the inspiration for WildWing: an open-source, autonomous and affordable unmanned aerial system for animal behavioural video monitoring – Methods Blog
Post provided by Jenna Kline, PhD Candidate, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA The story of the WildWing project began in 2022 when I enrolled in the Experiential Introduction to Imageomics course. For the fieldwork component of the course, I travelled to the Mpala Research Centre in Laikipia,…
From Personal Reflections to Emerging Ecological Methods: My BES2024 Experience – Methods Blog
Post provided by Sthandiwe Nomthandazo Kanyile The British Ecological Society (BES) held its Annual Meeting in Liverpool in December last year, attracting over 1,600 delegates from around the world! As the oldest ecological society in the world, the BES has a rich history of promoting ecological research, serving as a vital hub for scientists, practitioners,…
The photo that got away: Camera traps may monitor less space than we think – Methods Blog
Post provided by Brendan Carswell. The lead author, Brendan Carswell, on the Saskatchewan River (Treaty 5 Lands, traditional territory of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, near Le Pas, Manitoba, Canada). Brendan (he/him/his) is currently a PhD student in Biology at the University of Calgary in the Weaving Wildlife and Land Based Knowledges lab. This paper, however,…
From lab tanks to river banks: taking fish cognition research into the wild – Methods Blog
Post provided by Catarina Vila Pouca This post is also available in Portuguese Hello there! My name is Catarina Vila Pouca and I study how and why animals behave and learn in different ways. I have had a passion for sharks and swimming for as long as I can remember, and so in my career…
Para além do laboratório: estudar aprendizagem em peixes directamente no meio selvagem – Methods Blog
Post fornecido por Catarina Vila Pouca. This post is also available in English Olá! O meu nome é Catarina Vila Pouca e investigo como e por que razão os animais apresentam diferentes comportamentos e formas de aprendizagem. Sempre tive uma paixão por tubarões e pela natação, e por isso, ao longo da minha carreira, foquei-me…
International Women’s Day 2025- Graziella Iossa – Methods Blog
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2025, we are excited to share a collection of blog posts showcasing the work of some of the BES community. In each post, they discuss their experiences in ecology, as well as what this year’s theme, ‘Accelerate Action’, means to them. What work do you do? I am an evolutionary…
International Women’s Day 2025- Natalie Cooper – Methods Blog
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2025, we are excited to share a collection of blog posts showcasing the work of some of the BES community. In each post, they discuss their experiences in ecology, as well as what this year’s theme, ‘Accelerate Action’, means to them. What work do you do? I'm a macroecologist and…
International Women’s Day 2025 – Lydia Morley – Methods Blog
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2025, we are excited to share a collection of blog posts showcasing the work of some of the BES community. In each post, they discuss their experiences in ecology, as well as what this year’s theme, ‘Accelerate Action’, means to them. What work do you do? I’m really interested in…
Our March issue is out now! – Methods Blog
This issue contains the latest methods in ecology and evolution. Read to find out about this month’s featured articles and the article behind our cover! Featured Bayesian views of generalized additive modelling This study aims to highlight useful links (and differences) between Bayesian and frequentist approaches to smoothing, as detailed in the statistical literature, in an…
International Women’s Day 2025- Nomthi Khanyile – Methods Blog
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2025, we are excited to share a collection of blog posts showcasing the work of some of the BES community. In each post, they discuss their experiences in ecology, as well as what this year’s theme, ‘Accelerate Action’, means to them. What work do you do? I consider myself primarily…
From a frustrated undergraduate to a motivated PhD: The story of YOLO-Behaviour for automated behavioural coding from videos – Methods Blog
Post provided by Alex Chan Hoi Hang, PhD student, Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz The story of this project can be traced back to 2019, as a second-year undergraduate in biological sciences at Imperial College London, UK, where I took an animal behaviour course. For one of the hands-on…
Addressing observational biases in data-driven approaches of zoonotic hazard prediction – Methods Blog
Post provided by Andrea Tonelli Over the past five decades, more than half of emerging infectious diseases in humans originated from animals, with zoonotic pathogens posing a growing threat to global health. Shifts in land use, climate change, direct use of wildlife and biodiversity loss all influence human exposure to pathogens of wild animals, shaping…
Avoiding Confusion: Modelling Image Identification Surveys with Classification Errors – Methods Blog
Post provided by Jon Barry We are a group comprised of statisticians, ecologists and a computer scientist. Back in 2021 when this work started, we were all employed at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquacultural Science (Cefas) at Lowestoft, U.K. Since then, Robert, our computer scientist, has ‘jumped ship’ (no pun intended) to the…
Our February issue is out now! – Methods Blog
This issue contains the latest methods in ecology and evolution. Read to find out about this month’s featured articles and the article behind our cover! Featured Ten practical guidelines for microclimate research in terrestrial ecosystems This review presents 10 practical guidelines for ground-based research of terrestrial microclimates, covering methods and best practices from initial conceptualisation…
Unde Venis Species? RRphylogeography, a new accurate method finds the area of origin of species – Methods Blog
Post provided by Pasquale Raia (he/him), Alessandro Mondanaro (he/him) and Silvia Castiglione (she/her) Quo Vadis? Latin for Where Are You Going? was a huge 1951 box office hit produced by Metro Goldwyn Mayer. The film (which is based on an 1896 book wrote by the Polish novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz) was set in ancient Rome during…
Into the Swarm-Verse: quantifying collective motion across species and contexts – Methods Blog
Post provided by Marina Papadopoulou Authors We are three researchers interested in collective animal behaviour. Marina Papadopoulou is a postdoctoral researcher at Tuscia University in Italy, Simon Garnier is a Professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (USA), and Andrew King is an Associate Professor at Swansea University (UK). As a Greek-French-Welsh team with…
It is only by understanding what causes sampling bias that we can correct it – Methods Blog
Post provided by Rob J. Boyd Colleagues and I recently published a paper in MEE, and its title might induce a bit of head scratching: “Using causal diagrams … to correct geographic sampling biases in biodiversity monitoring data” (Boyd et al., 2025). If you’re familiar with causal inference, you might be wondering, “What have causal…
Ten practical guidelines for microclimate research in terrestrial ecosystems – Methods Blog
Post provided by Jonas Lembrechts. Blogpost adapted from: www.the3dlab.org: Ten practical guidelines | The 3D lab Ecologists and biogeographers are increasingly recognizing the critical role of microclimate in addressing a wide range of research questions. Consequently, many researchers are incorporating microclimate sensors into their studies. While deploying these sensors might seem straightforward—simply plugging them in…