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Congratulations to our Janet Moore Prize Winner – Conall Stanforth

Fri, 04/07/2025 - 11:50

The Janet Moore prize is awarded for the best supervisor for Part II Zoology students, nominated by the students themselves. Janet Moore held a long-term association with the Zoology Department, with a strong focus on undergraduate teaching. This year the Prize has been awarded to Conall Stanforth. Congratulations Conall...

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Group Leader Research Fellowship Sponsorship Scheme - now open

Thu, 03/07/2025 - 11:29

Are you planning to submit a senior research fellowship application for funding competitions with deadlines after March 2026? We are seeking Expressions of Interest from early career researchers who wish to be sponsored for externally funded fellowships that will allow them to start an independent research group in our...

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Plants versus caterpillars: an arms race of physical defences

Fri, 27/06/2025 - 13:59

PhD student, Ritabrata Chowdhury, Insect Biomechanics Group, is first author of a recent paper in Biology Letters which uncovers a previously unknown interaction between plants, ants, and caterpillars in the rainforests of Borneo: kind of arms race between plants and insects. Macaranga trees house colonies of aggressive...

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The Microscopy Bioscience Platform: at the frontier of scientific discovery

Wed, 25/06/2025 - 14:56

The University of Cambridge’s new Microscopy Bioscience Platform is unifying microscope facilities here in Cambridge. These advanced microscope technologies offer researchers essential tools to expand the frontiers of scientific discovery. The new Platform includes the confocal microscopes here in Zoology , operated by Dr...

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Dr Eleanor Bladon awarded first Fellowship in Ecology and Conservation Biology at Clare College

Wed, 25/06/2025 - 12:14

We are delighted to share the news that Dr Eleanor Bladon, who is a postdoctoral research associate here in Zoology, has been awarded the Pathway to Independence Fellowship in Ecology and Conservation Biology at Clare College . The position drew over 50 high calibre applications internationally, and six applicants were...

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Before dispersing out of Africa, humans expanded their use of diverse habitats

Wed, 18/06/2025 - 16:37

The Evolutionary Ecology group, led by Prof Andrea Manica, is interested in how animals respond and adapt to changing environments. The same tools used to study other animal species can be applied to humans. Research by the group and collaborators, reported in a paper published in Nature[LINK] today, shows how learning to...

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Stephen Montgomery appointed Prince Philip Professor of Ecology and Evolution

Tue, 17/06/2025 - 09:46

We are delighted to announce that the Vice Chancellor has appointed Professor Stephen Montgomery as the third Prince Philip Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Cambridge. The University created the Prince Philip Professorship in 2007, to mark the 30th anniversary of His Royal Highness the Duke of...

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UN-backed global research identifies key marine conservation areas

Fri, 06/06/2025 - 14:12

The findings of MegaMove a global UN-endorsed research project, were published this week in the journal Science. The project involved a team of nearly 400 international scientists from over 50 countries have tracked more than 100 marine megafauna species, to identify the most critical locations in our global oceans for...

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Insect biodiversity change: putting the puzzle together

Wed, 28/05/2025 - 14:08

Insect biodiversity change is an important research focus for our Agroecology Group . Widespread declines in insect biodiversity have been attributed to a diverse set of anthropogenic drivers, but the relative importance of these drivers remains a puzzle. One aspect of the group's research, as part of the GLITRS project ...

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New method to avoid perfect being the enemy of good in conservation

Wed, 28/05/2025 - 13:07

The quest for a perfect understanding of the causes of species decline can get in the way of good options for immediate action when it comes to conservation. A framework to tackle this issue is described in a new paper published in the journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence, co-authored by Prof Jeremy Wilson, Director...

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Zoology Postgraduate Symposium 2025 a great success!

Thu, 22/05/2025 - 12:01

On Monday 14 April we welcomed members of the department to our first in-house postgraduate student symposium. The symposium is our annual opportunity to showcase and celebrate the diverse work being done by PhD and MPhil students in the department — as well as to build links between research groups and exchange ideas and...

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Dr Greg Jeffris, Prof Claire Spottiswoode and Dr Marta Zlatić elected Fellows of the Royal Society

Tue, 20/05/2025 - 08:19

Today we congratulate three members of our department, Dr Gregory Jefferis , Prof Claire Spottiswoode and Dr Marta Zlatić on being elected Fellows of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences. Fellowship of the Society is a significant honour. Fellows are elected for life, based on excellence in science...

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So much evidence, so little time: Could AI speed up decision-making in conservation?

Fri, 16/05/2025 - 13:43

Making the right decisions to protect species and habitats is crucial, but it's tough when scientific knowledge on conservation actions is scattered across thousands of studies. Even though resources like the Conservation Evidence database , contain searchable summaries of conservation actions and their outputs, finding...

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World’s first comprehensive inventory of naked clam growth rates reveals game changing aquaculture opportunity.

Fri, 16/05/2025 - 12:48

The first robust global dataset on naked clam biology and growth has been assembled through painstaking research by a team based here in Cambridge. The paper, ‘ Naked clams: a comprehensive analysis of their global potential for commercial aquaculture ’ published today in the journal Reviews in Aquaculture, presents a...

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Mini-brains but maxi-memories: new research on wasps

Thu, 15/05/2025 - 13:33

A new study, co-authored by Dr William Foster and colleagues at the University of Exeter, published in the journal Current Biology, shows that while female wasps might have ‘miniature brains’ but they have excellent memories when it comes to feeding their young. The research, conducted on heathland in Surrey, shows that...

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Ready, steady, replicate: New insights into DNA replication in human cells

Fri, 09/05/2025 - 16:18

Scientists have long searched for a clear "start here" signal for DNA replication in the human genome. Research published this week in the journal Nucleic Acids Research by Dr Torsten Krude and students here in the Department of Zoology, in collaboration with colleagues at The Francis Crick Institute , reports important...

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Prof Bill Sutherland elected a member of the American Philosophical Society

Thu, 08/05/2025 - 15:58

Congratulations to Prof William Sutherland , Director of Research and co-leader of the Conservation Science Group who has been elected a member of the American Philosophical Society . The APS is the oldest learned society in North America, founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin to bring together creative thinkers in the...

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Artificial intelligence and nature conservation; can tech save the world?

Thu, 08/05/2025 - 10:02

Amid the hype about AI’s potential to turbocharge human abilities, researchers here in Zoology and the Conservation Research Institute are leading conversations to make sure we advance with eyes wide open. Last year, Dr Sam Reynolds, a Research Associate in our Conservation Science Group joined 26 other conservation...

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Professor Robert Fletcher elected a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America

Wed, 30/04/2025 - 08:52

We are delighted to share the news that Professor Robert Fletcher , who is co-leader of our Conservation Science Group , has been made a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America . ESA Fellows are elected for their exceptional achievements and outstanding contributions to their field. This year, the ESA Governing Board...

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Dr Rosie Trevelyan MBE wins Frankfurt Conservation Award 2025

Fri, 25/04/2025 - 11:00

Dr Rosie Trevelyan MBE, Director of the Cambridge office of the Tropical Biology Association (TBA) at the CCI, has won the Frankfurt Conservation Award (Bruno H. Schubert Prize) 2025 for outstanding achievements in teaching related to nature and environmental protection. The award citation recognises her dedicated teaching...

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