New research shows a previously unrecognised adaptation to changing climatic conditions in one of the most charismatic plant genera of South-East Asia, the carnivorous pitcher plant. Published in the March 2026 edition of the Annals of Botany, the research was led by Charlotte Andrew, a PhD student in our Insect...

A recent paper led by Dr Arik Kershenbaum , a College Associate Professor here in Zoology, describes how both wildlife and humans could benefit from networks of acoustic detectors to monitor tiger activity in Nepal. Here Dr Kershenbaum writes about his group's research, and how a faux tiger skin came in handy. kershenbaum_...

On 20th November, the Cambridge University Entomological Society ran a symposium, titled ’The Good, the Bad, and the Monstrous: Insects in Mythology, Literature and Media’, at the Department of Zoology. This symposium discussed the portrayal of insects in mythology, literature, and present-day media, with the objective of...

Pollinator Ambassadors, a European charity co-founded by Zoology PhD student Nynke Blömer ( Agroecology Group ), has recently won grants for two new projects on youth engagement on the topic of pollinators. Together with Biodiversity Action Europe, Pollinator Ambassadors secured funding worth 67,300 euros for the project "...

Research published in Nature Communications on Thursday 15 January 2026, co-authored by Dr Joseph Millard of our Agroecology Research Group, provides new insights into the threat that invasive alien species pose to terrestrial insects. This is the first study to analyse and quantify the impact of invasive alien species on...

Research published today in the journal Science Advances shows that part of the answer lies in a subtle but consequential shift in how individual workers are built. Using a computer vision approach applied to 3D X-ray scans, researchers digitally reconstructed the anatomy of more than 500 ant species and traced how their...

It was with great sadness that we learnt of the death of Dr Nancy Lane Perham OBE last month at the age of 89. She was a pioneering cell biologist and a champion of women in science. Nancy was a member of our department and fellow of Girton College from 1968 until her retirement in 2006. She was an outstanding microscopist...

A paper published this week, in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, led by Dr Tasnuva Ming Khan, Deep-time Ecology Group , supports the theory that there was a single extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous period in Antarctica, due to a catastrophic asteroid impact, rather than gradual...

Congratulations to Dr Charles Emogor and Professor Stephen Montgomery, winners of prestigious awards at the Zoological Society of London’s annual awards ceremony yesterday. Professor Montgomery was awarded the Society's Scientific Medal for outstanding contributions to zoology by an early career researcher. Professor...

We’re very pleased to announce that two of our group leaders, Dr Emília Santos and Dr Emily Mitchell have been awarded European Research Council Consolidator Grants (part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme). These grants are awarded to outstanding scientists who are establishing independent research teams to work on...

A paper lead by Gates Cambridge Scholar Andres Alfonso-Rojas published this week in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, that sheds light on the has attracted widespread press attention. Andres, who is a PhD student here in the Vertebrate Palaeontology Group , studied 12 million year old anaconda fossils, to find they...

We’re delighted to share the news that Prof Rhys Green , Emeritus Honorary Professor of Conservation Science here at the Dept of Zoology has won the Outstanding Contribution Award at the Nature of Scotland Awards 2025. The Award recognises his decades-long contribution to problem-solving conservation science and in...

The Cambridge Biotomography Centre, based here in the Department of Zoology, is a leading UK facility for high-resolution 3D imaging using micro-computed tomography (MicroCT) and X-ray tomography. The Centre's scanners allow researchers and industry clients to see internal structures without destroying the objects examined...