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Invasive species in the Galápagos

21 May 2020

Two species introduced to the Galápagos, the cat (brought to the islands decades ago) and the smooth-billed ani (a more recent arrival) have been studied by PhD student Sophia Cooke . The results of both these studies have just been published: Cooke, S.C ., Anchundia, D., Caton, E. et al. Endemic species predation by the...

Praying Mantids can adjust the timing of their strikes on prey

13 May 2020

praying_mantid_strike.gif Most predators must be flexible to capture prey trying to evade them, but ambush predators are often thought to have a stereotyped behaviour. One such predator is the praying mantid who ambush their prey with raptorial strikes, often snatching them from mid-air. In a new paper published today in...

Examples of phenotypic trans-species polymorphisms

The Persistence of Polymorphisms across Species Radiations

12 May 2020

In a recent paper published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Dr Gabriel Jamie and Dr Joana Meier explore the phenomenon that the same polymorphisms often recur in many members of a species radiation (e.g. colour/pattern morphs, heterostyly, mating types, shell chirality). This phenomenon is puzzling because speciation...

Mountains in Northern Mozambique by Gabriel Jamie

A review of northern Mozambique’s Afromontane birdlife

20 April 2020

The birdlife of northern Mozambique is very poorly known. Much of the area was inaccessible during the country’s civil war, before which few expeditions studying the region’s avifauna had been undertaken. In recent years, however, northern Mozambique’s mountains, a series of isolated granitic inselbergs, have received...

Tropical Ecosystems in the 21st Century

6 April 2020

logging_truck.jpg Tropical ecosystems are highly diverse and provide myriad ecosystem services to humanity. However, these habitats are increasingly threatened by human activities. A special issue of Advances in Ecological Research, brings together papers describing these anthropogenic threats, including the impacts of...

Professor Jenny Clack, FRS, 1947-2020

26 March 2020

clack_prof_jenny_hres.jpg Professor Jenny Clack, F.R.S., F.L.S. 1947-2020. Jenny was a palaeontologist. Why restate what everyone who knew Jenny already knows? Well, the fact that they already know it, without having to think, is the point: Jenny was resolute in her dedication to her chosen field of study. Her ability to...

New Holland honeyeater in flight (c) Jessica McLachlan

Alarm! Quick, move! And stay hidden.

20 February 2020

In the struggle between predators and prey, a split-second can separate the quick from the dead. Alarm calls warning of immediate danger must, therefore, send rapid messages, yet animals often signal more urgent danger using repeated notes. This is paradoxical because more notes take more time to deliver. New Holland...

New Lecturer in Animal Ecology

29 November 2019

We are delighted to welcome Dr Lynn Dicks as the new departmental lecturer in Animal Ecology. lynn_dicks_july_2019_resized.jpg Lynn re-joins us from the University of East Anglia where she was a Reader in the School of Biological Sciences. Lynn is an applied ecologist with a particular focus on sustainable management of...

Consumer markets, companies linked to habitat loss for rare species in Brazil’s savannah

31 October 2019

Overseas consumer markets could be responsible for more than half of the impact of expanding soy production on rare species in one of the world’s most biodiverse regions, the Cerrado savannah in Brazil, according to a new article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The paper, “ Linking global...

John Johnson, 1945-2019

16 October 2019

john_johnson_christmas_party.jpg The Department is sorry to announce the death of John Johnson on 26th September 2019. John joined the Department at the age of 16 in 1961 as a junior technician. The knowledge he gained from his time as a technician allowed him to move into purchasing and procurement. By the time he left...

Department of Zoology

Invasive species in the Galápagos

Praying Mantids can adjust the timing of their strikes on prey

The Persistence of Polymorphisms across Species Radiations

A review of northern Mozambique’s Afromontane birdlife

Tropical Ecosystems in the 21st Century

Professor Jenny Clack, FRS, 1947-2020

Alarm! Quick, move! And stay hidden.

New Lecturer in Animal Ecology

Consumer markets, companies linked to habitat loss for rare species in Brazil’s savannah

John Johnson, 1945-2019

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