News and events from the Department of Zoology
University of Cambridge  
Zoology alumni

Dear alumni,

Welcome to the spring 2018 newsletter.

I would like to draw your attention to two dates:

  1. Saturday 2 June 2018 – alumni outing to Wicken Fen
  2. Saturday 15 September 2018 – Zoology Alumni Day

Please read on for more information and what we have been up to recently. 

We would also like to hear what YOU have been up to; we now have an Alumni News section, so if you have a story to tell, let us know.

Yours,

William Foster
Director of Alumni Relations
Museum of Zoology reopening
Skeletons in the Museum's collections
We are delighted to announce that the Lower Gallery of the Museum was re-opened on 27 March 2018. The installation of the Upper Gallery will continue before the Museum re-opens fully on 23 June 2018. The Lower Gallery offers the visitor a chance to explore some of our fascinating specimens: elephants, hippos, primates, rodents, and much more.

The pre-Easter opening included the Museum of Zoology shop. The shop has a range of gifts, stationery, toys, and other delights inspired by the Museum collections.

If you aren't in Cambridge for a while, you can read about the changes to the Museum in the recent article in the alumni magazine (CAM).
Read more
Professor Nick Davies
Alumni outing to Wicken Fen
Saturday 2 June 2018

Join us for a tour of Wicken Fen led by world famous behavioural ecologist, Professor Nick Davies (Part II 1973). See the cuckoos and reed warblers that he studies; and hear about the research he does on these fascinating birds in the sites where they live.

The tour starts at 2pm, followed by tea in the café, and a short boat trip around the fen.
Book now
Featured research
Developing embryoes - credit Dr Kevin Dingwell
Control of DNA replication in the earliest stages of embryo development

The accurate copying of DNA during cell division is absolutely essential for the development of all multicellular organisms. The mechanisms ensuring very rapid DNA replication in the earliest stages of vertebrate embryos are qualitatively different from those used during all the later stages of development.

A team led by Dr Torsten Krude has discovered a new protein complex that is essential for the regulation of DNA replication during these early stages.
Read more
Black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa) - credit Szabolcs Nagy, Wetlands International
Political instability: the number one cause of species loss
Weak national governance is the best predictor of species loss – better than climate change, economic growth or surges in human population. These are the findings of a study published in Nature, led by Cambridge zoologist Dr Tatsuya Amano. The research is based on the fate of waterbird species since 1990, and provides the first evidence that political instability and weak governance can be the most significant indicators of global biodiversity loss.
Read more
Garden birds - credit Per Tillmann
Disgust is catching
A recent study has shown that birds can learn that certain food is disgusting not only by tasting it themselves but also by observing the disgust shown by another bird. Without this social transmission of disgust, it is hard to see how conspicuous prey, howsoever toxic, might compete successfully with alternative prey.

This research, led by Dr Rose Thorogood of the Department and the Zoology Helsinki Institute of Life Science, was carried out on wild great tits captured in the Finnish winter and offered almonds wrapped in paper with different markings.
Read more
News
Etching of Charles Darwin
Restored Darwin etching
This etching of Charles Darwin was recently discovered rolled up inside an old cardboard tube in the Balfour Library. The etching was made from the 1883 John Collier oil portrait, by Léopold Flameng (1850-1934). It was in fairly poor condition but has now been fully restored thanks to a generous donation from the Part II Zoology 1971-72 year group.

It will be put on display in the Department and will be on view as part of the Art Trail during the Zoology Alumni Day on Saturday 15 September 2018.
Read more
Cover detail from Mammal Societies
Book of the Year prize
Many congratulations to Professor Tim Clutton-Brock whose book Mammal Societies has been awarded the 2017 Marsh Book of the Year prize by the British Ecological Society. This prize is funded by the Marsh Christian Trust and is awarded to the book published in the last two years that has had the greatest influence on ecology or its application.
Read more
News from our alumni
Martin Jenkins and furry friend
Martin Jenkins
Martin Jenkins (Part II 1980) is a conservation scientist who has worked for a number of mainly Cambridge-based environmental organisations on a range of issues related to biodiversity, particularly sustainable use of and trade in wildlife.

This has entailed sleuthing for orchids in Germany, counting geckos in banana plantations in the Comoros, and interviewing suspected lemur-smugglers in Madagascar. He has pursued a parallel career as a successful author of children's books, including the award-winning The Emperor's Egg, Fabulous Frogs and Can We Save the Tiger?
Read a Q&A with Martin
Tamara Gray and the bust of Sir James Gray
Tamara Gray
The grand-daughter of the fourth Professor of Zoology, Sir James Gray, visited the department in February. She met the current Professor of Zoology, Michael Akam, as well as Matt Wilkinson, to talk about her grandfather's pioneering work on animal locomotion.
Andrew Bladon
Andrew Bladon
Former Part II (2011) and recent PhD Student featured as the Sunday Scientist on the @RSPBScience Twitter feed in March.
Watch on Twitter
Storm Petrel - New Zealand
Far from land: the mysterious lives of seabirds by Michael Brooke
This book, by Michael Brooke (Part II 1971), Strickland Curator of Ornithology in the Museum of Zoology, takes us on a 'breathtaking journey around the globe to reveal where these birds actually go when they roam the sea...' (Princeton University Press). Or as Michael himself, a leading researcher in seabird ecology, puts it: "My hope is to bring this astounding knowledge revolution to many, many readers who, like me, enjoy the salty tang of sea air."
Read more
ZooCast interview video still
Cambridge ZooCasts: what's it like to be a graduate student in the Department?
ZooCasts are short video episodes, featuring two graduate students having a casual conversation on topics ranging from their research and academic work to extracurricular activities within the Department and the University.

Each student has taken a turn as the interviewee in one episode and the interviewer in another. Episodes are released fortnightly.
Watch the series
Zoology Alumni Day 2018
Date: Saturday 15 September

Venue
Department of Zoology
Downing Street
Cambridge

What is happening?
The headline act is Tim Clutton Brock talking on 'Meerkats and mole rats: cooperating to survive'. There will also be a full programme of lab tours, a chance to go behind the scenes in the museum, an art trail, and the return of the ever-popular animal quiz. Plus an opportunity to catch up with your old friends.

Full details will follow in the summer newsletter.