Ricardo Rocha

🔔 Applications are still open to join us an Associate Editor!

🐝 Pollinator ecology
🌊 Marine plants
🧬 Population genetics
⏳️ Phenology
🌱Plant-soil interactions & soil ecology
And more!

Follow the link for more info👉️ buff.ly/cIwdUMx

Are UK bats threatened? - Threats to bats - Bat Conservation Trust We are lucky to have 18 resident bat species in the UK and they make up almost a quarter of our British mammal species.Some bats are too rare or elusive...

🦇 We are lucky to have 18 resident bat species in the UK and they make up almost a quarter of our British mammal species.

At the national scale, none of the 11 UK bat species we are able to monitor are declining but it is important to put things into context:

Floreana giant tortoise reintroduced to Galápagos island after almost 200 years Subspecies driven to extinction by hungry whalers returns after ‘back breeding’ programme using partial descendants

"A captive “back breeding” programme began in 2017, for which 23 hybrid tortoises most closely related to the Floreana subspecies were chosen to recreate it as genetically close to the original as possible." www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Why bats matter - About Bats - Bat Conservation Trust Bats matter across the UK and around the world. Bat species play a vital role in ecosystems, from agricultural land to tropical forests. They pollinate ...

There are 1500 scientifically described bat species in the world, representing a huge diversity. Beyond providing sheer magical wonder, they also play a critical role in ecosystems. www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/w...

Biodiversity conservation has an evidence problem — it’s time to fix it Globally, more than one million species are threatened with extinction, but often interventions intended to protect biodiversity are not rooted in robust research. The field has an opportunity to chan...

Of course, the main problem that is holding back effective conservation is not the lack of evidence

It’s vested interests preventing the transformative change needed in the scale & ambition of conservation actions

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Bermuda snail thought to be extinct now thrives after a decade’s effort Special pods at Chester zoo helped conservationists breed and release more than 100,000 greater Bermuda snails

Some good news

Bats, food security and the economy - Why bats matter - Bat Conservation Trust Bats matter to farming and the economy because they eat crop-damaging insects, reducing pesticide use and protecting harvests — helping farmers save mon...

🦇 Bats matter to farming and the economy because they eat crop-damaging insects, reducing pesticide use and protecting harvests — helping farmers save money while supporting ecosystem health and food security.

Learn more:

Myth of Native Hawaiians causing bird extinctions debunked by study Challenging a 50-year-old narrative about Hawaiʻi's native birds, a new study from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa found no scientific evidence that Indigenous People hunted waterbird species to ex...

"Researchers found no evidence that Indigenous People over-hunted birds to extinction. Instead, the authors suggest a new theory: the birds died out because of a combination of climate change, invasive species and changes in how the land was used"
phys.org/news/2026-01...

Dog–wildlife interactions across Spain suggest vulnerability in periurban areas and aquatic ecosystems link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Aliens: the spread of invasive plants and animals across Europe – in pictures Erik Irmer has been documenting the spread of invasive plant and animal species that disrupt native ecology across Europe. He focuses on humans’ interactions with these plants and animals. Aliens is p...

www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

Shooting hares in England to be banned for most of the year Exclusive: Ministers also expected to announce trail-hunting ban in sweeping changes to animal welfare law

“Hares are shot… because some landowners believe the countryside is overpopulated with the animals”

Yet “hare populations have declined by 80% over the past century”

Another example of why ‘stakeholder opinion’ should be treated warily by conservation ecologists
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Wildlife temporal behaviors in response to human activity changes during and following COVID-19 park closures vist.ly/4j5pb #CameraTraps #Covid19 #UrbanEcology

#BatYearReview

We have 18 resident bat species in the UK, 17 of which are known to breed here but 2025 is the year in which the 1500 bat species was scientifically described. #bats 🦇

🦇 (thread) We've added more courses and events to our bat calendar! Here are some highlights for the first quarter of 2026:
- Scoping surveys for arborists. Online over two afternoons on the 4 & 11 February.
- Consultant's Forum. Online on the 10 February.

www.bats.org.uk/events

📷(c) Hugh Clark

Head of Fundraising - Jobs / Contracts - Bat Conservation Trust 2 year Fixed-term,  Part-time 22.5hrs per week (0.6 FTE)£40,000-£42,500 pro rataHybrid working arrangements possible

NEW VACANCY - Come and join our team as the Head of Fundraising (2 year Fixed-term, Part-time 22.5hrs per week; 0.6 FTE). Deadline for Applications: 9am Monday 12th January 2026 🦇 www.bats.org.uk/the-trust/jo...

Documentos RNE - Los balleneros vascos - 10/08/16 Emisión del programa Documentos RNE titulado Los balleneros vascos. Todos los contenidos de RNE los tienes aquí, en RTVE Play

La historia de los balleneros vascos en Labrador en el sXVI es alucinante, y este Documentos de RNE la cuenta divinamente
Una de las primeras industrias globalizadas
(hilo de 5 posts)
www.rtve.es/play/audios/...

Found only in the Galapagos Islands the marine iguana is the only marine lizard species in the world, they can dive as deep as 30m (98 ft) and spend up to 30 minutes at a time underwater

📹Shelton Dupreez

The tech boosting our understanding of bats @westernsydneyu.bsky.social www.westernsydney.edu.au/future-maker...

Eels have fascinated us for ages - now we need to stop eating them No one would think of eating an endangered animal like the Iberian lynx. So why do we still eat eels?

The Agriculture and Fisheries Council @consilium.europa.eu will probably decide these days the extension of current (poor, useless) restrictions to eel exploitation.
In the 5th year of zero-catch advice, @ec.europa.eu (may) insist on refusing to protect the eel
theconversation.com/eels-have-fa...

Just 0.001% hold three times the wealth of poorest half of humanity, report finds Data from World Inequality Report also showed top 10% of income-earners earn more than the other 90%

There is one overriding political problem, from which all others follow. Until it is addressed, every policy advanced by governments is window dressing.
www.theguardian.com/inequality/2...

Photo of the coastline of Rota by Asch Nighthawk with inset photo by Lauren Helton of two people banding a Mariana Kingfisher and inset of bander handling a Mariana Fruit-dove for photo documentaion by Kristin Attinger.

🪶🌎🧪 WE'RE HIRING!!! Want to band fabulous birds on a far-flung island in the Western Pacific? We need to fill these 2 positions ASAP. More information here: birdpop.org/docs/job...

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’ Little is known about how 99% of insect species globally are faring and a new approach is needed to better monitor species and protect them, according to a study led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hyd...

“Despite reports of catastrophic insect declines, their global status remains unclear due to … a massive lack of data”

Poorly evidenced reports of huge losses do insects a disservice & do not help with planning appropriate action
www.ceh.ac.uk/press/some-i...

Photo of a Blue Jay perched on a bird feeder post and calling by Ian Lee. A speech bubble from the jay says: "Just look at those bird nerds run! Thanks folks! I'll be here all week!" Text on the graphic says Unsolicited Bird Fact: Blue Jays are good at impressions. They're known to imitate Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks, Broad-winged Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Osprey, Eastern Screech-Owl, American Kestrel and Fish Crow. Scientists aren't sure WHY they do this, but evidence suggests it's to deceive other birds. However, the Blue Jays giving Ivory-billed Woodpecker calls in Arkansas in 2006 were DEFINITELY doing it to prank ornithologists.

Did you ask for a bird fact? No, but you're getting one whether you like it or not. 🪶

Top UK scientist says research visa restrictions endanger economy Prof Sir Paul Nurse says the UK is "shooting itself in the foot" with its visa system for researchers.

BBC News - Top UK scientist says research visa restrictions endanger economy
www.bbc.com/news/article...

60,000 African penguins starve to death after sardine numbers collapse – study Climate crisis and overfishing contributed to loss of 95% of penguins in two breeding colonies in South Africa, research finds

Climate change and overfishing threaten African Penguins. BirdLife South Africa are fighting for this species’ future www.theguardian.com/environment/...

It is all too easy to regard new monitoring tech as the solution to environmental problems

All they do is expose in greater detail our degradation of the Earth

We need to use on that information to spur action - don’t just observe, act

Monitoring biodiversity on a budget: Optimizing camera trap selection in a biodiversity hotspot This study evaluates two common camera trap models used to monitor wildlife in a global biodiversity hotspot. We found that while Reconyx cameras provide marginally higher detectability, Swift camera...

How can we monitor biodiversity on a budget? In this article, Moore et al discuss optimizing camera trap selection in a biodiversity hotspot.🌿 Find their #openaccess article at doi.org/10.1111/csp2...

#conservation #biodiversity #science

Every pound donated gets doubled until midday on Tuesday 9th December or once we reach our target. Help us continue to provide A Voice For Bats at this critical moment donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05...

UK Bats - Types of bats - Bat Conservation Trust We are lucky enough to have 18 species of bat in the UK, 17 of which are known to be breeding here - that's almost a quarter of our mammal species. Ever...

🦇 Today is #WorldWildlifeConservationDay - Bats account for more than a quarter of mammal species in the UK and around 20% of all mammal species worldwide.

They are the only flying mammal in the world and each species is unique. Find out about UK bat species here: www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/w...

CITES has failed to protect Anguilla eels, even when the proposed modification of appendices was shy and insufficient
The most threatened Anguilla species must be in CITES Appendix I to avoid any international trade
See comment in Aquatic Conservation: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...