Fixing the Fens
14 Apr 2023Reconciling human activities with nature is never going to be easy, but a new Cambridge group is using everything it’s got to try and protect a vital part of the UK.
News from the Department of Zoology.
At least 80% of the world’s most important sites for biodiversity on land currently contain human developments
23 Mar 2023At least 80% of sites identified as being internationally important for biodiversity on land currently contain infrastructure − of which more than 75% contain roads. In the future, more sites that are important for biodiversity could contain powerplants, mines and oil and gas infrastructure
New animal welfare scoring system could enable better-informed food and farming choices
22 Mar 2023Cambridge University scientists have come up with a system of measuring animal welfare that enables reliable comparison across different types of pig farming.
Knowing your ants from your anteaters: Are wildlife documentaries showing us the ‘real’ natural world?
15 Mar 2023Wildlife documentaries miss an opportunity to highlight the diversity of nature by focusing too much on mammals and birds, according to a new study.
Remarkable squirting mussels captured on film
11 Mar 2023Cambridge researchers have observed a highly unusual behaviour in the endangered freshwater mussel, Unio crassus.
First wiring map of insect brain complete
10 Mar 2023Researchers have built the first ever map showing every single neuron and how they’re wired together in the brain of the fruit fly larva.
Humanity’s quest to discover the origins of life in the universe
08 Mar 2023Scientists from the University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, Harvard University, and the University of Chicago have founded the Origins Federation, which will advance our understanding of the emergence and early evolution of life, and its place in the cosmos.
Voluntary UK initiatives to phase out toxic lead shot for pheasant hunting have had little impact
27 Feb 2023Three years into a five-year pledge to completely phase out lead shot in UK game hunting, a Cambridge study finds that 94% of pheasants on sale for human consumption were killed using lead.
‘Antisocial’ damselfish are scaring off cleaner fish customers – and this could contribute to coral reef breakdown
23 Feb 2023Damselfish have been discovered to disrupt ‘cleaning services’ vital to the health of reefs. And climate change may mean this is only likely to get worse.
Small-scale octopus fisheries can provide sustainable source of vital nutrients for tropical coastal communities
26 Jan 2023Undernourished coastal communities in the tropics - where children’s growth can be stunted by a lack of micronutrients – can get the vitamins and minerals they need from sustainable small-scale octopus fisheries, say researchers.
