@silviaceausu
Postdoc at UCL CBER https://www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences/gee/ucl-centre-biodiversity-and-environment-research. Biodiversity conservation research focused on agriculture, trade, ecosystem services, human-wildlife coexistence, rewilding
I will be giving a UCL Lunch Hour lecture on the 13th of January, 13:00 – 14:00.
More land or higher yields? You can register here: www.ucl.ac.uk/events/event.... The talk will also be available as a video recording afterwards on YouTube.
Headline on top of image of howling wolf
🐺 Wolves and other large carnivore species are making a comeback in Europe.
Yet current conservation policies are still geared toward protecting species on the brink of extinction. This no longer reflects reality, argue researchers in a new commentary. www.stockholmresilience.org/5.1a496cd119...
Great paper! I really enjoyed it.
Hot from the @consletters.bsky.social press: "Now What? The Conundrum of Successful Recovery of Wolves and Other Species for European Conservation", where Erica Von Essen and I discuss future trajectories of species recovery and management in Europe. Here summarised by @sthlmresilience.bsky.social.
Fundraising insight: highlight your global impact. Results suggest non-use values (not local reciprocity) drive giving, especially in internationally connected cities
Key results:
Probability of donating rises with scale: Local ~74% → UK ~80% → Global ~84% (difference significant).
Donation amounts given were similar across scales (avg ≈ £13). It’s the likelihood to give that shifts with scale, not how much.
We tested this with a revised dictator game + real payments: 600 London residents could give part of a potential £50 prize to charities working locally, nationally, or globally. Donation amounts were similar across scales.
New paper: Londoners are more likely to donate to national & global environmental causes than local. Our findings suggest environmental giving isn’t as parochial as human-directed altruism #EnvEcon #Climate #Philanthropy
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lnZw3Hb%7...
🌾📉 New research published in @natureecoevo.bsky.social shows that intensifying existing farmland can sometimes harm local biodiversity more than expanding agricultural land.
Read more 👉 iiasa.ac.at/news/may-202...
@ucl.ac.uk @silviaceausu.bsky.social @tnewbold31.bsky.social
The intensification of existing farmland can sometimes be more harmful to local #biodiversity than expanding the area covered by agricultural land, finds a new study led by Dr @silviaceausu.bsky.social with Prof @tnewbold31.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social @ucllifesciences.bsky.social #LandUse
Hi Maksym, thank you for replying! The very sharp transitions are due to how we define tropical and non-tropical areas - based on latitude. In reality, the transitions would be more gradual but the effects of yield increases are strongly differentiated for tropical and non-tropical areas.
No one-size-fits-all. Depending on landscape and crop, either expansion or intensification can better safeguard species richness, abundance, or community uniqueness.
In the tropics, raising yields can favour wide-ranging, generalist species—especially in areas with a higher percentage of natural vegetation—echoing past shifts seen in temperate zones.
Boosting yields isn’t a free lunch either! Closing yield gaps is associated with a median species loss of 9% and median abundance loss of 11%. Additionally, almost 40% of global agricultural landscapes, predominantly in the tropics, are likely to lose community uniqueness.
Agricultural conversion hits biodiversity hard: -11 % species loss in primary vegetation in modified landscapes; -25 % / −40 % in cropland within natural/modified landscapes. Land conversion also reduces abundance and community uniqueness,with impacts depending on landscape type
Our study on the biodiversity impacts of agriculture in @natureecoevo.bsky.social rdcu.be/ekept Minimizing biodiversity loss requires a balance of expansion and intensification,while preserving unmodified land #Biodiversity #LandUse #ConservationScience @dleclere.bsky.social @tnewbold31.bsky.social
No one-size-fits-all. Depending on landscape and crop, either expansion or intensification can better safeguard species richness, abundance, or community uniqueness.
In the tropics, raising yields can favour wide-ranging, generalist species—especially in areas with a higher percentage of natural vegetation—echoing past shifts seen in temperate zones.
Boosting yields isn’t a free lunch either! Closing yield gaps is associated with a median species loss of 9% and median abundance loss of 11%. Additionally, almost 40% of global agricultural landscapes, predominantly in the tropics, are likely to experience increased biotic homogenization.
Agricultural conversion hits biodiversity hard: −11 % species loss in primary vegetation in modified landscapes; −25 % / −40 % in cropland within natural/modified landscapes. Land conversion also reduces abundance and increases biotic homogenization, with impacts varying depending on landscape type.