Colin Beale
@cmbeale.bsky.social
Ecologist, ornithologist & nature lover.
Professor of ecology & conservation at the University of York.
Author of 101 Curious Tales of East African Birds.
Chair of A Rocha UK.
Environmental science
65%
Geography
16%
invasive species are probably not what you want to focus on to achieve this - focus on rare species. But this research (and others we're doing) makes me question whether it is a conservation priority at all. Should we manage for beta diversity / to reduce homenisation? I suspect not...
The homogenisation literature seems to view homogenisation as a bad thing & suggests that yes, we should care about the emergent property of communities that is beta divesity itself - increasing this should be an objective of conservation. Our results suggest if you subscribe to that view, then
I suspect if we actually calculated contributions separately introduced species would be increasing overall beta diversity in most of our examples. The key question, therefore, is do we want to conserve beta diversity for the sake of beta diversity itself, or is that not a priority?
I think a key point I'm making is perhaps slightly hidden here - it is that if (and potentially only if) you care about beta diversity, then you should care more about rare specise than widespread introduced ones.
so they can avoid mating with very close relatives www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... but we also know quality differences usually show up in breeding success, as well as longer-term recuitment success, so it's not clear what the mechanism is for this benefit to dispersal in these very cute birds! 6/6
either the ♀️♀️ that move further are intrinsically better quality birds, or moving further means these ♀️♀️can escape any inbreeding costs from breeding with more closely related ♂️♂️ . We know inbreeding costs are big, but we we also know long-tailed tits detect relatedness from call similarity 5/
But in long-tailed tits we see a remarkably strong increase in the numbers of offspring that subsequently recruit into the breeding population for females that disperse further. They don't have bigger broods or fledge more, but they yound survive better. 2 plausible reasons why this is: 4/
Most of what we know about this comes from Ben Hatchwell's group www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/.... They've shown that it's usually ♂️♂️ that help, while ♀️♀️ move off. Dispersal is risky: you have to move somewhere new, where you don't know where food is or predators lurk, so the benefits must be high. 3/4
Like most birds, ♀️ long-tailed tits disperse further than ♂️♂️ (this is the opposite to what is seen in mammals, & no-one knows why they differ!). Long-tailed tits are also cooperative breeders: some young from a 1st brood stay & help rear the next brood, and 2nd broods are therefore bigger. 2/N
Just recieved news from @btobirds.bsky.social that one of our campus Long-tailed Tits had been found over the weekend all of 7km east of where we ringed it as a baby in the summer. A flock in the garden this morning gives an opportunity to share a little story about dispersal in this cute bird! 1/N🦉
Congrats due mainly to @jackhhatfield.bsky.social I promise you, but thanks!
This was another really great bit of work by @molly-rc-brown.bsky.social & it was great to work with @professorpub.bsky.social & Shuo Gao on this. Thanks too to @leverhulme.ac.uk for funding through @anthropocenebio.bsky.social ! May there be every more 🐘🐘🐘! 6/6
We conclude that to save elephants through reducing demand, one-size-fits-all campaigns thank major on building feelings of guilt or moral assertions aren't enough. We need culturally nuanced, segmented strategies that target specific motivations like gifting & social status. 5/6
Many consumers still view ivory as a profitable financial investment, believing its resale value will only rise if elephant popoulations continute to fall, and we identified a segment of 'diehard buyers' who remain completely unswayed by legal bans or conservation messaging. How to reach them? 4/6
a penguin wearing a santa hat is holding a gift box with the words for you above it
ALT: a penguin wearing a santa hat is holding a gift box with the words for you above it
media.tenor.com
Ivory is most frequently purchased as a gift for friends or business contacts. This isn't just a transaction; it’s a way to build social capital. Gifting ivory helps build 'face' and signals the giver's refined taste & status. 3/6
So why do people still buy ivory? Molly identifies the sense of beauty of ivory as a primary driver, but for many consumers, ivory isn't just a product; it’s an irreplaceable material symbolising auspiciousness, luck, and prosperity. Its aesthetic value is deeply tied to cultural identity. 2/6
New paper alert! Despite China’s landmark 2017 domestic ivory ban, demand hasn't vanished. The fab @molly-rc-brown.bsky.social's 2nd PhD paper out today reviews the deep-seated psychological and social reasons why demand persists. 🌍 🧪
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... 1/6
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... 1/6
Some other issues are raised too: declines in very common species to about 50% occupancy will increase beta-diversity, suggesting that perhaps we should be very specific about aspects of diversity we want to manage. Thanks to Jack, @jonathan-gdon.bsky.social & Chris Thomas for fun on this! 5/5
Since the differences between sites (beta diversity) is a key component of biodivesity there has been some interest in how to conserve this aspect. Ou rwork suggests traditional conservation focussed on rare species will work better than worrying about introductions to achieve this goal. 4/5
Because there are usually more localised species (found in <25% of sites) than widespread ones, it is change in rare species that generates the strongest net change in the community differences. Homogenisation, therefore, is driven by net changes in rare species, not spread of common ones. 3/5
Species found in roughly 50% of sites contribute the most individually to community differences. But both increase or decrease in frequency of these species will reduce community differences, while super abundant species have little impact on community differences. 2/5
New paper! Led by @jackhhatfield.bsky.social we looked at species driving biotic homogenisation (biological communities becoming more similar). onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... Current wisdom assumes expansion of human-associated common species is the cause of homogenisation, but is it?🌍🧪1/5
doi.org
New paper with @jonathan-gdon.bsky.social @cmbeale.bsky.social and Chris Thomas looking at species contributions to biotic homogenisation and differentiation.
@anthropocenebio.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/geb....
@anthropocenebio.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1111/geb....
They are rather fine!
Have a smart male pochard for #InternationalUnsolicitedDuckPicDay ducks do make some of the best #birds
Last chance to apply for this ACCE+ DPT PhD project on nomadic birds in East Africa: www.findaphd.com/phds/project... deadline is tomorrow, so still time to draft soemthing good! It will be a great project with @funkyant.bsky.social too, so please apply!
where the species might be present but no yet recorded we can direct field work to best inform conservation priroities. But wait - what are oil collecting bees anyway?! They're solitary bees that forage on oil-producing flowers like this Twinspur (Diascia), often with long legs to dip in spurs. 3/3
We found that filling likely gaps in distribution data using distribution models resulted in a lower threat assessment for species than using IUCN approved methods for sparsely reported species, & also suggested more of their range might be protected. By highlighting possible locations in PAs... 2/3
Starting the week with a 1st new paper of the year! Led by Annalie Melin, this is a red-list assessment for her newly described oil-collecting bee species. Red Listing invertebrates is notoroisly hard, as data on distribution & longevity are sparse. 🧪🌏1/3 links.springernature.com/f/a/Ih58aJfK...
Tiny forests, huge claims: The evidence gap behind the Miyawaki method for forest restoration
To scale up restoration effectively, practitioners and policymakers should prioritize methods supported by robust empirical evidence rather than relying on untested claims. Our findings highlight the...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
I often get asked about the Miyawaki method of forest restoration, usually by people who have heard extraordinary claims for it. Morales et al. (2025) have reviewed the evidence and found it to be weak or absent. 🌏🧪🌳🌲 besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...