@anthropocenebio
World-leading interdisciplinary research into the complexities of biodiversity gains and losses in the Anthropocene, funded by The Leverhulme Trust and based at the University of York. #LCAB
Sarah Bezan & Peter Sands edit a special issue that examines de-extinction through the lenses of art and science.
The issue considers the ways in which species revival depends as much on speculative imaginaries as it does on the hard genetic & ecological sciences.
www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...
This Sustainability Week join LCAB and @york.ac.uk grounds staff to plant a blackthorn thicket on Campus East.
📆4 March
🕜13:30 - 16:00
Open to staff and students but places are limited so book now: www.york.ac.uk/about/sustai...
Researching God’s Acre: The Biodiversity of British Churchyards
A widespread community initiative seeking to improve biodiversity in the UK is churchyard improvement schemes. @jessbotha.bsky.social considers why they're important & what we can learn from them
www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...
Exploring Community and Government forest #conservation in #Nigeria provide the evidence on how management, local security, and collaboration are essential for forest #sustainability @anthropocenebio.bsky.social @yesiuoy.bsky.social @uoyenvironment.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Clemency Cooper’s PhD research aims to understand how perceptions of the landscape have shaped the North York Moors, and how evidence of past change might influence decisions about its future character.
@northyorkmoors.org.uk
www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...
LCAB at IPBES 12: Reflections from Manchester.
An LCAB group attended #IPBES12 to observe proceedings, engage with stakeholders & learn more about how the platform works in practice.
Find out more about what they learned: www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...
How can AI support biodiversity? 🤖🐝
Researchers from Computer Science and Ecology are teaming up to create a ChatGPT-style tool that gives farmers tailored advice on pollination.
Grounding cutting-edge AI in real-world ecological knowledge. Learn more about the project 🔗 buff.ly/Tl2PUA3
From forests to reefs, biodiversity underpins the health & functioning of ecosystems, yet measuring biodiversity is not an easy task. Victoria's PhD research will compare different approaches & examine how they shape our interpretation of biodiversity trends. #IPBES12
www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...
A new study reveals key challenges & recommends solutions for protecting biodiversity within oil palm landscapes.
Corporate commitments to biodiversity protection are difficult to achieve; linking scientific guidance with local knowledge is key to success.
www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...
#IPBES12
Academics, policy makers and businesses are coming together this week at #IPBES12 in Manchester. LCAB researchers are official observers at this important plenary meeting which will have a particular focus on business and biodiversity and the nature-positive approaches companies can adopt.
Jamie Carr highlights the growing call for rights-based, locally led conservation and introduces his horizon scan on the realities - challenges, trade-offs and co-benefits - of implementing the Principles for Inclusive Nature Action in real-world contexts.
www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...
#IPBES12
A privilege to spend a day behind the scenes at @yorkmuseumstrust.bsky.social collections and the conversations it sparks - from #biodiversity changes to ecosystem restoration, from human environment interactions through to #art and engagement @ypsyork.bsky.social @anthropocenebio.bsky.social
Join us for a discussion and screening of UNRULY with @joenq.bsky.social; a South African theatre production exploring challenges of human-wildlife coexistence when tensions run high between people and baboons.
Thurs 26 Feb | 10am or 3pm
Book a place: www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...
📢 New paper: Life on New Earth: biodiversity change & humanity in a novel future
A counterpoint to collapse based narratives of biosphere futures by accounting for how ecological novelty, gains & past human experiences can help us navigate accelerating biodiversity change.
doi.org/10.1098/rstb...
Eilidh Thompson introduces her PhD research into the decline of fish numbers in Ullswater. Piecing together sources of historical information, including fishing guides, romantic literature & newspaper reports, she hopes to be able to model the history of the lake.
www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...
Andrew Hill reflects on the Theoretical Archaeology Group annual meeting where he presented the theory behind his current project titled ‘The Never-Wildwood: Humans and Beavers in Britain’s Woodlands in the Mesolithic and the Present’.
@tag2025york.bsky.social
www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...
Funded by the China Scholarship Council, Dr Wei recently completed a 1-year visit to LCAB. The visit fostered interdisciplinary collaboration & contributed to our understanding of how society responds to environmental shifts, focusing on ecosystems & land-use trends.
www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...
Rooted in environmental psychology, nature connection can be understood as an eighteenth-century phenomenon. Here Harrie Neal explores how nature connection has become a highly influential psychological framework across the environmental sciences and civil society.
www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...
There's still just over two weeks left to apply to our workshop exploring historical approaches to non-human life.
It will take place on 9-10th April 2026, and aims to bring together scholars across disciplinary divides.
PGR and ECR support available thanks to the generosity of our sponsors!
Yellow-collared Lovebirds - two small green parrots with yellow breasts and collars and black heads. White eyelinter and a sharp red beak. They're cute. Mnay lovebirds are kept as pets but escape sometimes and have colonised lots of places they weren't in before.
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
Find out more about Georgina Mitchell's recent trip to the Smart & Sustainable Planning for Cities & Regions conference.
Georgina's research focuses on ‘urban rewilding’, which seeks to restore degraded ecosystems in urban spaces using minimal human intervention.
www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...
A family of elephants at a waterhole viewed from about toe height. with a baobab behind them. These are coold beasts!
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
📣 Call for Abstracts | INQUA Congress 2027
📍 Lucknow, India | 🗓 Jan 28–Feb 3, 2027
Re-evaluating Long-Term Human–Biodiversity Relationships.
Case studies & syntheses highlighting positive human–nature relations from archaeology & across the palaeosciences
⏰Deadline: 15 Feb 2026
🌏🧪🌐
#INQUA2027
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....
We're heading into 2026 with a new Associate Director! We're thrilled @sabineclarke.bsky.social has agreed to take on this role after being a great LCAB supervisor for several years. Sabine takes over from the brilliant Mark Jenner. Find out more about Sabine's work:
www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...
Take a look at our blog on the essential contributions of women to fungal biodiversity data in the early 20th century.
Meg Burgess discusses the importance of the history of mycology & how it affects understanding of scientific, working class, & domestic cultures.
www.york.ac.uk/anthropocene...
An African savanna elephant using its trunk to pull branches towards its mouth.
My first PhD paper is out today in Conservation Biology! @society4conbio.bsky.social
Freely available to read here: doi.org/10.1111/cobi...
Tldr 🧵 below!
Did you miss Rosie's #BES2025 talk on a novel metric for Novel Ecosystems? That's a pity...but don't worry, you can still catch up with the recording in the app! @anthropocenebio.bsky.social
Catch up on our sold out lecture with @tonyjuniper.bsky.social.
Tony reflects on environmental legacy, current climate challenges and social inequalities before considering how we might tackle some of these issues.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y24-...
Increasing human ecological impact over the Holocene (11,700 - 150 years ago) led to biodiversity gains in Europe.
Why? From ~8,500 years ago, the spread of farming created heterogeneous, habitat-rich landscapes that enhanced biodiversity.
Read our new paper: dx.doi.org/10.1111/geb....
🌏 🧪