BBC Wild Europe - Invasive species video

Global Invasion - blurring the boundaries

Global economy, ease of travel and transportation, pet trade. What do these things have in common? Well, they all contribute towards a new component of human induced global environmental change: biological invasion. Throughout Earth's history species colonized new geographic areas and established successfully, so arguably to some extent biological invasion is a natural phenomenon. However the process we witness today is quite different from that of historical times regarding both spatial and temporal scales.

Bats, Birds and Purple Turbines

Earlier this year I came across a short report in the January issue of Oryx-The international Journal of Conservation, which suggested that wind turbines should be painted purple (see also BBC report). Beside making the landscape funky, there is scientific evidence that such a measure would have desirable impact on wildlife. But how and why?

Predicting Future Range Shifts - What can models tell us?

Species are already responding to climate change by moving upwards and polewards, and scientist are keen to know to what extent is this trend going to continue in the future. To address this question, several so called species distribution models (SDMs) have been developed. Ecological Niche Models are some of the most widely used ones. These models infer the habitat requirement of species by looking at correlation between their distribution and climatic conditions. Once the climatic requirement, the so called ‘climatic envelope’ of the species is established, its distribution can be projected into the future with altered climatic conditions.

On Thin Ice

The final episode of the stunning Frozen Planet series, entitled 'On Thin Ice' have been broadcasted today on BBC. Written and narrated by Sir David Attenborough, this episode explores the wide-ranging impact of rising global temperature on the most badly impacted regions of our planet, the Arctic and Antarctic. It touches on most major issues, such as the response of wildlife, the impact on Inuit communities, melting of glacier, and sea level rise. It features stunning images on the recent break-up of the Wilkins Ice Sheet on the Antarctic peninsula, and on the meltwater lakes and drains of Greenland. The whole series, and this episode in particular is I think a fine example of how scientists could and should communicate issues like global warming to the public. It's both entertaining and scientific at the same time, hopefully it will make many of us realise the impact we make on our very own Frozen Planet. The episode is available to watch on BBC iPlayer. Enjoy!