Blog

Welcome to the FERG blog! We share various goings-on, publications and adventures here, and all sorts else. Check out some of our recent posts in the carousel below, or scroll further down for some categories.

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FERG News January 2026

FERG News January 2026

2026-01-01

FERG Yearly Round-up 2025

FERG Yearly Round-up 2025

2025-12-17

New preprint: Arthropod predator nutrient content changes with crop sowing period with implications for biocontrol

New preprint: Arthropod predator nutrient content changes with crop sowing period with implications for biocontrol

2025-12-15

FERG News December 2025

FERG News December 2025

2025-12-02

FERG News November 2025

FERG News November 2025

2025-11-04

PHD STUDENTSHIP: Integrating molecular dietary analysis, nutritional ecology and network inference to assess ecosystem service trade-offs in omnivorous beetles

PHD STUDENTSHIP: Integrating molecular dietary analysis, nutritional ecology and network inference to assess ecosystem service trade-offs in omnivorous beetles

2025-10-28

FERG News October 2025

FERG News October 2025

2025-10-02

Jordan secured NERC-FAPESP funding with Raul Costa-Pereira to kickstart new UK-Brazil collaborative research!

Jordan secured NERC-FAPESP funding with Raul Costa-Pereira to kickstart new UK-Brazil collaborative research!

2025-09-16

Happy Peer Review Week!

Happy Peer Review Week!

2025-09-16

Max Tercel’s visit from Cibio, Portugal!

Max Tercel’s visit from Cibio, Portugal!

2025-09-10

FERG joined NEG in hosting EcoNet 2025!

FERG joined NEG in hosting EcoNet 2025!

2025-09-10

FERG News September 2025

FERG News September 2025

2025-09-04

Jordan awarded RES Alfred Russel Wallace Award

Jordan awarded RES Alfred Russel Wallace Award

2025-08-25

Check out Jordan’s talk about nutritional networks for entoLIVE on YouTube!

Check out Jordan’s talk about nutritional networks for entoLIVE on YouTube!

2025-08-19

Check out Ainsley’s new article out in The Conversation!

Check out Ainsley’s new article out in The Conversation!

2025-08-11

New preprint: Ecoacoustics for context-rich direct and indirect trophic interaction data and ecological network construction

New preprint: Ecoacoustics for context-rich direct and indirect trophic interaction data and ecological network construction

2025-08-07

FERG News August 2025

FERG News August 2025

2025-08-04

NEW PAPER: Threatened endemic arthropods and vertebrates partition their diets with non-native ants in an isolated island ecosystem

NEW PAPER: Threatened endemic arthropods and vertebrates partition their diets with non-native ants in an isolated island ecosystem

2025-08-01

Rosy published in the British Arachnological Society Newsletter!

Rosy published in the British Arachnological Society Newsletter!

2025-08-01

NEW PAPER: Aquatic biological invasions exacerbate nutritional and health inequities

NEW PAPER: Aquatic biological invasions exacerbate nutritional and health inequities

2025-08-01

Basem published some of his previous research on chickpea Ascochyta blight!

Basem published some of his previous research on chickpea Ascochyta blight!

2025-08-01

NEW PAPER: Spatio-temporal variation in diet among age and sex cohorts of a model generalist bird species, the great tit Parus major: new insights revealed by DNA metabarcoding

NEW PAPER: Spatio-temporal variation in diet among age and sex cohorts of a model generalist bird species, the great tit Parus major: new insights revealed by DNA metabarcoding

2025-08-01

NEW PAPER: Bridging digestive physiology and ecology for a more integrative understanding of invertebrate predators

NEW PAPER: Bridging digestive physiology and ecology for a more integrative understanding of invertebrate predators

2025-08-01

FERG News July 2025

FERG News July 2025

2025-07-24

FERG News June 2025

FERG News June 2025

2025-06-08

New preprint: Dietary RNA: diagnostic and functional RNA offer a potential paradigm shift for molecular dietary analyses

New preprint: Dietary RNA: diagnostic and functional RNA offer a potential paradigm shift for molecular dietary analyses

2025-06-06

Send us your crab spider photos and samples!

Send us your crab spider photos and samples!

2025-05-20

Will co-authors new paper on ant thermal limits

Will co-authors new paper on ant thermal limits

2025-05-11

NEW PAPER: ScannerVision: Scanner-based image acquisition of medically important arthropods for the development of computer vision and deep learning models

NEW PAPER: ScannerVision: Scanner-based image acquisition of medically important arthropods for the development of computer vision and deep learning models

2025-05-09

FERG News May 2025

FERG News May 2025

2025-05-01

Ainsley and Jack co-author new paper on the decline of UK fisheries

Ainsley and Jack co-author new paper on the decline of UK fisheries

2025-04-13

Congrats to Rosy on being elected RES Student Rep!

Congrats to Rosy on being elected RES Student Rep!

2025-04-02

Our nutritional networks paper shortlisted for the 2024 Elton Prize!

Our nutritional networks paper shortlisted for the 2024 Elton Prize!

2025-03-20

Ben and Jordan become Open Research Champions for Newcastle University!

Ben and Jordan become Open Research Champions for Newcastle University!

2025-02-21

Our recent spider paper featured on the cover of Oikos

Our recent spider paper featured on the cover of Oikos

2025-02-12

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science!

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science!

2025-02-11

SPECIAL ISSUE: Advances in insect biomonitoring for agriculture and forestry

SPECIAL ISSUE: Advances in insect biomonitoring for agriculture and forestry

2025-01-07

New preprint: Spatio-temporal variation in diet among age and sex cohorts of a model generalist bird species, the great tit Parus major, revealed by DNA metabarcoding

New preprint: Spatio-temporal variation in diet among age and sex cohorts of a model generalist bird species, the great tit Parus major, revealed by DNA metabarcoding

2025-01-06

Jordan interviewed about spider nutrition for The Naked Scientists

Jordan interviewed about spider nutrition for The Naked Scientists

2024-11-27

PHD STUDENTSHIP: Assessing ecosystem service trade-offs in omnivorous generalist beetles using network inference, molecular dietary analysis and nutritional networks

PHD STUDENTSHIP: Assessing ecosystem service trade-offs in omnivorous generalist beetles using network inference, molecular dietary analysis and nutritional networks

2024-11-18

Congrats to Will for winning a presentation award at the Fera Symposium!

Congrats to Will for winning a presentation award at the Fera Symposium!

2024-11-06

New preprint: Identifying the Fusarium species involved in foot rot disease of faba beans in the UK using a combined molecular and microbiological approach

New preprint: Identifying the Fusarium species involved in foot rot disease of faba beans in the UK using a combined molecular and microbiological approach

2024-10-28

NEW PAPER: Prey nutrient content is associated with the trophic interactions of spiders and their prey selection under field conditions

NEW PAPER: Prey nutrient content is associated with the trophic interactions of spiders and their prey selection under field conditions

2024-10-22

Jordan’s visit to Stano Pekár and Masaryk University

Jordan’s visit to Stano Pekár and Masaryk University

2024-10-11

Romuald Tcheutchoua’s visit for wasp gut analysis

Romuald Tcheutchoua’s visit for wasp gut analysis

2024-09-17

NEW PAPER: Networking nutrients: How nutrition determines the structure of ecological networks

NEW PAPER: Networking nutrients: How nutrition determines the structure of ecological networks

2024-07-01

Congrats to Ben for receiving an Open Research Commendation!

Congrats to Ben for receiving an Open Research Commendation!

2024-06-24

NEW PAPER: Understanding trophic interactions in a warming world by bridging foraging ecology and biomechanics with network science

NEW PAPER: Understanding trophic interactions in a warming world by bridging foraging ecology and biomechanics with network science

2024-06-15

NEW PAPER: Ecology, natural history, and conservation status of Scolopendra abnormis, a threatened centipede endemic to Mauritius

NEW PAPER: Ecology, natural history, and conservation status of Scolopendra abnormis, a threatened centipede endemic to Mauritius

2024-06-14

NEW PAPER: Biomonitoring of biocontrol across the full annual cycle in temperate climates

NEW PAPER: Biomonitoring of biocontrol across the full annual cycle in temperate climates

2024-06-08

NEW PAPER: Metabarcoding advances agricultural invertebrate biomonitoring by enhancing resolution, increasing throughput and facilitating network inference

NEW PAPER: Metabarcoding advances agricultural invertebrate biomonitoring by enhancing resolution, increasing throughput and facilitating network inference

2024-05-14

NEW PAPER: Identifying archived insect bulk samples using DNA metabarcoding: A case study using the long-term Rothamsted Insect Survey

NEW PAPER: Identifying archived insect bulk samples using DNA metabarcoding: A case study using the long-term Rothamsted Insect Survey

2024-05-14

NEW PAPER: The case for open research in entomology: Reducing harm, refining reproducibility and advancing insect science

NEW PAPER: The case for open research in entomology: Reducing harm, refining reproducibility and advancing insect science

2024-02-13

NEW PAPER: Sources of prey availability data alter interpretation of outputs from prey choice null networks

NEW PAPER: Sources of prey availability data alter interpretation of outputs from prey choice null networks

2024-02-02

New preprint: Biomonitoring of biocontrol across the full annual cycle in temperate climates: post-harvest, winter and early-season interaction data and methodological considerations for its collection

New preprint: Biomonitoring of biocontrol across the full annual cycle in temperate climates: post-harvest, winter and early-season interaction data and methodological considerations for its collection

2024-01-29

New preprint: Understanding trophic interactions in a warming world by bridging foraging ecology and biomechanics with network science

New preprint: Understanding trophic interactions in a warming world by bridging foraging ecology and biomechanics with network science

2023-12-18

New preprint: Metabarcoding advances agricultural invertebrate biomonitoring by enhancing resolution, increasing throughput, and facilitating network inference

New preprint: Metabarcoding advances agricultural invertebrate biomonitoring by enhancing resolution, increasing throughput, and facilitating network inference

2023-12-12

PHD STUDENTSHIP: Building belowground invertebrate trophic networks for soil health monitoring using metagenomics and ecoacoustics

PHD STUDENTSHIP: Building belowground invertebrate trophic networks for soil health monitoring using metagenomics and ecoacoustics

2023-12-12

PHD STUDENTSHIP: The impact of artificial light at night on optimal foraging, trophic networks and ecosystem services

PHD STUDENTSHIP: The impact of artificial light at night on optimal foraging, trophic networks and ecosystem services

2023-11-06

PHD STUDENTSHIP: Rustling up something to eat: investigating predator-plant interactions as indirect drivers of ecosystem services

PHD STUDENTSHIP: Rustling up something to eat: investigating predator-plant interactions as indirect drivers of ecosystem services

2023-11-04

NEW CHAPTER: A roadmap for biomonitoring in the 21st century: merging methods into metrics via ecological networks

NEW CHAPTER: A roadmap for biomonitoring in the 21st century: merging methods into metrics via ecological networks

2023-10-17

New preprint: The case for open research in entomology: reducing harm, refining reproducibility and advancing insect science

New preprint: The case for open research in entomology: reducing harm, refining reproducibility and advancing insect science

2023-10-10

EcoNet2023 and research visit to HUJI

EcoNet2023 and research visit to HUJI

2023-09-10

Jordan shortlisted for national postdoc award

Jordan shortlisted for national postdoc award

2023-09-09

New preprint: Sources of prey availability data alter interpretation of outputs from prey choice null networks

New preprint: Sources of prey availability data alter interpretation of outputs from prey choice null networks

2023-07-31

Open Research Award for Jordan and FERG!

Open Research Award for Jordan and FERG!

2023-07-30

NEW PAPER: Temporal variation in spider trophic interactions is explained by the influence of weather on prey communities, web building and prey choice

NEW PAPER: Temporal variation in spider trophic interactions is explained by the influence of weather on prey communities, web building and prey choice

2023-07-30

Primer time: a rollercoaster ride through metabarcoding PCR primer design

Primer time: a rollercoaster ride through metabarcoding PCR primer design

2021-03-29

People & Places

Informal articles