Another month of fieldwork and fun here in FERG! Alongside all of the various field experiments well under way, we've had some exciting adventures to conferences and courses, some new articles and protocols, and even a new (non-human) member of the group! New FERGers Welcome to our new trusty fieldwork trolley, Selina Go-mez! She's beenContinue reading "FERG News September 2025"
Jordan awarded RES Alfred Russel Wallace Award
Jordan has been awarded the Royal Entomological Society's Alfred Russel Wallace Award for his PhD thesis, submitted in 2020! The award is for post-graduates who have been awarded a PhD, and whose work is considered by their supervisory team to be outstanding. The research involved should be a significant contribution to the science of entomology. TheContinue reading "Jordan awarded RES Alfred Russel Wallace Award"
Check out Jordan’s talk about nutritional networks for entoLIVE on YouTube!
Jordan recently gave a talk for entoLIVE about recent and ongoing FERG research focused on nutritional networks, including some hot-off-the-press results for a couple of upcoming publications, and some fun new analogies for prey choice and network robustness. If you're devastated that you missed it, fear not - it's been immortalised on YouTube! Check outContinue reading "Check out Jordan’s talk about nutritional networks for entoLIVE on YouTube!"
Check out Ainsley’s new article out in The Conversation!
Ainsley has co-authored an article just out in The Conversation! Check it out here: The UK is losing its small fishing boats – and the communities they support The UK has a long history of small-scale fishing boats that support local fish markets, communities, economies and a rich cultural heritage, but these are disappearing. Whilst theseContinue reading "Check out Ainsley’s new article out in The Conversation!"
New preprint: Ecoacoustics for context-rich direct and indirect trophic interaction data and ecological network construction
Check out this new preprint that Will led alongside his PhD supervisory team across Newcastle University, Fera Science Ltd and Nottingham Trent University! Ecoacoustics can be used to monitor biodiversity across massive spatiotemporal scales, including in ecologically cryptic systems like soil, yet its application to the detection and characterisation of predator-prey interactions remains poorly developed.Continue reading "New preprint: Ecoacoustics for context-rich direct and indirect trophic interaction data and ecological network construction"
FERG News August 2025
After a quieter newsletter last month, with everyone out in the field, stuck into their lab work or away at conferences, we've had all sorts coming through in July! From new papers, through graduations, to various field adventures, read on for a full update! We have a fun puzzle based on degenerate DNA sequences thisContinue reading "FERG News August 2025"
NEW PAPER: Threatened endemic arthropods and vertebrates partition their diets with non-native ants in an isolated island ecosystem
Check out this new paper led by long-term FERG collaborator Max Tercel, which Jordan contributed to: Threatened endemic arthropods and vertebrates partition their diets with non-native ants in an isolated island ecosystem Invasive species are among the greatest threats to biodiversity in the 21st century, and ants are among the most ecologically damaging. In thisContinue reading "NEW PAPER: Threatened endemic arthropods and vertebrates partition their diets with non-native ants in an isolated island ecosystem"
Rosy published in the British Arachnological Society Newsletter!
Following a successful start to Rosy's 'Spider Spies' project (which you can read all about here), she has published an article all about it in the British Arachnological Society Newsletter! The article describes these wonderful spiders, why Rosy is looking to collect them and any records of them, and what Rosy's wider work on themContinue reading "Rosy published in the British Arachnological Society Newsletter!"
NEW PAPER: Aquatic biological invasions exacerbate nutritional and health inequities
Check out this new paper led by Josie South from University of Leeds, which Jordan contributed to: Aquatic biological invasions exacerbate nutritional and health inequities This research extends the concept of nutritional networks (developed by and continuing to evolve within FERG) to social-ecological networks. The flow of nutrients through ecological systems naturally influences the nutrientsContinue reading "NEW PAPER: Aquatic biological invasions exacerbate nutritional and health inequities"
Basem published some of his previous research on chickpea Ascochyta blight!
Check out Basem's new paper, published in Arab Journal Of Plant Protection: Genetic diversity and mating type distribution of Ascochyta rabiei populations affecting chickpea This paper is an outcome of Basem's previous work with the International Center for Agricultural Research in The Dry Areas (ICARDA) in Lebanon. The paper investigates the genetic diversity and matingContinue reading "Basem published some of his previous research on chickpea Ascochyta blight!"
Foraging Ecology Research Group 