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!"
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
Check out this new paper which Jordan contributed to, led by Jenny Coomes, who Jordan co-PhDed with: 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 This study used dietary metabarcoding to characterise the diets of great titsContinue reading "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: Bridging digestive physiology and ecology for a more integrative understanding of invertebrate predators
Check out this new paper from Shawn Wilder's lab at Oklahoma State University in the US, which Jordan contributed to: Bridging digestive physiology and ecology for a more integrative understanding of invertebrate predators The paper examines the interface between foraging ecology and digestive physiology, particularly focusing on how integrating micronutrients, foraging behaviour, symbiomes and AnthropoceneContinue reading "NEW PAPER: Bridging digestive physiology and ecology for a more integrative understanding of invertebrate predators"
FERG News July 2025
It's been such a busy month that this is almost an August news update! Most of us have been busy in the field or lab lately, so there's a little less to update you all on from June, but plenty going on and lots of exciting things to come from it all soon! Read belowContinue reading "FERG News July 2025"
FERG News June 2025
It's been another busy month, with plenty of fieldwork underway, some new faces and some nice new outputs! Read below for all of the recent updates, some other things we'd like to share and a foraging logic puzzle to keep you busy! New FERGers We have the immense pleasure of welcoming Eva Benkhoff to ourContinue reading "FERG News June 2025"
New preprint: Dietary RNA: diagnostic and functional RNA offer a potential paradigm shift for molecular dietary analyses
Check out this new preprint that Jordan led with an incredible team of researchers across Newcastle University (including our very own Ben Hawthorne) and the University of Innsbruck! The analysis of DNA from stomachs, faeces and regurgitates has revolutionised trophic ecology over the last two decades, but RNA has scarcely been considered within this context.Continue reading "New preprint: Dietary RNA: diagnostic and functional RNA offer a potential paradigm shift for molecular dietary analyses"
