The BulletinYOUR MAGAZINE FROM THE BRITISH ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY BES BULLETIN VOLin 45:3FOCUS / AUGUST 2014 Photo: Benjamin Magana-Rodriguez Long exposure photograph showing the Cardon Pachycerus pringlei with star trails in the clear night sky 2 Contents August 2014 OFFICERS AND COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR 2013-4 REGULARS President: William Sutherland Welcome / Alan Crowden 4 Past-President: Georgina Mace Vice-President: Richard Bardgett President’s Piece: Monitoring change / W. J. Sutherland 5 Acting Vice-President: Andrew Pullin Honorary Treasurer: Drew Purves Science Policy 10 Council Secretary: Dave Hodgson Providing evidence to policy makers: we host a workshop / Cheryl Pilbeam Honorary Chairpersons: 10 Top Tips for engaging and communicating with policy makers Andrew Beckerman (Meetings) Alan Gray (Publications) Natural Capital Initiative – Valuing our Life Support Systems / Daija Angeli Will Gosling (Education, Training Formidable Formicidae / Gabrielle Flinn and Careers) Juliet Vickery (Public and Policy) Special Interest Group News 16 Richard Bardgett (Grants) Climate change Ecology; Ecological Genetics; Computational Ecology; Parasite and Pathogen Ecology and Evolution; Tropical Ecology; Macroecology; Peatland Research; Plants, Soils, ORDINARY MEMBERS OF COUNCIL: Ecosystems; Plant Environmental Physiology; Agricultural Ecology Retiring Emma Goldberg, 2014 Of Interest to Members 27 William Gosling, Ruth Mitchell Julia Blanchard, 2015 The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management / Sally Hayns 43 Greg Hurst, Paul Raven Emma Sayer, Owen Lewis, 2016 Publishing News 45 Matt O’Callaghan Book Reviews 48 Diana Gilbert, Jane Hill, 2017 Joanna Randall Diary 56 Bulletin Editor: Alan Crowden 48 Thornton Close, Girton, Cambridge CB3 0NG FEATURES Email: [email protected] BES Photographic Competition 2014 7 Associate Editor: Emma Sayer A Conservation Success story: A symposium Considering the Future of Conservation 8 Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ Obituary: David Harding / John Packham and Ian Trueman 28 Email: [email protected] Finding the right words: A study of how and why we communicate our science with 29 Book Reviews Editor: Peter Thomas School of Life Sciences, Huxley non-peers / Peter Levi Building, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG Not just speedy – Supersonic! Speed interviews with the BES journal editors / Emma Sayer 30 Tel: 01782 733497 Email: [email protected] Rant and Reason: Do you really think it’s a ‘major paradigm shift’? / Emma Sayer 33 PUBLISHING IN Rant response / Keith Alexander 36 THE BES BULLETIN The Bulletin is published four times Rant response / Mick Green 37 a year in March, June, August and December. Contributions of all types From our southern correspondent / Richard Hobbs 39 are welcomed, but if you are planning to write we recommend you contact one of the editorial team in advance In Defense of Footnotes / John Wiens 41 to discuss your plans (Bulletin@ BritishEcologicalSociety.org). The British Ecological Society: Accounts for 2013 together with Council’s and 58 Material should be sent to the editor by auditor’s reports email or on a disk in Word or rtf format. Pictures should be sent as jpeg or TIFF (*tif) files suitable for printing at 300dpi. Books to be considered for review should be sent directly to the Book Reviews Editor Peter Thomas. Cover: This photo of a rock agama by Mick Hanley was entered for a previous BES photo competition. Entries are now open for the 2014 edition of this popular event. Design: Neo (weareneo.com) Print Management: H2 Associates (Cambridge) Ltd. 3 BES BULLETIN VOL 45:3 / AUGUST 2014 WELCOME The British Ecological Society is the oldest ecological society So, what has the in the world, having been established in 1913. Since 1980 it has been a Registered Charity BES done for us? limited by guarantee. Membership is open to all who are genuinely interested in ecology, whether in the British Isles or abroad, and membership currently stands at about 5500, about half of whom It is hard to believe that a year has already the findings of this international survey so I’m are based outside the UK. gone by since the International Congress of happy to encourage you to participate in the Ecology was held in London. INTECOL was survey: see page 29 for details. The Society holds a variety of not the largest gathering of ecologists in 2013, meetings each year. The Annual but it drew delegates from the widest range Meeting attracts a wide range You’ll see from the Council report how of papers, often by research of countries and offered the most illuminating important journals are to the BES. To provide students, and includes a series band of plenary, thematic and other speakers a bit of background to the publishing that of informal specialist group of any meeting in recent times. I wonder how underpins the scientific credibility and financial discussions; whereas the Annual many new ideas were fomented, what new strength of the Society, Emma Sayer undertook Symposium and many other collaborations were instigated, how many to conduct a set of speed interviews with smaller meetings are usually students went home committed to a career in BES journal editors. ‘Speed interviews’ are so more specialised and include ecology and how many senior ecologists were called because the questions are short and few invited speakers from around the world. reinvigorated by the enthusiasm all around in number, in keeping with asking a favour them? The Congress was a central plank of the of busy people, and we rather hoped that Proceedings of some of these Society’s centenary celebrations and naturally these would arrive in time to be included in features as a focal point in Council’s report meetings are published by the December issue. The velocity with which the Society in its Ecological to the members for 2013, which begins on responses arrived back astonished us (p30). If Reviews book series. The Society p58. Yet the meeting takes up quite a small you want to know what it takes to be super distributes free to all members, proportion of the report because of the many efficient, at the forefront of research and have four times a year, the Bulletin and varied activities that your Society pursues: the judgement of Solomon, read on. I think it is which contains news and views, publishing; promoting ecology and ecologists; sheer coincidence that the next article is Emma meeting announcements, a supporting an ambitious and varied portfolio having a Rant (p33); don’t miss Buzzword comprehensive diary and many of meetings; supporting and contributing to bingo provided for your amusement during other features. In addition the education and capacity building; promoting Society produces five scientific future meetings. There are also a couple of journals. The Journal of Ecology, the use of ecological science in policymaking; responses to earlier rants; Keith Alexander building partnerships with like-minded Societies Journal of Animal Ecology, offers what might best be described as a robust Journal of Applied Ecology and and groups; all while ensuring the long term response to last December’s ‘Leave it Alone’ stability of the organisation. It is brilliant that Functional Ecology are sold at (p36) followed by Mick Green’s rather gentler a discounted rate to members. so many of you support the BES with your views on the earlier contributions. Methods in Ecology and Evolution subscriptions, by submitting your papers to our is free to BES members. The journals, by giving time to serve on committees Society also supports research Simon Queenborough wrote a fascinating or to attend BES meetings. If you take the time and ecological education with to read the report and accounts you’ll see what series of pieces for the Bulletin on the secrets grant aid. Further details about an outstanding effort the Council and executive of successful ecologists, profiling some of our the Society and membership staff are doing to run an effective, efficient and most productive colleagues in the search for a can be obtained from the innovative Society. secret formula. I miss those contributions and Executive Director (address inside for anyone with similar views Richard Hobbs’ back cover). latest musing may fill the gap (p39). It takes Elsewhere in this issue Bill Sutherland focuses on considerable effort, intellect and skill to hone a The Bulletin circulates exclusively the role of monitoring in a time of rapid change stellar career spanning Scotland, California and to members of the British (p5). There is a substantial group of Science Australia (Richard tells me), but serendipity and Ecological Society. It carries information on meetings and Policy contributions beginning on p10 and the willingness to take a chance clearly lends other activities, comment these segway into the Special Interest Group a hand. Young ecologists in search of a career news via James Pearce-Higgins’ report (p16) and other topical items. path, read and take inspiration. And make sure Unsigned commentaries are the on the launch meeting for the Climate Change you read the footnotes (p41). Ecology SIG. responsibility of the Editor and do not necessarily represent the views of the Society. In the June Bulletin Peter Thomas urged readers to consider ways in which ecologists A limited company, registered can take their subject to a wider audience; by in England No. 1522897 and a coincidence Peter Levi contacted me to ask if Registered Charity No. 2812134. we could