BES BULLETIN VOLin 47:1FOCUS / MARCH 2016 An Oryx (Oryx gazella) amongst the sand dunes of the Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia. Photograph by Ute Bradter, overall runner up of this year’s BES photocompetition. Contents March 2016 OFFICERS AND COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR 2015-16 REGULARS President: Sue Hartley Welcome / Alan Crowden 4 Past President: William Sutherland Vice-President: Rosie Hails President’s Piece / Sue Hartley 5 Vice-President: Andrew Pullin Honorary Treasurer: Drew Purves The 2015 Annual Meeting / Alan Crowden 7 Council Secretary: Adam Vanbergen Honorary Chairpersons: Annual Meeting Student Prize Winners 2015 / Amy Everard 9 Zoe Davies (Meetings) Alan Gray (Publications) Award Winners 2015 / Alan Crowden 11 Will Gosling (Education, Training and Careers) First Impressions / Lauren Ratcliffe 13 Juliet Vickery (Public and Policy) Rosie Hails (Grants) 2015 BES Science Slam / Lauren Ratcliffe 14 ORDINARY MEMBERS A New Identity for a strong future 17 OF COUNCIL: Retiring NEWS FROM THE EXTERNAL AFFAIRS TEAM 18 Emma Sayer, Owen Lewis, 2016 Policy Update: Debating GMOs at the Annual Meeting / Amy Fensome Matt O’Callaghan Diana Gilbert, Jane Hill, 2017 Public Engagement / Jessica Bays 20 Joanna Randall Dawn Scott, Markus Eichhorn, 2018 A report on the Early Careers Programme at the 2015 Annual Meeting 21 Lindsay Turnbull developed by BES, INNGE and SfE / Julia Clause Peter Brotherton, Yvonne Buckley, 2019 Nina Hautekeete In 2 Science 25 Bulletin Editor: Alan Crowden 48 Thornton Close, Girton, BES Photographic Competition 2015 / Amy Everard 26 Cambridge CB3 0NG Email: AGM minutes 30 [email protected] A Calendar of SIG events in 2016 / Amelia Simpson 32 Associate Editor: Lauren Ratcliffe Email: Special Interest Group News 34 [email protected] Microbial Ecology; Aquatic Ecology; Conservation Ecology; Quantitative Ecology; Book Reviews Editor: Sarah Taylor Macroecology; Peatlands Research; Climate Change Ecology; Forest Ecology; School of Life Sciences, Huxley Plant Environmental Physiology; Plants, Soils, Ecosystems; Citizen Science Building, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG Of Interest to Members 44 Sarah is currently on leave of absence. All enquiries relating to book reviews to the Bulletin Editor. The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management / Sally Hayns 73 PUBLISHING IN Publishing News 74 THE BES BULLETIN The Bulletin is published four times Book Reviews 79 a year in March, June, August and December. Contributions of all types Diary 85 are welcomed, but if you are planning to write we recommend you contact one of the editorial team in advance FEATURES to discuss your plans (Bulletin@ BritishEcologicalSociety.org). What are the forthcoming legislative issues of interest to ecologists and conservationists 45 Material should be sent to the editor by in 2016? / William J. Sutherland, Eleanor Burke, Ben Connor, John Martin, Paul McNamee, email or on a disk in Word or rtf format. Clive Mitchell, Kathryn A. Monk, Katharina Rogalla von Bieberstein, Des B.A. Thompson Pictures should be sent as jpeg or TIFF (*tif) files suitable for printing at 300dpi. Ecologists’ Lives / Sam Berry 55 Books to be considered for review should be sent directly to the Bulletin Editor. Amyan Macfadyen 1920-2015 / Nigel Webb 57 Cover photo: The photograph of an Affecting grassroots ecology - the unrecognised impacts of cuts to local authority 59 Algerian Psammodromus lizard by countryside & environmental services / Ian D. Rotherham Roberto Garcia Roa was the winner of the 2015 BES photocompetition. See page 26 onwards. Ecosystem Services and Nature Conservation: Chalk and Cheese or a Match Made 62 in Heaven? / Rob Brooker Design: Neo (weareneo.com) Print Management: Ecosystem Health – needing another approach? / Neil Humphries 68 H2 Associates (Cambridge) Ltd. Science, policy and practice: lessons from Paris and Edinburgh / Mike Morecroft 70 Mee(a)ting Issues with the British Ecological Society – Why I boycotted 71 the 2015 Annual Meeting / Simon Leather 3 BES BULLETIN VOL 47:1 / MARCH 2016 WELCOME The British Ecological Society is the oldest ecological society Another Landmark in the world, having been established in 1913. Since 1980 it has been a Registered Charity Annual Meeting limited by guarantee. Membership is open to all who are genuinely The 2015 Annual Meeting looms large in this There’s a lot of SIG events and news to tell interested in ecology, whether in issue. Much of the content either relates to, you about (p32 onwards) before we reach the the British Isles or abroad, and reports on, or was discussed at, the annual features for this issue, beginning on p45 with membership currently stands at about 5000, about half of whom gathering in Edinburgh, another gloriously the now-traditional annual scan of forthcoming are based outside the UK. successful landmark in the BES calendar. But legislation that might impact ecologists and I do hope that the articles that follow are of the environment. The Society holds a variety of interest to an audience way beyond the 1200 meetings each year. The Annual and more who made it in person to Edinburgh. In the opening preamble of his December Meeting attracts a wide range 2015 review of a book about Derek Ratcliffe, of papers, often by research We have a new President, and in her first piece bibliophile Paul Adam commented that there students, and includes a series Sue Hartley (p5) sets out some of her priorities seem to be rather few biographies of ecologists. of informal specialist group for the Society over the next two years. Then No sooner had the Bulletin crossed the discussions; whereas the Annual we move into reports on the Annual Meeting, threshold of Sam Berry’s household than we Symposium and many other but we hope that rather than just dwelling on were taken to task for what might be described smaller meetings are usually past events these contributions will encourage as hypobole about the number of ecologist more specialised and include you to come along to BES meetings if you do biographies. Sam arrived up in Edinburgh invited speakers from around the world. not already do so. There is superb science and brandishing a list of published works at least a varied programme, but the whole thing only 3 times longer than I had expected, and the Proceedings of some of these works if it attracts members to come along finished list was even longer (p55). I still think meetings are published by to present their work and widen the range of there are rather few biographies of ecologists, the Society in its Ecological contacts for networking. We give particular but I now know better than to repeat the Reviews book series. The Society space to our award winners (p9-12). remark within earshot of someone who is distributes free to all members, immensely more widely read. four times a year, the Bulletin We have a new Associate Editor, Lauren which contains news and views, Ratcliffe, for whom Edinburgh was a first We lost an important and delightful member meeting announcements, a experience of the BES (p13). Lauren also of our community last year, and Nigel Webb comprehensive diary and many attended the hugely successful Science Slam plays tribute to Amyan Macfadyen on p57. Also other features. In addition the (p14) and other events that went on way past likely to be of interest are Ian Rotherham’s blunt Society produces five scientific my bedtime. The BES membership is a broad views on the impact of cuts on countryside journals. The Journal of Ecology, Journal of Animal Ecology, church and I am delighted to have Lauren’s services (p59), Rob Brooker’s account of a Journal of Applied Ecology and help in making sure my ageing fellow’s workshop on ecosystem services (p62) and Functional Ecology are sold at perspective does not dominate the Bulletin Neil Humphries’ contribution to an ongoing a discounted rate to members. too much. discussion of ‘ecosystem health’ (p68). Methods in Ecology and Evolution is free to BES members. The The External Affairs Team organized a very The feature articles end with a couple of pieces Society also supports research timely discussion panel on GMOs, a meeting I was tempted to label as Reason and Rant (p70 and ecological education with thrown open to the wider populace of onwards). The decision of Meetings Committee grant aid. Further details about Edinburgh: Amy Fensome reports on the to outlaw farmed ruminant meat attracted two the Society and membership event (p18). contributions. Quite independently I received a can be obtained from the calm and reasonable note from Mike Morecroft Executive Director (address inside The annual BES Photographic competition advocating a careful analysis of the evidence, back cover). attracted many fabulous entries, as usual. while longstanding, active and enthusiastic The Bulletin circulates exclusively Please do send in your images even if they BES member Simon Leather was outraged, to members of the British are less exotic than some of our winners; and offered his assessment of the evidence our designers find the pool of entries for the Ecological Society. It carries via his blog, which is reproduced here. There information on meetings and photocompetition to be an excellent resource is no official response to Simon from officers other activities, comment when we are trying to illustrate the Bulletin and or executive staff of the BES here, because I and other topical items. Society publicity material. While I’m at it, please haven’t asked for one. It’s a cliffhanger to entice Unsigned commentaries are the also consider whether you have any images you to read the next issue…. responsibility of the Editor and for the In Focus or Looking Back pages on the do not necessarily represent the cover; those pages are open to all. views of the Society. Our general coverage of the Edinburgh A limited company, registered meeting concludes with the publication of the in England No.