News: December 2018
Hen harriers and red grouse: Finding common ground in a persistent conflict
A conflict between those working to conserve numbers of hen harriers and those maintaining commercial shooting of red grouse in the English uplands has existed for decades with little sign of progress. Drawing on work conducted in psychology, a new study published recently in the journal People and Nature investigated the underlying values that shooters and conservationists hold that make it so hard to find shared solutions.
Publication date: 21 December 2018
100 treasures of Bangor University
Visitors to Storiel, Gwynedd’s museum and art gallery can enjoy a new exhibition, 100 treasures of Bangor University, displayed in a case in the reception area. This case highlights Bangor University collections and a new exhibition is programmed for every six months.
Publication date: 18 December 2018
£1.85m study to investigate microbes “hitch-hiking” on marine plastics
Experts at Bangor University are working with the Universities of Stirling and Warwick on a new £1.85 million project investigating how marine plastics transport bacteria and viruses – and the impact that may have on human health.
The scientists are aiming to understand how plastics act as vehicles, with the potential to spread pathogens within coastal zones, or even from country to country, and how that affects health.
Publication date: 13 December 2018
Coastal light pollution
Have you ever given a thought to how light pollution in our coastal towns may be affecting our marine neighbours?
The School of Ocean Sciences at Bangor University is leading a new four year project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, that will improve our understand of how light pollution from coastal towns and cities impacts life along our shores.
Publication date: 13 December 2018
Graduation Profile: Ehren Pawley
Publication date: 13 December 2018
Student volunteers plant hundreds of trees in Snowdonia
Students from Bangor University have planted hundreds of trees as part of an exciting wildlife project with a tourism business in Snowdonia.
The group, from the Bangor Forestry Students’ Association (BFSA), hope the new trees will improve the landscape of the world-famous Ogwen Valley, near Bethesda.
Publication date: 10 December 2018
Addressing Food Poverty
Three members of staff at Bangor University attended the inaugural meeting of The North Wales Food Poverty Alliance (NWFPA) in The OpTIC Centre St Asaph recently.
The North Wales Food Poverty Alliance NWFP is a round table of multi-sector organisations chaired by Flintshire County Council, which aims to address the multiple challenges of food poverty in North Wales.
Publication date: 7 December 2018
Agroforestry can help the UK meet climate change commitments without cutting livestock numbers
Some 12m hectares of the UK is currently covered by agricultural grasslands which support a national lamb and beef industry worth approximately £3.7 billion. However, proposals have been made that this landscape should undergo radical changes to aid the country’s climate change commitments. A controversial government advisory report recently produced by the independent Committee on Climate Change calls for UK lamb and beef production to be reduced by up to 50%. It claims that by replacing grazing land with forestry the UK will be able to substantially decrease its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.T
his article by Charlotte Pritchard, PhD Researcher, at the School of Natural Sciences is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Publication date: 7 December 2018
Ocean acidification will increase the iodine content of edible seaweeds and their consumers
Evidence is rapidly accumulating that ocean acidification and elevated temperatures will have catastrophic consequences for marine organisms and ecosystems. In fact, it is something we are already witnessing. Coral reefs are bleaching, while snails and other calcifying marine organisms struggle to build their shells, scales and skeletons and juvenile marine animals even struggle to navigate to suitable habitats.
This article by Georgina Brennan, Postdoctoral Research Officer, School of Natural Sciences; Dong Xu, Associate Researcher, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, and Naihao Ye, Professor, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Publication date: 7 December 2018
Madagascar: fear and violence making rainforest conservation more challenging than ever
"People are too afraid to return to the village so they are sleeping in the forest or have left altogether. They have lost their stored grain and all their belongings. I don’t know how they will get by."
These are the words of Riana*, a young woman from Bevoahazo, a tiny village in the eastern rainforests of Madagascar. Bevoahazo sits on the edge of Ranomafana National Park in a UNESCO world heritage site teeming with endangered and endemic species. Security in the area has been deteriorating over the last few years but things have escalated recently.
This article by Julia P G Jones, Professor of Conservation Science at the School of Natural Sciences, is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Publication date: 5 December 2018
What does gathering from the seashore mean to the modern hunter gatherer
Liz Morris-Webb, a researcher at Bangor University’s School of Ocean Sciences is looking for people who gather from the seashores of Wales to take part in her research. If you forage for food, bait, money, education, medicine, research or something more unusual, you can take part.
Publication date: 5 December 2018
First meeting to develop Wales’ shellfish industry
Shellfish producers, scientists and regulators are meeting at Bangor University today (4 December) for the first workshop to develop a new Shellfish Centre. The centre will deliver the research and innovation needs of the industry and secure sustainable growth of this valuable Welsh sector.
Publication date: 4 December 2018