SDM model for the Caribbean spiny pocket mouse Source: Radosavljevic, A. and R. P. Anderson. 2014. J. Biogeogr 41:629-643 We are organising the 5th edition of the course “Species distributions models: concepts, methods, applications, and challenges”, which introduces the fundamental concepts underpinning ecological niche models (ENM), describing some of the most prominent methods currently in . . . [ Read More ]
Networks of global bird invasion altered by regional trade ban
In 2005, the European Union imposed a ban in trade of wild exotic species as part of a package to control the sprea d of avian flu into the Continent. In a paper published in Science Advances we demonstrate that the ban reduced fluxes of trade in about 90%, from 1.3 million to 130 thousand birds traded. This mighty achievement had non predicted consequences: the market adjusted and new . . . [ Read More ]
Species on the move will change everything
Climate change is causing geographical redistribution of plant and animal species globally. These distributional shifts are leading to new ecosystems and ecological communities, changes that will affect human society. In a recent article published in Science, we review current and future impacts and assess their implications for sustainable development goals. Access to the original article can . . . [ Read More ]
Welcome Sabrina Mazzoni
We would like to welcome a new addition to the lab: Dr. Sabrina Mazzoni. You can learn more about her here. Sabrina was recently hired as a post doc in a project led by lab member Luis Reino and co-led by Miguel Araújo. Sabrina will be working towards assessing risks of invasion of birds around the world using species distributions models, climate change and bird trade information. We are thrilled . . . [ Read More ]
2017 Species Distributions Modelling Course
SDM model for the Caribbean spiny pocket mouse Source: Radosavljevic, A. and R. P. Anderson. 2014. J. Biogeogr 41:629-643 We are organising the 4th edition of the course “Species distributions models: concepts, methods, applications, and challenges”, which introduces the fundamental concepts underpinning ecological niche models (ENM), describing some of the most prominent methods currently in . . . [ Read More ]
Welcome Rajapandian Kanagaraj
Congratulations to Rajapandian Kanagaraj (Raja) who won a German Research Foundation (DFG: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) under the Individual Research Fellowships program to work with Miguel Araújo. Raja received his PhD from Saurashtra University, India in 2011. He did his PhD research at Wildlife Institute of India (WII) under Surendra P Goyal and at Helmholtz Centre for Environmental . . . [ Read More ]
Avoiding pitfalls when applying for a research position in a lab
I receive a substantial number of emails from students requesting to be considered for positions in my lab. Some candidates apply for positions that I have opened, whilst others take the initiative to contact me to see if I have some position on offer. This post is especially targeted to the latter case. The first impression you cause when you write such a message is critical. As one can easily . . . [ Read More ]
Miguel Araújo awarded the King James I Prize
Miguel Araújo was selected by a panel including 23 Nobel Prizes to receive the 2016 King James I Prize in the category of environmental protection. Miguel won this award for his research on the effects of climate change on biodiversity and for his science dissemination and outreach activities. The King James I Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in Spain. It is awarded every year to . . . [ Read More ]
Interviewing Babak Naimi about sdm-R
Babak Naimi is the programmer of sdm-R. Here some questions and answers related to the recent publication of this new software for species distributions modelling. What is sdm? sdm stands for "species distribution modelling", and is the name of an extensible and reproducible R package for modelling, evaluating, and projecting species potential distributions in space and time. It provides a . . . [ Read More ]
Post doc: Using networks to predict risk of invasion
Source of picture: mushroomnetworks.com Post-doctoral research position announcement: Starting date: October-November 2016 (starting date flexible) Duration: 24 months Stipend: EUR 1495 per month (free of tax) plus social security. Other subsidies: EUR 750 per year to participate in scientific meetings and conferences, EUR 300-600 for inbound and outbound travelling. Background The . . . [ Read More ]