New paper! We detail the outbreak and control of #chikungunya in Bergerac, France, 2025. Modelling the outbreak in near real-time, we show that a delay in detecting the outbreak made control more challenging. Subsequent intense adulticide applications reduced further cases.
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
April #siteofthemonth is Chobham Common, one of the largest National Nature Reserves in the South East and amongst the finest remaining lowland heaths in the world. It is managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust and home to 100 different bird species, including the very rare Dartford Warbler.
Dr Stuart Wainwright
📆 UKCEH chief executive Dr Stuart Wainwright OBE will take part in the New Statesman Energy and Climate Change Conference in Westminster on 28 April, discussing how nature-first solutions can be prioritised to underpin growth.
An important conversation!
Learn more: nsmg.live/event/energy... 🧪
New in @natrevearthenviron.nature.com: Vegetation greenness in 2025
Global mean vegetation greenness reached a record high in the year 2025, extending the multi-decadal upward trend.
Full article: www.nature.com/articles/s43... 🧪
It's a good point Sue, the framing could have been better.
The latest Hydrological Outlook suggests that groundwater levels are likely to remain high through April and decline to normal over the following months.
Read it here: hydoutuk.net/latest-outlo...
And check out the UK Hydrological Outlooks portal to visualise the model outputs: ukho.ceh.ac.uk
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Map of UK with river flow status in March 2026 highlighted on many named rivers
March 2026 Hydrological Summary for the UK published 💧
River flows were mostly in the normal range but above normal in several areas. Groundwater levels decreasing or stable but high to exceptionally high levels dominated across England.
Full detail via mailchi.mp/ceh/march-20... 🧪
Hoverfly on a purple flower and a quote "By combining wildlife recording with information about garden habitats, the project will generate valuable insights into how gardens support nature"
UKCEH scientists will manage and summarise the data collected to help improve understanding of how gardens support biodiversity.
www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-med...
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Common drone fly on flower
Silver Y moth on flower
Butterfly on flower and headline The Big British Garden Survey
Great to be partnering with National Garden Scheme on The Big British Garden Survey to reveal the wildlife thriving in our gardens 🦋🐞.
Record what you see and help build a national picture of UK #biodiversity.
Join in: ngs.org.uk/the-big-brit... 🧪 @abigaillowe.bsky.social
Such a shame.
Red Admiral butterfly
2/ Since UKBMS started in 1976, 33 UK species have declined while 25 have improved including the Red Admiral (pictured).
Despite being the sunniest year on record, 2025 was only an average year for butterflies, the latest annual results show.
www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-med...
🦋 #biodiversity
UKBMS results out today!
Results from fifty years of butterfly monitoring! The UKBMS data reveals declines in 33 species over the last 50 years.
Check out the full story below butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blo...
And the full 2025 statistics can be found here: jncc.gov.uk/our-work/off...
UKBMS volunteers have walked a total of >1.5 million kilometres since 1976 at more than 7,600 sites to produce this incredible dataset.
That’s the equivalent of walking 40 times around the world – or to the moon and back twice.
Latest annual results: www.ukbms.org
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Red Admiral butterfly
2/ Since UKBMS started in 1976, 33 UK species have declined while 25 have improved including the Red Admiral (pictured).
Despite being the sunniest year on record, 2025 was only an average year for butterflies, the latest annual results show.
www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-med...
🦋 #biodiversity
Northern Brown Argus butterfly on a thistle and headline 50 years of butterfly monitoring data reveal specialist species disappearing across UK
Pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly on bluebells
Extraordinary dataset of 44 million+ records of UK #butterflies collected by 782,000 volunteers in the past 50 years shows many species are in long-term decline eg Pearl-bordered Fritillary.
@ukbms.bsky.social is run by @savebutterflies.bsky.social, UKCEH, @btobirds.bsky.social, and JNCC.
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Check out our latest paper, work led by @amycthorpe.bsky.social titled "River Microbiomes as Sentinels of National-Scale Freshwater Ecosystems" 🦠🌊
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
@susheelbusi.bsky.social @lindsaynewbold.bsky.social @joedtaylor.bsky.social @danread.bsky.social
Why wildflowers are moving from meadows to the city www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...
A really nice BBC Earth article written by @jessicaeb.bsky.social about the importance of secondary urban habitats for native plant species and other wildlife, quoting @ukceh.bsky.social ecologist Nadine Mitschunas.
The show takes place from 19-23 May 2026. You'll find us in the GreenSTEM zone of the Great Pavilion
Please pop by and say hello if you are visiting the show!
#RHSChelsea 🧪
🔗 www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-med...
Several wildflowers, a grasshopper and text We are excited to be exhibiting at The Chelsea Flower Show 2026 May 19-23 2026
Illustration of UKCEH exhibit at RHS Chelsea and text description of what it shows, plus hawthorn flowers and a caterpillar
🌿 We're delighted to be exhibiting at the #RHSChelsea Flower Show this year with UKCEH Nature Decoded.
A great opportunity to show how our gardens boost biodiversity, wellbeing & climate resilience, and how simple actions like planting wildflowers or recording species can help nature thrive.
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Map of UK with shaded areas showing principal aquifers and details from April 2026 UK Hydrological Outlook: western Scotland and southern England likely normal to above normal.
After a very wet start to 2026, March was drier and rainfall, river flows and groundwater levels over the next 3 months are likely to be more normal for the time of year, according to the latest UK Hydrological Outlook.
Full detail: https://f.mtr.cool/ocxrunpwqm 🧪
Highly magnified close-up of microscopic plastic particle and text Microplastic particle concentration ranged between 0.3-25 microplastic particles per gramme of moss
Close-up of Hypnum cupressiforme moss and text: Urban proximity doesn't fully explain this variation in microplastic concentrations - more to learn!
The survey found concentration of microplastic particles ranged between 0.3-25 microplastic particles per gm of moss. Proximity to urban areas did not fully explain this variation, so still more to learn!
Open access paper in Microplastics and Nanoplastics: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
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P schreberi moss and text: Monitoring moss reveals widespread deposition of airborne microplastics across the UK
Close-up of Glittering woodmoss and text 52 rural sites across the UK were surveyed for microplastics
Particles in moss fronds captured under powerful microscope, plus text 94% of these sites contained microplastics above our limits of detection
The first national-scale study of its kind, led by UKCEH, has found detectable microplastics in moss at 94% of UK rural sites surveyed.
Lead author @richardkcross.bsky.social discusses the findings & importance of such surveys as production/use of plastics increases.
🔗 tinyurl.com/yc2acct4
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Map of Korea with illustrations of wildlife found in the Korean Demilitarised Zone
Major environmental challenges are often tied to conflict. Yet ecological research rarely reflects voices from conflict-affected areas.
A new @peopleandnature.bsky.social study explores how to address this, focusing on Korea’s Demilitarised Zone.
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Great finds!
Check out this reel produced by @ukceh.bsky.social on the Plynlimon #LongTermExperiment #LTE in #Wales that is registered with us: bit.ly/4c46OXw
Going since 1967, the goal here is to compare how the use of forested & moorland sites affects the water catchments.
More: bit.ly/Plynlimon 🌏
Symbolic image: Heathland in Great Britain
Environmental modeling: The future of #biodiversity in the UK is under threat. A study of @ukceh.bsky.social involving #KITKarlsruhe predicts significant losses among native animal and plant species. www.kit.edu/kit/english/...
Thanks to the staff and visitors who joined us this lunchtime for some #FITcounts on our Wallingford site @ukceh.bsky.social Looks like a great year for the Buttercups and Dandelions, with plenty of pollinators out today (all too quick to photograph!) 😊☀️🪰🐝🐞
Asian swallowtail (Papilio xuthus) butterfly on pink flowers
There's widespread concern about insect declines globally but a shortage of data hinders assessment of progress towards #biodiversity goals & conservation.
An international UKCEH-led study has now calculated Global Butterfly Index as flagship indicator of species trends.
🧪 tinyurl.com/4ktu3b3v
@simon-rolph.com AI for Biodiversity Monitoring 🤖 Join us at #NFBRConference2026 8 May to explore how AI could transform biodiversity monitoring—from image recognition to future AI tools—alongside the real-world challenges. bit.ly/4sZO4iz
@ukceh.bsky.social #AI #Biodiversity #BiologialRecording
Two people carrying out a FIT Count in a flowery meadow, using a quadrat made out of tape to mark out the target flowers for the count. One person is using the FIT Count app, the other has a paper recording form on a clipboard.
Welcome to the new season for #pollinator FIT Counts! Our latest e-news was sent out this morning - read it here mailchi.mp/7e658beeba40... and subscribe at ukpoms.org.uk/subscribe As soon as the weather is warm enough we hope that you will enjoy watching and counting insects on flowers with us.
