Fast developers in native habitats show higher survival in new environments suggesting development time forecasts adaptive potential in Sicilian daisies. By @gmwalter.bsky.social and @jonbridle.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/evle... @gmwalter.bsky.social Image credit A Moro at Wikimedia

An image of tubes with a green liquid. on a lab bench. The text reads number 3 in the world for Pharmacy and Pharmacology. QS World Rankings by subject 2026. UCL Faculty of Life Sciences.

An image of a green gloved hand handling a pipette with some pink liquid. The text reads number 6 in the world for Life Sciences and Medicine. QS World Rankings by subject 2026. UCL Faculty of Life Sciences.

An image of some cells. The text reads number 9 in the world for Biological Sciences. QS World Rankings by subject 2026. UCL Faculty of Life Sciences.

We're proud to be ranked in the global top 10 for Life Sciences & Medicine, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, and Biological Sciences. The 2026 QS World University Rankings reaffirm the faculty’s global influence and leadership in advancing research, education and innovation. www.ucl.ac.uk/life-science...

Biodiversity shapes life on Earth - and it’s disappearing fast. Why does it matter, what’s driving the losses, and how can we turn things around? Watch our new film to hear from UCL experts tracking biodiversity change, building innovative tools, and driving nature‑positive solutions. bit.ly/4aNfrGA

Photo of a Senecio daisy in front of a stone hut

Happy to share out latest work in Ecology Letters!

We show how how genetic differences in plasticity determine fitness at different environmental scales from native to novel elevations.
@jonbridle.bsky.social @jameswclark.bsky.social

Many thanks to the reviewers!

doi.org/10.1111/ele....

A method for identifying local adaptation in structured populations Species occupy diverse, heterogeneous environments, which expose populations to spatially varied selective pressures. Populations in different environments can diverge due to local adaptation. However...

In 2020, O Gaggiotti, J Goudet and I showed that Qst-Fst comparison was uncalibrated with high population structure.

During her PhD with us, Isa do O developed LogAV: a method that accounts for any population structure while testing for local adaptation :
journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...

Happy to also receive questions about life in Finland - Helsinki is a beautiful place to live and lab members will receive a list of the best bakeries and saunas in town

3 Post doc positions in biodiversity science, genetic indicator assessment and ecological statistics 3 Post doc positions in biodiversity science, genetic indicator assessment and ecological statistics

📢 Post doc! Want to join our team?

We are looking for 3 post docs in biodiversity science, genetic indicator assessment, and ecological statistics for a fixed term of 2 years!

Come unravel the drivers and consequences of global change on biodiversity with us!

DL 24.9.
#universityofhelsinki

Constraints on chromosome evolution revealed by the 229 chromosome pairs of the Atlas blue butterfly The genome of the Atlas blue butterfly contains ten times more chromosomes than most butterflies, and more than any other known diploid animal. Wright et al. show that this extraordinary karyotype is ...

How many chromosomes can an animal have?

In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact.
www.cell.com/current-biol...

Paper artist Peter Ayres created the most beautiful wasp nest sculptures for the new #WorldOfWasps exhibition @uclgrantmuseum.bsky.social

FREE! www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-coll...

His journey:
www.peterayres.com/wasps?mc_cid...

with @tannisdavidson.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social

Huge thanks to @tannisdavidson.bsky.social and team for making the impossible dream come true:

THE WORLD'S FIRST ART-SCIENCE WASP EXHIBITION!
www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-coll...

...from wasp researchers behind #WorldOfWasps @uclgrantmuseum.bsky.social...

@cintiaoi.bsky.social @idrisadams.bsky.social

🌍 Just launched: 2025 Sustainable Development Report
A decade into the SDGs, the UK stays committed-but global progress is too slow.

💬 "The SDGs are not just targets0-they are a lifeline for people and for the planet.”
-Prof Gail Taylor, UK Chair, UN SDSN

🔗 Read more: www.ucl.ac.uk/lifesciences...

20mph limits in London linked to sharp fall in road injuries and deaths, new report finds A new study published by Transport for London (TfL) has shown that the introduction of 20mph speed limits and zones on local authority-managed roads in London between 1989 and 2013 led to significant…

75% drop in child deaths as well as loads of other benefits. Those campaigning against it should be asked why they want more deaths

Congratulations Anjali...!

Here’s how to create a more nature-literate society Nature literacy has inspired creativity and innovation for thousands of years.

How do we increase nature literacy among society? Some thoughts from @waspwoman.bsky.social
theconversation.com/heres-how-to...

Macroecological rules predict how biomass scales with species richness in nature Despite advances in theory and experiments, how biodiversity influences the structure and functioning of natural ecosystems remains debated. By applying new theory to data on 84,695 plant, animal, and...

New 🗒️led by Alex Pigot - Macroecological rules predict how biomass scales with species richness in nature -Standing biomass increases with richness when large-bodied spp are numerically rare but independent when spp size & abundance are uncoupled. @ucl.ac.uk - Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Discover how our researchers are creating real-world impact, developing innovative solutions to tackle humanity's most pressing challenges.
Watch the full video here: shorturl.at/mYLQV

screenshot of the article in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B titled 'Clustered warming tolerances and the nonlinear risks of biodiversity loss on a warming planet'

🚨New paper 🚨We argue that abrupt biodiversity losses can be driven by populations sharing similar tolerances to warming 🦋🌎🥵. Out now in @royalsocietypublishing.org. Summary thread below 🧵
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10....

Shared heat tolerance leaves ecosystems at risk of sudden climate-driven collapse – new research Different species often malfunction at the same temperature limit.

Shared heat tolerance leaves ecosystems at risk of sudden climate-driven collapse – new research
theconversation.com/shared-heat-...

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1917

‘Bending the curve towards nature recovery: building on Georgina Mace's legacy for a biodiverse future’ - a special issue of Phil Trans R Soc B in honour of a very special biodiversity scientist - is published today by @royalsociety.org. royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1917

Honoured to have contributed to this new special issue on Georgina Mace's crucial legacy for people and biodiversity, alongside lots of great other contributions, curated by colleagues at @uclcber.bsky.social, @zslscience.bsky.social and more.
royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1917 Can't sign in? Forgot your password?

Today sees the publication of a special edition of Phil Trans Roy Soc B ‘Bending the curve towards nature recovery: building on Georgina Mace's legacy for a biodiverse future’ dedicated to the life’s work of Prof Dame Georgina Mace:
@rspb.bsky.social
royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...

Here's the introduction to the 16 papers, each owing an intellectual debt to Georgina. We outline how they all move us closer to answering the central question: How should we bend the curve of biodiversity loss to build a just and sustainable future?https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2023.0205

Shared heat tolerance leaves ecosystems at risk of sudden climate-driven collapse – new research Different species often malfunction at the same temperature limit.

Co-occurring species have similar tolerances to rising temperatures, suggesting communities will decline abruptly due to climate change. I wrote about our latest paper for The Conversation - check it out! 🧪🌏🥵 theconversation.com/shared-heat-...

Impacts of limits to adaptation on population and community persistence in a changing environment | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences A key issue in predicting how ecosystems will respond to environmental change is understanding why populations and communities are able to live and reproduce in some parts of ecological and geographic...

Just out! Jon Bridle and I have reviewed theoretical arguments and empirical evidence on how adaptation limits influence the fate of populations and communities in changing environments.
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...