Written by Paula Lightfoot, NFBR
The National Forum for Biological Recording and the British Ecological Society’s Macroecology Special Interest Group have announced the line up of speakers for their conference A Question of Ecology – answers from biological recording, for which online booking should be open by the end of this week. The conference takes place at Sheffield University on the 23rd-25th April 2015, and will celebrate achievements, highlight opportunities and seek to overcome obstacles regarding the use of biological records to answer ecological questions, by both professional and amateur naturalists.
The keynote address, entitled ‘Technology for Nature?’ will be delivered by Professor Kate Jones, Chair of Ecology and Biodiversity at University College London and Chair of the Bat Conservation Trust.
Dr Teresa Frost from the Association for Local Environmental Records Centres (ALERC) and Dr David Roy from the Biological Records Centre will present examples of how local record centres and national recording schemes empower volunteer recorders to get more out of their biological records by assisting with survey design, data management and analysis, and discuss the role of ALERC and the BRC in supporting and developing these activities.
We will hear how biological records, ranging from museum specimens and naturalists’ diaries to ‘big data’ repositories, can be explored and interpreted to answer ecological questions. Ivan Wright from Shotover Wildlife will describe how local naturalists are following in the footsteps of eminent entomologists of the Victorian and Edwardian era, comparing current data to historic records to establish a new benchmark of knowledge for a fascinating and diverse SSSI near Oxford. Dr Mark Spencer from the Natural History Museum, London, will explain how new approaches to citizen science and crowd-sourcing can release a wealth of scientific information from the natural history collections that await discovery in our museums, delivering scientifically robust data that reveal biotic responses to environmental change. Jon Yearsley from University College Dublin will discuss novel methods for using biological records in ecological modelling.
Speakers from Newcastle University, the Woodland Trust and Forest Research will talk about cutting-edge citizen science projects that are engaging amateur naturalists in structured data collection to support hypothesis driven science, and fostering collaboration between professional researchers, the public sector and the volunteer recording community.
The conference will conclude with case studies to highlight how research based on biological records by amateur naturalists is leading to conservation action, from site-specific to landscape-scale examples, which will be brought to life during the conference field trip to the Humberhead Levels Nature Improvement Area.
An important part of the conference will be a workshop to discuss challenges and opportunities regarding the use of biological records for research. Topics include the importance of open sharing of data, led by Dr Quentin Groom from the Botanic Garden Meise in Belgium, and the role of emerging technologies in biological recording, led by Dr David Chesmore from the University of York and the Orthoptera and Allied Insects Recording Scheme.
Please note that the call for quickfire talks, posters and demonstrations of software and tools is still open, and the conference organisers would love to hear from anyone who would be interested in taking part.
Further information, the list of speakers and talk titles, and a link to online booking can be found on the NFBR website.