fauna
May 5, 2022
An innovative survey of Scotland’s mountain hares involving volunteer citizen scientists has been hailed as a success in a new report published today.
Last year, hillwalkers, bird and mammal surveyors and other outdoor enthusiasts took...
May 5, 2022
Ahead of the International Day for Biological Diversity on Sunday 22nd May, Dr Kenneth Loades stresses the importance of preserving biodiversity.
There is nothing better than waking up early on a warm summer morning to hear a variety of...
January 1, 2022
Beavers could make an important contribution to improving the condition of Scotland’s rivers, including helping to improve water quality and limiting the effects of drought, new research from the University of Aberdeen and the James Hutton...
March 3, 2021
A recent study published in Conservation Letters co-authored by a James Hutton Institute ecologist has investigated the number of women and the geographic distribution among the 1051 top-publishing authors in 13 leading journals in ecology and...
December 12, 2020
A scientific team featuring researchers of the James Hutton Institute and Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland (BioSS) has scooped the Innovation Award at the prestigious RSPB Nature of Scotland Awards 2020. Led by Royal Botanic Garden...
May 5, 2019
Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history — and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world now likely, warns a landmark new report from the Intergovernmental...
December 12, 2018
UnderStories - Storying woodland use, management and expansion in the Cairngorms National Park (Project)
What is the story with woodlands in the Cairngorms National Park? Or should we say, what are the stories, as there are many threads of stories of actual, former or speculative woodlands weaving in and out that make this area what it...
June 6, 2018
UK Alpine Ecology Network: Projects (Research Page)
This page lists recent projects relevant to UK alpine ecosystems.Contact us if you have papers or reports that you would like to be listed on this page.
Return to main Alpine Ecology Network page
June 6, 2018
UK Alpine Ecology Network: Meetings (Research Page)
Here you will find details of past meetings of the UK Alpine Ecology Network along with links to workshop reports and presentations where available.
Return to main Alpine Ecology Network page
Inaugural meeting January 2018, James Hutton...
June 6, 2018
UK Alpine Ecology Network (Research Page)
The UK Alpine Ecology Network was formed in 2018 as a means of bringing together scientists, conservationists and land managers with an interest in the ecology of alpine ecosystems across the UK. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in...
February 2, 2018
Gabrielle Flinn from RSPB will deliver this Aberdeen Entomological Club seminar entitled “Rare invertebrates in the Cairngorms project: one year on”. It will be held at the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen (and screened to the...
January 1, 2018
A report published today and co-authored by James Hutton Institute scientists recommends ways to count mountain hares. The scientific study compared a range of methods to count individuals, and determined the most effective, reliable and cost-...
November 11, 2017
For the first time in many years, red squirrels have been spotted at the James Hutton Institute's Craigiebuckler site and near the University of Aberdeen— a promising sign that this charismatic species is making a comeback in Aberdeen....
March 3, 2017
Specimens of Mutilla europaea, a rare species of parasitoid wasp commonly known as ‘velvet ants’ because of their distinctive appearance and similarity of females to ants, have been sighted in Scotland for the first time in 32 years...
February 2, 2017
Scotland’s environment faces many challenges including a changing climate, invasive species, pollution and changes in the way our land and seas are managed, and ecological research is at the heart of solutions to help policymakers,...
February 2, 2017
Chris Cathrine from Caledonian Conservation will deliver this Aberdeen Entomological Club seminar entitled “Invertebrates on Scottish Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs): Site Condition Monitoring 2013-14. It will be held at the...
January 1, 2017
Deer are iconic species in Scotland and provide a key ecological resource for the tourism, hunting and food industries. However, at high densities their impact can be detrimental to some habitats. Are the right policies and incentives in place to...
December 12, 2016
Often portrayed as pulling Santa’s sleigh, reindeer are a Christmas staple. Now, ecologists have found that reindeer are shrinking due to the impact of climate change on their food supplies.
Speaking at the British Ecological Society...
December 12, 2016
Sam Gandy from the James Hutton Institute will deliver this Aberdeen Entomological Club seminar entitled “Termites and soils in a dryland environment”. It will be held at the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen (and screened to the...
December 12, 2016
Larval ecology of hoverflies (Event)
Geoff Wilkinson of the North East Scotland Biological Records Centre (NESBReC) will deliver this Aberdeen Entomological Club seminar entitled “Larval ecology of hoverflies”. It will be held at the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen (...
December 12, 2016
Scientists at the James Hutton Institute have welcomed the Scottish Government's decision to allow beavers to remain in Argyll and Tayside as a protected species, but warned continued long-term monitoring and active management in...
September 9, 2016
More needs to be done to promote sustainable food production if we are to solve the apparent conflict between the interests of nature and those of modern agriculture, according to researchers at the James Hutton Institute. This warning comes in...
June 6, 2016
Biodiversity and Ecosystems (Research Page)
The aim of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem subgroup is to understand how human driven global and local changes impact on the network of interactions between animals, microbes and plants in natural and semi-natural habitats to predict change and...
March 3, 2016
Craig Macadam, Conservation Director from the invertebrate charity Buglife, will deliver this Aberdeen Entomological Club seminar entitled “More than just fish food: Ecosystem services provided by freshwater insects”. It will be held...
February 2, 2016
A report from a ground-breaking project identifying ways to resolve conflicts about predation has been launched by Environment Minister, Dr Aileen McLeod. The report analyses the views of a large number of stakeholders in conservation and land...
January 1, 2016
Juliette Dinning will deliver this Aberdeen Entomological Club seminar entitled “Dragonflies and damselflies of north east Scotland”. It will be held at the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen (and screened to the Institute’s...
November 11, 2015
Helen Rowe from the Aberdeenshire Council and Butterfly Conservation will deliver this Aberdeen Entomological Club seminar entitled "Priority species of butterflies and moths in NE Scotland". It will be held at the James Hutton...
July 7, 2015
The Natural Capital Initiative, a partnership between the Society of Biology, British Ecological Society, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the James Hutton Institute, has launched the ‘Valuing our Life Support Systems...
April 4, 2015
Venison has grown significantly in popularity as a meat product in the last five years. Yet, many British supermarkets are stocked with imported rather than local, UK produced venison.
A new, detailed study from the University of Aberdeen...
March 3, 2015
Sustainable Coasts: Balancing socio-economic drivers whilst preserving coastal amenity & habitat (Event)
As east-central Scotland's Local Coastal Partnership, the Tay Estuary Forum puts together a conference each year to reflect current issues within the coastal and marine environments at both a regional and national scale, with a Tay...
January 1, 2015
Mountain hare study begins (News)
The James Hutton Institute has joined forces with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) to begin a three-year study to trial different methods of assessing mountain hare populations in upland areas of...
January 1, 2015
Senior soil ecologist Dr Helaina Black has been appointed to the leadership of the Ecological Sciences group at the James Hutton Institute, following the retirement of Dr Pete Goddard.
November 11, 2014
Six reports looking at the trial reintroduction of beavers at Knapdale in Argyll have been published today (Thursday 20 November) by Scottish Natural Heritage, including a report by the James Hutton Institute.
July 7, 2014
Monitoring of Scotland’s wildlife in some of the most remote and inaccessible parts of the country has been transformed thanks to a new ‘smart camera’ developed by experts at the James Hutton Institute and the University of...
May 5, 2014
Developing Molecular Approaches to Elucidate the Ecology and Function of Orbatid Mite Communities (Research Page)
May 5, 2014
Host Identity and Climate as Determinants of Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Distribution in Scotland (Research Page)
Background
Over 85% of land plants are obligate associated with mycorrhizal fungi illustrating the importance of the symbiosis. Fungi provide water and essential nutrients to their host plants in exchange for carbohydrates derived from...
February 2, 2014
Work to help monitor the impact of climate change on the Arctic reindeer population by Professor Steve Albon of the James Hutton Institute is featured in the March issue of the Smithsonian magazine. The article "As the Planet Warms, What...
January 1, 2014
A scientific report published today has explored what might happen if Chalara infection and associated ash dieback led to widespread death of nearly all ash trees within the UK. It reports that it is likely that there would be a high negative...
January 1, 2014
LandSFACTS downloads (Research Page)
The LandSFACTS software is available in several formats:
with graphical interface, helpfile and tutorial [XP, W7], cf. below
command-line [XP, W7, W7 x64, Linux x64], by request
dynamic libraries [XP, W7, W7 x64, Linux x64], by request...
January 1, 2014
LandSFACTS model details (inputs/outputs) (Research Page)
The LandsFACTS model was originally (v1.6) set up to simulate cropping systems at the landscape scale. Since 2007, it was further developed to allow modelling land uses at multiple scales within an evolving environment. The diagram below presents...
January 1, 2014
LandSFACTS (Research Page)
LANDscape Scale Functional Allocation of Crops Temporally and Spatially
January 1, 2014
Scenarios and land use futures (Research Page)
Environmental, economic and social issues associated with agriculture are often fundamental for rural prosperity and sustainability, with consequent implications for any debate about future land use. A key to supporting the planning of change is...
December 12, 2013
Northern reindeer populations are experiencing rapid and significant climate change; the success of future Christmases may depend on how well reindeer can adapt and Santa may need to look for alternative power sources for his sleigh.
July 7, 2012
Background and rationale
March 3, 2011
Steve Albon (Member of Staff)
Steve Albon was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's National Academy of Sciences and Letters, in 2008. He has held an Honorary Chair at the University of Aberdeen since 1997.
