What's some of the best, most illuminating, and most entertaining writing about conservation bio on the net?

October 29, 2012 5:07 PM

What are some of the best technical blogs out there in conservation biology, biogeography, evolutionary biology, and ecology?

I'm looking to add some blogs to my usual trawl that will entertain me while helping me learn more about my field and keep abreast of some of the bigger trends, discoveries, and developments there.

I'm a soon-to-be-grad-student working in conservation biology, with a focus on biogeography and evolutionary biology. I also have strong interests in behavioral ecology, interspecific relationships, research ethics, and open science. I know there are a lot of scientists and other technical folks out there in my field who keep blogs, and I'm keen to know what some of the best ones are that you know of.

I'm looking for writing that's written for a fairly technical audience, aimed at readers who are part of the field or who at least follow it closely. I'd love to read expert analysis of recent research, interesting explorations of classic concepts, discussion about the direction of the field as a whole, fascinating case studies and field reports, and whatever else people are writing about.

Thanks in advance for all your suggestions; I look forward to exploring the recommendations that you all come up with.

posted by Scientist to science & nature (4 answers total)

John Hawks for human evolution, particularly genetic, is god. (Suitable mistype – he's more than good!) Does movements of ancient and historical peoples. Often covers what you specify but anyone interested in evolution, or open science, shouldn't miss it, and indeed wouldn't want to.

Beware of non-human paleontological bloggers since many are terrible scientists.
posted by Razorinthewind at 6:13 PM on October 29, 2012

Most of these may not be at the technical level that you're looking for, though they're mainly written by scientists, but since no one was answering I figured I would throw them out there. They may lead you in the right direction at least:
My current favorite is Evopropinquitous which is written by a field biologist and is incredibly amusing, though does include a lot of science as well.
Extinction Countdown - highlighting species at risk and conservation efforts
Los Farallones - from the PRBO (Point Reyes Bird Observatory) Conservation Science on Farallon National Wildlife Refuge group. Mix of general pictures/species observations as well as more in depth posts about their conservation strategies, etc.
California's Islands - A blog written by an environmental journalist I know who is very focused on biogeography, though not super technically written. She does have many, many links to other blogs that could possibly be up your alley thought.
posted by primalux at 10:19 PM on October 29, 2012

More basic ecology and evolution than cons bio, but...

EEB and Flow
Dynamic Ecology
Eco-evolutionary Dynamics
Jabberwocky Ecology
posted by Ian Scuffling at 7:57 AM on October 30, 2012

I know NESCent ran a blog contest back in 2011 for a trip to ScienceOnline. I think the blogs that won and were honorable mentions are all worth checking out. You should also get on the EvolDir listserve.
posted by cnanderson at 6:46 PM on November 1, 2012