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🌿 That’s a wrap for #CEECRebellion2026 !! Thank you to all our speakers from BIO and ENV, our invited guests, and MSc/PhD students for sharing their research through talks and posters, and for making this event so engaging. See you next year 👋 — CEEC Rebellion 2026 Organising Committee

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#CEECRebellion2026 closing remarks 👇 Thank you to Dr. Gabrielle Davidson for closing two fantastic days of talks and discussions. 🏆 Best talk: Paula Gardner & Katie Millar Ending the day with posters 🖼️ and pizza 🍕 @drgdavidson.bsky.social @katiemillar.bsky.social

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🌍📊 Measuring global biodiversity change 👇 Guest speaker Dr. Louise McRae from ZSL discusses how large-scale indicators like the Living Planet Index help track biodiversity trends and inform global conservation policy. 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s44... @louisemcrae.bsky.social #CEECRebellion2026

Next talk 👇🏼 🦠 Sharing microbes through social behaviour Chuen explores how social interactions in wild birds shape the transmission of gut microbiomes, with close contact increasing the sharing of key anaerobic microbes. 🔗 ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v... @chuenlee.bsky.social #CEECRebellion2026

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Next talk 👇🏼 🌍 What makes red foxes so globally successful? Paula Gardner explores genomes from fox populations worldwide, revealing patterns of continental differentiation and striking genetic diversity. #CEECRebellion2026

Now speaking 👇 🧬🐛 Gene editing for pest control Matthew presents a new polymerase III promoter enabling CRISPR guide RNA expression in the Mediterranean fruit fly, expanding tools for genetic research and potential control strategies. @mattgenetics.bsky.social #CEECRebellion2026

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Day 2 resumes ☀️ 🐦🌍 Why do birds migrate? 👇 Dr. Marius Somveille explores how optimal energy balancing can explain seasonal migration patterns across the globe, predicting where and when birds move. 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41... @marius-somveille.bsky.social #CEECRebellion2026

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Our final speaker for the Day 1 before heading to pub quiz 🍻👇 🚽🌊 From bathroom to river ecosystems Daniel investigates biodegradable wet wipes as a growing source of microfibre pollution and their potential impacts on aquatic invertebrates. 🔗 link.springer.com/article/10.1... #CEECRebellion2026

Now speaking 👇 🌡️🪰 Heat stress and fertility Oonagh Barker explores how early-life diet shapes reproductive success after heat exposure in Drosophila. @obarker.bsky.social #CEECRebellion2026

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Next talk 👇 🧬❄️ What if snow prints could reveal a mammal’s genome? Harry Gordon explores using DNA left in snow tracks to generate whole-genome data for conservation and population monitoring. #CEECRebellion2026

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Now speaking 👇 🦠🐛 Katie Millar explores how gut microbes influence the development and reproduction of the Mediterranean fruit fly, with implications for new pest-control strategies. 🔗 www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour... @katiemillar.bsky.social #CEECRebellion2026

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Next speaker 👇 🐝 Range expansion and hidden genetic costs Dr. Will Nash explores how the tree bumblebee rapidly expanded across the UK from a likely single colonisation event, revealing genetic bottlenecks alongside signals of adaptation. @nashalselection.bsky.social #CEECRebellion2026

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Another keynote talk for the day: 🐦 Social networks in birds 👇 Guest speaker Dr. Julia Schroeder from Imperial College London explores how social interactions shape behaviour, ageing, and mate choice in wild sparrows. #CEECRebellion2026

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Next talk before lunch break 👇 🧬 Inbreeding depression is a major threat to small populations - but what about the costs of the behaviour itself? 🐦 Alessandro Pinto examines the full social consequences of inbreeding in Seychelles warblers. @alessandrovpinto.bsky.social #CEECRebellion2026

Next speaker 👇 🌸 Hannah Gunn explores hybridisation between two alpine orchids in the European Alps, where “leaky” barriers allow rare hybrids to form. 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #CEECRebellion2026

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Now speaking 👇 🧠🐦 How do we measure animal cognition in the wild? Experiments with blue tits and great tits suggest lab-based learning metrics may miss key behaviours. Vildan Acar explores new approaches to better capture cognition in natural environments. #CEECRebellion2026

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Next talk 👇 🌿🐛 The UK’s uplands are facing major land-use change as part of net-zero strategies. Franky Rogers explores how afforestation and peatland restoration could affect biodiversity using a multi-taxa approach across 1600+ invertebrates.🗺️ 🌱 @ecologycoder.bsky.social #CEECRebellion2026

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🌍 First talk coming up 👇 🌊 How can ecological research scale from rivers to oceans to guide conservation? Thiago Couto discusses links between Amazon river fragmentation and marine species movements in the Atlantic. 🔗 doi.org/10.1111/csp2... @thiagobacouto.bsky.social #CEECRebellion2026

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