The Flower Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) is a camouflage expert when it comes to hiding out on flower heads to capture prey. In this talk, Rose will introduce the ecology of these spiders, why it is important to study these types of interactions, the many different techniques she’s utilising to do that, and how you can get involved with helping to decipher the choices these spiders make.
Tag Archives: Citizen science
Pan-Species Listing: How to Become a Super-Naturalist
Pan-Species Listing (PSL) is an exciting initiative encouraging naturalists to record ALL the species they have seen in the UK in a friendly and competitive way that promotes general wildlife recording and biodiversity in the process. In this talk, Graeme Lyons will introduce the PSL approach, describe the benefits of the framework, and then take us on a whistle-stop tour of the relevant ‘groups’ of wildlife in the UK (how to get into them, where to start, etc.). The talk will be sprinkled with lots of nice photos and anecdotes from Graeme’s storied career as an entomologist and pan-species lister.
Big Rock Pool Challenge: The Power of UK Marine Citizen Science
The Big Rock Pool Challenge is a nationwide citizen science initiative that invites people of all ages to explore their local coastlines and discover the remarkable wildlife hidden in rock pools. In this talk, Dr Ben Holt (CEO and co-founder of The Rock Pool Project) shares how the challenge blends hands-on marine exploration with digital tools to create a fun, accessible, and scientifically valuable experience for communities across the UK. From competitive BioBlitz battles to large-scale biodiversity recording, he reveals how the Challenge is transforming public engagement with the ocean and empowering thousands of volunteers to contribute meaningful data to marine conservation.
Innovative Moth Monitoring: Farmer Citizen Science Using AI
Farmland, covering 67% of England, is crucial in supporting nature recovery, yet good biodiversity data in farmland is often lacking. In this talk, Abigail presents results from a pilot involving 21 farmers across southern England who engaged in moth monitoring on their farms during 2024. Farmers used robust, portable LED light traps to capture moths weekly, and used an innovative AI-based identification app to generate real-time data. She gathered feedback from participants to understand farmer motivations, how this could be supported with effective, personalised feedback, and how the data is influenced by the accuracy of AI-based moth identification.
Recording London’s Fungi
In October 2025, we ran two Fungi Field Recorder Days in London at Tolworth Court Farm and Lesnes Abbey Woods. A fascinating diversity of fungi were found – from boletes to brackets and inkcaps to staghorns. The events generated valuable new biological records for these precious green spaces, and promoted mycology and biodiversity appreciation among participants.
From Strandline to Science: The Journey of a Shark Eggcase
Joss Carr (Queen Mary University of London) discusses his MSc Research Project investigating the data quality of UK invertebrate records on iNaturalist.
Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems: Reefs From the Twilight Zone
Dr Clara Diaz (University of Plymouth) takes us on a journey into the mysterious world of mesophotic coral ecosystems and her work to study them in the Indian Ocean.
British Springtails: How Many Species Really Are There?
James McCulloch (National Springtail Recorder) discusses the constantly increasing species list for UK Collembola.
Community Voice Method: Engaging Local Communities in Turtle Conservation
Amdeep Sanghera discusses how island fishing communities are being engaged in the development of turtle conservation policy.
Insects That Live In The Sea: Why Are There Are So Few?
Prof Stuart Reynolds delves into the world of marine insects and why there are so few of them.