Scientists discover what was on the menu of the first dinosaurs
The earliest dinosaurs included carnivorous, omnivorous and herbivorous species, according to a team of University of Bristol palaeobiologists.
News in 2022
‘Passionate and dedicated’ professor wins Times Higher Education Award
A University of Bristol professor has been praised for his “unstinting dedication” as he won a prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) Award.
Around nine million Euros in ERC grants awarded to Bristol academics for pioneering research
A total of six researchers from the University of Bristol have been awarded European Research Council (ERC) Grants totalling around 1.5 million Euros each. This places the University joint second in the UK in terms of the number of Grants awarded from the 2022 call.
Social bees travel greater distances for food than their solitary counterparts, study finds
Social bees such as honeybees and bumblebees have larger foraging ranges, according to researchers at the University of Bristol.
Infectious disease modellers recognised for pandemic modelling work
University of Bristol academics, Drs Ellen Brooks Pollock OBE, Leon Danon, Robert Challen, Amy Thomas and Emily Nixon have been recognised for their epidemiological modelling work supporting the UK government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fertilisers limit pollination by changing how bumblebees sense flowers
Pollinators are less likely to land on flowers sprayed with fertilisers or pesticides as they can detect electric field changes around the flower, researchers at the University of Bristol have found.
Insects affect electric fields in the atmosphere, researchers find
The electric charge of insects can cause changes in the electricity of the atmosphere which are comparable with weather processes, researchers at the University of Bristol and University of Reading have found.
Hundreds of historical wildlife films dating back to the 19th Century have been preserved in archive
Recordings of a boxing kangaroo, decoy gull heads and an experiment in high definition video are among nearly 300 natural history films digitised as part of the ‘Making Wildfilm History Archive Project’.
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Jurassic ichthyosaurs divided food resources to co-exist, researchers find
Early Jurassic ichthyosaur juveniles show predatory specialisations, scientists at the University of Bristol have revealed.
Dead fish breathes new life into the evolutionary origin of fins and limbs
A trove of fossils in China, unearthed in rock dating back some 436 million years, have revealed for the first time that the mysterious galeaspids, a jawless freshwater fish, possessed paired fins.
Armoured worm reveals the ancestry of three major animal groups
An international team of scientists, including from the Universities of Bristol and Oxford, and the Natural History Museum, have discovered that a well-preserved fossilised worm dating from 518-million-years-ago resembles the ancestor of three major groups of living animals.
Bristol’s engineering, education and animal science courses among best in UK, new rankings find
The University of Bristol is one of the best places in the UK to study engineering, education, languages and animal sciences courses.
Insects struggle to adjust to extreme temperatures making them vulnerable to climate change, study finds
Insects have weak ability to adjust their thermal limits to high temperatures and are thus more susceptible to global warming than previously thought.
Bristol academic awarded coveted British Ecological Society prize
Dr Chris Clements of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences has received the prestigious Founders’ Prize which commemorates the enthusiasm and vision of the Society’s founders.
Dolphins form largest alliance network outside humans, study finds
Male bottlenose dolphins form the largest known multi-level alliance network outside humans, an international team led by researchers at the University of Bristol have shown. These cooperative relationships between groups increase male access to a contested resource.
Sustainable Bristol student start-up branches into prison partnership to aid rehabilitation
A climate-crisis-fighting farming company founded by University of Bristol alumni has introduced their environmentally-friendly methods to a prison setting for the first time in the UK. The trial is part of a strategy to aid rehabilitation by empowering prisoners and helping them develop new skills to reintegrate back into society.
The bees are back in town!
After a hiatus of three years the Bee and Pollination Festival is back! Come and find out about the vital role pollinators play in our lives at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden this weekend.
Weird and wonderful world of fungi shaped by evolutionary bursts, study finds
Scientists at the University of Bristol have discovered that the vast anatomical variety of fungi stems from evolutionary increases in multicellular complexity.
Robot helps reveal how ants pass on knowledge
Scientists have developed a small robot to understand how ants teach one another.
University garden declared as one of UK’s top green spaces
The University of Bristol’s Royal Fort Gardens have been awarded the coveted Green Flag Award as it is officially recognised as one of the country’s best parks.
Researchers reveal how an insect-eating plant uses rain energy to power its traps
Scientists at the University of Bristol have uncovered the deadly workings of a carnivorous plant.
New documentary unearths Bristol’s wildlife treasures
A new documentary unearths the rich and often unexpected wildlife that calls Bristol home.
Global plant health network receives £500K grant from UKRI-International
The Community Network for Vector-Borne Plant Viruses (CONNECTED), based at the University of Bristol, has been awarded half a million pounds from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) International from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).
Environmental stability on Earth allowed marine biodiversity to flourish
Modern ocean biodiversity, which is at its highest level ever, was achieved through long-term stability of the location of so-called biodiversity hotspots, regions of especially high numbers of species, scientists have found.
Habitat shifts affect brain structure in Amazonian butterflies, according to study
Habitat differences help determine changes in the nervous system of tropical butterflies, scientists at the University of Bristol have found.
Plankton will store more carbon as Earth’s climate warms – but storage beyond end of century uncertain
The amount of carbon stored by microscopic plankton will increase in the coming century, predict researchers at the University of Bristol and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC).
Shrimps and worms among first animals to recover after largest mass extinction
Researchers studying ancient sea bed burrows and trails have discovered that bottom burrowing animals were among the first to bounce back after the end-Permian mass extinction.
Student helps find world’s largest frog in Equatorial Guinea for first time in almost two decades
Field researchers from the University of Bristol and Bristol Zoological Society have found the world’s largest frog in Equatorial Guinea for the first time in almost two decades.
Triassic revolution: animals grew back faster and smarter after mass extinction
Palaeontologists in the UK and China have shown that the natural world bounced back vigorously following the End-Permian Extinction.
Bristol academics amongst next generation of research leaders awarded £98 million to tackle global causes
Four Bristol academics and 80 other promising science and research leaders will receive £97.8 million to conquer major global issues and commercialise their innovations in the UK.
Moth wing-inspired sound absorbing wallpaper in sight after breakthrough
Experts at the University of Bristol have discovered that the scales on moth wings act as excellent sound absorbers even when placed on an artificial surface.
'Incredible staff’ thanked at Bristol Teaching Celebration
University staff who go above and beyond to help students have been thanked at a special awards ceremony.
Exotic tree plantations can disturb local wildlife, researchers find
Initiatives using non-native tree species can impact tropical insects in neighbouring forests, according to an international study.
Scientists use robots to reveal how predatory fish cope with unpredictable prey
Scientists at the University of Bristol have demonstrated how predators overcome their preys’ erratic behaviour by adapting their own during the hunt.
Beetle iridescence a deceptive form of warning colouration, study finds
A new study published today in Animal Behaviour shows for the first time that brilliant iridescence and gloss found in some animals can have a protective function by working as a form of deceptive warning colouration, and that it is the key feature of iridescence, its changing colours, that is important for this effect.
Researchers discover overlooked Jurassic Park of lizards
Scientists have found that a key modern group of reptiles that includes lizards and snakes – known as squamates – diverged in the Jurassic period, 50 million years earlier than previously thought.
Dolphin bycatch from fishing practices unsustainable, study finds
An international team of researchers have developed a method to assess sustainable levels of human-caused wildlife mortality, which when applied to a trawl fishery shows that dolphin capture is not sustainable.
Large bodies helped extinct marine reptiles with long necks swim, study finds
Scientists at the University of Bristol have discovered that body size is more important than body shape in determining the energy economy of swimming for aquatic animals.
Bristol Scientists awarded over $2 million for cutting edge research
Two academics from Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences have each received $1.44 million each to lead collaborative grants with international colleagues from the prestigious Human Frontier Science Program.
Bioengineering - one key to solving global challenges
A new centre for engineering biology will build on Bristol’s success in synthetic biology and accelerate translation of its pioneering research to address global challenges and boost the UK’s bioeconomy.