This year's success reaffirms the importance of blending science with fun. It's clear that events like Researchers' Night are not only educational but also serve as a critical bridge between academia and the public, encouraging lifelong curiosity and learning.

"One notable discovery from multi-year tracking is that individual plovers consistently return to the same wintering sites each year, although their routes and timing can vary."

“I was warmly welcomed by everyone at the Milner Centre and had excellent conversations with members of our group, Nar and Mingwan. Mingwan and I exchanged insights on plover conservation, delving into the parallels and contrasts between a conservationist's role and a scientific career. With Nar, I had an incredibly useful discussion about statistical analysis, particularly around time-dependent models. Nar’s fresh approach to these analyses gave me a new perspective, and I’m eager to incorporate these insights into our work.”

“It was extremely surprising to realize the richness of an area the size of Istanbul Airport. An area that, if lost, would mean the disappearance of an endemic, unique, and irreplaceable community in the history of our planet. An area that is not protected. An area that needs to be conserved. Now or never.“

"An important implication of our results is that […] diverse parenting could be a precursor in early vertebrates for conquering terrestrial habitats" - Tamás Székely. Featured photo by Richard Pillans.

“Despite that the Przewalski horse population significantly grew along with the number of harems, the harem sizes did not increase over time. Harem sizes remained relatively stable each year, ranging from 1 to 11 mares, with different peaks and stable periods observed within the 12-month phenological harem cycle. This revealed to us that population size alone does not explain the size of the harems and that possibly what explains their variation is not how many individuals there are, but rather what sex they are.”

“As weather conditions might become more unpredictable in the future under ongoing climate change, the cyclic patterns of dry and wet years in Cabo Verde will change, such effects of droughts on survival are concerning.”

‘Most unexpectedly we have observed […] that inter-island movements within Cabo Verde are more common than previously thought.’

From November 8th to 12th, 2023, the Maio Shorebird Team warmly welcomed four students from the Universidade Cabo Verde, introducing them to shorebird conservation on Maio. Our field course focused on the Kentish plover and the endemic sub-species of Cream-coloured courser, involving activities such as identifying and measuring nests, and monitoring their breeding ecology.

My time in Tamás Székely's Lab not only moulded me as a researcher but also involved me in compelling projects beyond my PhD, fostering my professional growth.