Lynn Dicks

Lynn Dicks is a conservation scientist and ecologist in the UK.[1] She is a University Lecturer in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, previously a Reader (Associate Professor) at the University of East Anglia, and an expert in sustainable farming and insect conservation.[2]

Lynn Dicks
Alma materUniversity of Oxford (BA) University of Cambridge (PhD)
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Cambridge, University of East Anglia

Education and career

Dicks was educated at the University of Oxford where she did a BA in Biological Sciences in 1995 and the University of Cambridge where she graduated with a PhD in the community ecology of flower-visiting insects in 2002.[2]  She worked as a science writer[3] before returning to academia as a postdoctoral researcher and then NERC research fellow at the University of Cambridge. Dicks moved to the University of East Anglia in 2016 as a research fellow and in 2019 was appointed a Reader in the School of Biological Sciences.[4]

Research

Dicks' research looks at the connections between agricultural ecology, agricultural policy and the food and farming industry. She supports evidence based practice and policy for sustainable agricultural management[5] and conservation interventions.[6] Dicks' research has shown a need for redundancy in natural ecosystems, that is a need for extra resources and species to create longterm resilience.[7]

She collaborates internationally and took part in an international assessment of pollinating animals in conjunction with the IPBES in 2016.[8] Dicks has highlighted the importance of insect pollinators for food crops such as chocolate and coffee[9] and supported the 2013 EU moritorium and subsequent ban on neonicotinoid insecticides.[10] Dicks has also researched the importance of vertebrate pollinators such as birds and bats[11] and has been involved in horizon scanning to find future threats to pollinators such as agricultural expansions, use of agrochemicals and emerging disease.[12] Her research has shown a lack of awareness of how pollinator decline could affect food supply chains.[13]

As well as pollinating insects, Dicks also promotes the important of insects for biological control and decomposition[14]

Awards

Dicks was awarded the John Spedan Lewis Medal in 2017 for making a significant and innovative contribution to conservation.[15]

In 2018 Dicks was awarded the DEFRA Bees' Needs Champion Award for raising public awareness of the needs of pollinators.[16]

References
  1. "Lynn Dicks | Cambridge Conservation Initiative". www.cambridgeconservation.org. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  2. "Lynn Dicks - Research Database, The University of East Anglia". people.uea.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  3. "Lynn Dicks | New Scientist". www.newscientist.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  4. reaa2@cam.ac.uk. "Dr Lynn Dicks — Cambridge Forum for Sustainability and the Environment". www.cfse.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  5. Dicks, Lynn; Benton, Tim. "The 'greening' of Europe's farms has been a failure". The Conversation. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  6. "Lynn Dicks - Zoology". Pelagic Publishing. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  7. "We are heading towards a world without animals". www.newstatesman.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  8. Oberhaus, Daniel (2016-02-27). "Bee Extinction Is Threatening the World's Food Supply, UN Warns". Vice. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  9. Hunt, Gordon (2016-02-26). "The bees are still in trouble, so we are too". Silicon Republic. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  10. "'Victory for bees' as European Union bans neonicotinoid pesticides". The Independent. 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  11. "Study highlights importance of vertebrate pollinators". phys.org. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  12. Briggs, Helen (2016-08-09). "Call to 'future-proof' pollinators". Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  13. Br, Sustainable; read, s Published 1 year ago About a 4 minute (2018-04-13). "Report: Pollinator Decline Threatening Supply Chains, Especially Cocoa". Sustainable Brands. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  14. foodnavigator.com. "'Insect apocalypse' poses risk to food production". foodnavigator.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  15. "25th May 2017: Medal Winners 2017". The Linnean Society. 2017-05-26. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  16. "Bees Needs Champion Award - Research Database, The University of East Anglia". people.uea.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
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