Jump to content

Lynn Dicks

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

Lynn Dicks is a conservation scientist and ecologist in the UK.[1] She is a Professor of Ecology at the University of Cambridge, Honorary Reader at the University of East Anglia, and an expert in sustainable farming and insect conservation.[2]

Education and career[edit]

Dicks was educated at Great Yarmouth High School and won a scholarship to Norwich High School for Girls for sixth form. She studied at New College, Oxford, and was awarded a first class degree in Biological Sciences in 1995. She graduated from the University of Cambridge 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] In 2019 she moved back to Cambridge as a Lecturer in Animal Ecology and NERC Independent Research Fellow and is a visiting lecturer at UEA.[5] In 2020, she became a Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge. In 2023 Dicks was appointed Board Member to non-departmental public body Natural England.[6] In June 2023 she was promoted to Professor of Ecology within the University of Cambridge.[7]

Research[edit]

Dicks' research focuses on insect conservation, agricultural ecology, agricultural policy and the food and farming industry. She supports evidence based practice and policy for sustainable agricultural management[8] and conservation interventions.[9] Dicks' research has shown a need for redundancy in natural ecosystems, that is a need for extra resources and species to create longterm resilience.[10]

She collaborates internationally, and was a 'Coordinating Lead Author' for the international assessment of pollinating animals in conjunction with the IPBES in 2016.[11] Dicks has highlighted the importance of insect pollinators for food crops such as chocolate and coffee[12] and supported the 2013 EU moratorium and subsequent ban on neonicotinoid insecticides.[13] Dicks has also researched the importance of vertebrate pollinators such as birds and bats[14] and has been involved in horizon scanning to find future threats to pollinators such as agricultural expansions, use of agrochemicals and emerging disease.[15] Her research has shown a lack of awareness of how pollinator decline could affect food supply chains.[16]

As well as pollinating insects, Dicks also promotes the important of insects for biological control and decomposition[17]

Awards[edit]

In 1999, Dicks won the Daily Telegraph Young Science Writer of the Year Award.

Dicks was awarded the John Spedan Lewis Medal in 2017 for making a significant and innovative contribution to conservation.[18]

In 2018 Dicks was awarded the DEFRA Bees' Needs Champion Award for raising public awareness of the needs of pollinators.[19]

In 2022 Dicks was awarded the British Ecological Society's Ecological Engagement Award which recognises an ecologist who has bridged the gap between ecology and other groups.[20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Lynn Dicks | Cambridge Conservation Initiative". www.cambridgeconservation.org. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Lynn Dicks - Research Database, The University of East Anglia". people.uea.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Lynn Dicks | New Scientist". www.newscientist.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  4. ^ reaa2@cam.ac.uk (20 November 2015). "Dr Lynn Dicks — Cambridge Forum for Sustainability and the Environment". www.cfse.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Dr Lynn Dicks". www.zoo.cam.ac.uk. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Three appointments made to Natural England board". GOV.UK. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Academic promotions". Selwyn College. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  8. ^ Dicks, Lynn; Benton, Tim. "The 'greening' of Europe's farms has been a failure". The Conversation. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Lynn Dicks - Zoology". Pelagic Publishing. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  10. ^ "We are heading towards a world without animals". www.newstatesman.com. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  11. ^ Oberhaus, Daniel (27 February 2016). "Bee Extinction Is Threatening the World's Food Supply, UN Warns". Vice. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  12. ^ Hunt, Gordon (26 February 2016). "The bees are still in trouble, so we are too". Silicon Republic. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  13. ^ "'Victory for bees' as European Union bans neonicotinoid pesticides". The Independent. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  14. ^ "Study highlights importance of vertebrate pollinators". phys.org. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  15. ^ Briggs, Helen (9 August 2016). "Call to 'future-proof' pollinators". Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  16. ^ Br, Sustainable; read, s Published 1 year ago About a 4 minute (13 April 2018). "Report: Pollinator Decline Threatening Supply Chains, Especially Cocoa". Sustainable Brands. Retrieved 17 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ foodnavigator.com. "'Insect apocalypse' poses risk to food production". foodnavigator.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  18. ^ "25th May 2017: Medal Winners 2017". The Linnean Society. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  19. ^ "Bees Needs Champion Award - Research Database, The University of East Anglia". people.uea.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  20. ^ "British Ecological Society announces 2022 award winners". British Ecological Society. British Ecological Society. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lynn_Dicks&oldid=1193547804"