An academic from Royal Holloway has won the British Ecological Society (BES) Marsh Award for Ecology. This prize is awarded for outstanding current research which is having a significant impact on the development of the science of ecology or its application.

Professor Julia Koricheva

Professor Julia Koricheva is a professor of ecology in the Department of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway and her research focuses on forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, plant-herbivore interactions and research synthesis and meta-analysis in ecology.

BES is the oldest ecological society in the world and promotes the study ecology through its six academic journals, conferences, grants, education initiatives and policy work. The society has 6,000 members from more than 120 different countries.

On receiving the award, Julia said: “I am very honoured to receive this award, proud to represent women in ecology and I’m deeply grateful to the society for this recognition.

“I am a big believer in the role of research synthesis in science and I’m particularly pleased that this award recognises the importance of meta-analysis in ecology.”

The Marsh Award for Ecology is provided by the Marsh Charitable Trust and administrated by BES.

BES has announced the winners of all its annual awards and prizes, recognising thirteen distinguished ecologists and groups whose work has benefitted the scientific community and society in general.

The winners will be presented with their prizes during a ceremony held at Ecology Across Borders, a joint conference with the French Society for Ecology and Evolution (SFE²), which runs from 12-15 December in Liverpool. The meeting will bring together 1,200 ecologists (in person and online) to discuss the latest advances in ecological research across the whole discipline.