OxTalks is Changing
OxTalks will soon move to the new Halo platform and will become 'Oxford Events.' There will be a need for an OxTalks freeze. This was previously planned for Friday 14th November – a new date will be shared as soon as it is available (full details will be available on the Staff Gateway).
In the meantime, the OxTalks site will remain active and events will continue to be published.
If staff have any questions about the Oxford Events launch, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
Functional Ecology and Climate Resilience: Wild Bee Biology in a Changing World
Representing more than 20,000 species globally, wild bees exhibit striking variation in morphology, physiology, and behaviour, that enabled them to thrive in diverse climates across all major terrestrial ecosystems. Despite this diversity, our understanding of bee climate responses is drawn overwhelmingly from studies on a handful of managed species. My research explores the functional traits that underlie variation in wild bee responses to climate stressors. These studies offer insights into the ways bee communities will be filtered and reshaped by future climates. A central theme in my research is leveraging images—from citizen science photos to museum specimen images and 3D models—to investigate bee functional ecology under different environmental conditions. I develop computer vision tools to standardise and automate image analysis for ecological research and biodiversity monitoring. Together, these studies highlight signatures of climate resilience and climate vulnerability in this functionally rich and ecologically important pollinator group.
Date:
4 December 2025, 15:00
Venue:
Life and Mind Building, South Parks Road, OX1 3EL, Seminar rooms 7 & 8
Speaker:
Dr Madeleine Ostwald (Queen Mary University of London)
Organising department:
Department of Biology
Organiser contact email address:
andrea.kastner@biology.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Dr Rachel Parkinson (University of Oxford)
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Members of the University only
Editor:
Andrea Kastner
