Billy Weir - Should we reintroduce Lynx to the United Kingdom? Discussing the potential locations and benefits of reintroducing the Eurasian Lynx to the UK.

In this episode of the Meliora Podcast from the Sustainability & Resilience Institute at the University of Southampton, we are joined by third-year BSc Environmental Science student Billy Weir for an exploration of his dissertation research titled: ‘Should we reintroduce Lynx to the United Kingdom? Discussing the potential locations and benefits of reintroducing the Eurasian Lynx to the UK'The United Kingdom is one of the most nature-deprived countries in the world and is in dire need of restoration. Rewilding has come to the forefront of conservation and ecological restoration in recent years, and reintroductions of predators are important for restoring ecosystems and increasing biodiversity. Predators such as Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx) are a good candidate for reintroduction to the UK. Eurasian Lynx would provide many ecological benefits, and potentially social and economic benefits too. This episode discusses these ecological benefits and impacts, as well as the practicality of a potential reintroduction of the species. Useful papers: Hawkins, S.A., Brady, D., Mayhew, M., Smith, D., Lipscombe, S., White, C., Eagle, A. and Convery, I. (2020). Community perspectives on the reintroduction of Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) to the UK. Restoration Ecology, 28(6). doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13243 Johnson, R. and Greenwood, S. (2019). Assessing the ecological feasibility of reintroducing the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) to southern Scotland, England, and Wales. Biodiversity and Conservation, 29. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-019-01909-2.The Meliora Podcast Student Research Symposium is part of the 2024 Student Takeover Season where we celebrate the fantastic sustainability research work of our Undergraduate Students.Guest: Billy Weir (Third-Year BSc Environmental Science Student)Host: Prof Simon KempEditor: Lily KillnerIf you are interested in engaging with more sustainability-related material take a look at both Instagram and X: @meliorapodcast