| Alma Mater: | University of Oxford (BA) University of Cambridge (PhD) |
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| Workplaces: | University of Cambridge, University of East Anglia |
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| Lynn Dicks | |
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]
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. 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]
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]
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]