"Without Taxonomy Conservation is impossible"
Discover more about CETAF E-SCoRe Award winner Guillaume Ghisbain and his research on bumblebees
Last May Dr Guillaume Ghisbain, researcher and entomologist from the University of Mons, was awarded with the CETAF E-SCoRe Award during the Empowering Biodiversity Research II in Tervuren.
Dr. Guillaume Ghisbain is now working at the Laboratory of Zoology at the University of Mons but has also travelled to North and Central America, Africa, the Middle East and Europe for research. His studies revolve around his passion for bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) which was particularly stimulated by his visits to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. In the work that he shared with CETAF his goal was to explain the importance of the taxonomy of bumblebees for adapted conservation strategies. As Guillaume said “without taxonomy, nature conservation cannot be fully efficient, as we cannot protect what we do not know.”
The E-SCoRe award prize consisted in a cash prize of €1,000 a financial support of up to €1,000 for a scientific visit to a CETAF institute, coming in very handy for a young researcher like him. After receiving the award, Guillaume was available for us to interview him. He appeared happy and passionate while expressing his feelings about the win and sharing some further insights of his work.
When questioned about his future plans, the Dr had this to say:
"In research is always difficult to have a plan, you can have ideas and hopes. We’ll try to follow the passion, love for conservation and maybe it will pay”.
It may be a not easily predictable future, but we will for sure be here, with excitement: with this award to his record and an already vast list of publications that keeps on increasing at such a young age, there’s much hope for what’s to come for Guillaume and he surely has a bright career ahead of him.
Find the full interview at:
Along with the other rewards for his victory, Guillaume was also invited to present his discoveries at the CETAF Governing Board meeting, thus reaching an even broader audience. Guillaume once again explained the journey that led him up to that moment and, in the end, replied to the participant's questions.
The session was recorded and it is now fully available on our YouTube channel for you to check out at any moment. If you to find out more about bumblebees and biodiversity give it a listen at: