BBC Natural History Unit research request

The BBC Natural History Unit is looking for stories for the following new productions. We would be very grateful to hear of any scientists working in these areas.

Monsoon

'Monsoon' is a major new 5-part, landmark natural history series, which will follow the drama of the monsoon seasons in South Asia.

From India, through South East Asia and right across to Papua New Guinea, it will tell the story of how life here ebbs and flows with the huge seasonal changes , driven by the moods of this mighty weather system; looking at how the monsoon affects both the wildlife, and the people that live here.

Production has just started, and we will have two years to deliver the series, aiming for broadcast in 2014. It follows in the footsteps of other landmark series from the Natural History Unit and which many of the team have worked on, such as 'Frozen Planet', 'Life', 'Wild China' and 'Planet Earth'.

This will be an epic series, drawing on the latest state of the art technology, presented in stunning HD photography and focusing on the wildlife, landscapes, and people whose lives are shaped by the power of the monsoon.

It would be great to hear your ideas, please do send an email to Alison.Tunnicliffe@bbc.co.uk

Behavioural projects on lions

We are looking for any new projects on lion sociality and pride behaviour - either from a genetic point of view or from an observational perspective for a 2-parter on lions.

Earth News

We publish exclusive stories about natural history and bring together the best wildlife news on bbc.co.uk. We have a growing UK and international audience averaging half a million unique users a week. We are always on the look out for stories, especially any new research, presentations, or interesting things encountered in the natural world. But generally things with a more 'timely' or news bent. Our stories appear on the NHU's Earth News web site here and also throughout BBC news.

Any ideas - please contact: Jody.bourton@bbc.co.uk or Matt.Walker@bbc.co.uk.

Desert ecology

We are interested in desert ecology stories for our new series about biodiversity ‘How Life Works’.

Contact: Mark.Jacobs@bbc.co.uk.

Saving species

We are looking for conservation stories across the UK as well as the world, either short-form stories, for example a piece of research which is happening during our transmission year, or long-form involvements, whereby we can revisit a topic regularly. Our aim is to use the individual species as the hook for the audience, which can then open up the wider potential of survival/re-introduction and conservation programmes being undertaken, either just for this species, or at a larger biosphere level. Capturing these stories can be either by pre-recordings, interviews or possibly live conversations, using either our own staff, or locally sourced media providers.

Contact: Andrew.Dawes@bbc.co.uk or Julian.Hector@bbc.co.uk.