Author: Journal of Applied Ecology

Careers, Conferences and events, The Applied Ecologist community

My immersive experience at the BES Annual Meeting as an applied ecologist

Karen Castillioni is an Associate Editor mentee for Journal of Applied Ecology. She is also a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Minnesota, USA. She is passionate about understanding the complex relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the context of global change. In this blog post, she shares her experience of the 2023 BES Annual Meeting. The British Ecological Society (BES) Annual Meeting this … Continue reading My immersive experience at the BES Annual Meeting as an applied ecologist

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Human-wildlife interactions, Monitoring and methods, Pathogens and disease, Research summaries

How using multiple surveillance methods can help us track low prevalence disease

Abigail Feuka discusses how she, alongside colleagues, employed three surveillance methods to estimate the probability of presence and spread of a low-prevalence pathogen at a landscape scale under incomplete sampling coverage. Wildlife disease The COVID-19 pandemic has brought disease transmission from animals to humans into the public spotlight. But studying wildlife disease can be tricky, especially low prevalence diseases, where proportionally few individuals in a … Continue reading How using multiple surveillance methods can help us track low prevalence disease

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Agriculture, Human-wildlife interactions, Pollinators, Research summaries

Bees go up, flowers go down: When are flowers needed most in agricultural areas?

Gabriella Bishop introduces us to the latest study, conducted alongside colleagues, which indicates that agri-environmental management should target the provision of summer floral resources for both social and solitary bees. Bees in intensive agricultural landscapes Bees need flowers for food and reproduction. Previously, agricultural areas contained small fields with undisturbed borders and flower-rich pastures that provided bees with the resources they need. The transition to … Continue reading Bees go up, flowers go down: When are flowers needed most in agricultural areas?

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Agriculture, Human-wildlife interactions, Pollinators, Research summaries

Unravelling the seasonal dance: How flowering crops impact wild pollinators

Laura Riggi talks us through the latest research, conducted with colleagues, which confirms that mass-flowering crop cultivation alone is unlikely to be sufficient for maintaining pollinators. However, as part of carefully designed diverse crop rotations or mixtures combined with the preservation of permanent non-crop habitats, it might provide valuable supplementary food resources for pollinators in temperate agroecosystems, particularly later in the season when alternative flower … Continue reading Unravelling the seasonal dance: How flowering crops impact wild pollinators

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Forests, Freshwater, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Enhancing riparian protection: A call for clear objectives and measurable targets

Lenka Kuglerová, John S. Richardson, Timo Muotka, Darshanaa Chellaiah and Jussi Jyväsjärvi talk to us about their latest perspective article which suggests that locally developed and adjusted targets for riparian buffers must move away from vague objectives. A switch towards quantifiable goals that specify what is supposed to be achieved and protected will help to implement, monitor and evaluate targets. Small streams in a forestry … Continue reading Enhancing riparian protection: A call for clear objectives and measurable targets

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Coastal and marine, Editor's Choice, Plant and soil ecology, Research summaries

Editor’s Choice 60:12 Mangrove ecological restoration vs climate variability

David Alejandro Sánchez-Núñez, J. Alexandra Rodríguez-Rodríguez and José Ernesto Mancera Pineda talk us through Journal of Applied Ecology’s December’s Editor’s Choice research article. This study demonstrates that climate-smart restoration in mangroves should implement the types of hydrological rehabilitation measures that offset or avoid reinforcing ENSO strong phases. History of cover fluctuations in a strategic mangrove ecosystem The Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta (CGSM), one of … Continue reading Editor’s Choice 60:12 Mangrove ecological restoration vs climate variability

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Coastal and marine, Human-wildlife interactions, Research summaries

The hidden values of the Wadden Sea

In this blog post, Paula de la Barra and Allert Bijleveld discuss their latest research, conducted alongside Geert Aarts. This work focusses on gas extraction under intertidal mudflats, and the impact that this has on macrozoobenthic communities and sediment. The importance of the Wadden Sea Every day the tide covers and reveals thousands of square kilometres of sand and mudflats in the Wadden Sea, the … Continue reading The hidden values of the Wadden Sea

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Agriculture, Plant and soil ecology, Research summaries

Landscape heterogeneity as a management tool to offset negative effects of habitat loss in agroecosystems

Marcella do Carmo Pônzio and Nielson Pasqualotto summarise their latest research in which they and colleagues investigated the effects of landscape heterogeneity and native vegetation cover on richness and composition of native and invasive mammals, across 55 landscapes in the Brazilian Savanna, Cerrado. A global process and a knowledge gap Intensive agriculture has significantly transformed landscapes by replacing native habitats and diversified small-scale farming into … Continue reading Landscape heterogeneity as a management tool to offset negative effects of habitat loss in agroecosystems

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Agriculture, Monitoring and methods, Pollinators, Research summaries

SolBeePop: A model of solitary bee populations in agricultural landscapes

Amelie Schmolke discusses recent work, conducted alongside colleagues, which involved the development of a trait-based model for solitary bees. Schmolke et al were able to model management scenarios and possible outcomes for bee species with incomplete trait data. An introduction to bees When thinking about bees, people often think of the honey bee. But there are over 20,000 species of bees in the world, most … Continue reading SolBeePop: A model of solitary bee populations in agricultural landscapes

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Coastal and marine, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Long-term Monitoring: The key to unlocking effective Marine Protected Area Management?

Christopher Honeyman talks us through recently published work which compared three Marine Protected Area (MPA) monitoring techniques, along with colleagues. Interestingly, each technique was shown to survey distinct groundfish community assemblages with varying levels of species diversity and richness. Therefore, combining multiple techniques may better allow managers to create the most comprehensive, effective and inclusive MPA monitoring regimes. A global phenomenon In response to human-caused … Continue reading Long-term Monitoring: The key to unlocking effective Marine Protected Area Management?

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