Can pollinators choose between pesticide-laced and pesticide-free foods? And is choice a good thing in terms of conservation? Paola Olaya‐Arenas and Ian Kaplan discuss their new research. Continue reading Milkweed pesticide residues deter feeding and egg-laying by monarch butterflies
Considering the vast impacts disturbances such as fire and insect outbreaks are having on forests worldwide, Alexandro B. Leverkus and Simon Thorn bring together a selection of work showcasing quality research into these disturbances and strategies being taken to manage them.
This Virtual Issue features articles from across the British Ecological Society journals that are free-to-read for a limited time. Continue reading Forests undergoing novel disturbances: understanding and managing the complex new reality of forests
New research from Jon Domínguez del Valle and colleagues demonstrates that dogs outperform humans when it comes to finding bird and bat carcasses in a wide range of situations. This is particularly evident when searching for small species in dense vegetation. This infographic summarises their work into detection at wind farms. ‘Our results provide evidence that dogs perform with high success rates at detecting bird … Continue reading Infographic: factors affecting carcass detection at wind farms using dogs and human searchers
Recent research from Marina Antongionanni and colleagues estimates 47,000 fragments of Caatinga dry forests to be affected by chronic human disturbances. Here the authors look at how such effects are depicted, and demonstrate how this knowledge can help define large-scale conservation and management actions. Continue reading Black and white fragmentation maps can be misleading
New research by Lauren Brzozowski and colleagues develops our understanding of how plant preference gradients mediate herbivore behaviour, and how this can ultimately help us manage crop damage from insect pests. Associate Editor, Ian Kaplan collaborates with Christie Shee to introduce our new Journal of Applied Ecology Editor’s Choice article, Attack and aggregation of a major squash pest: Parsing the role of plant chemistry and … Continue reading Editor’s Choice 57:08 – The mechanisms underlying crop colonisation, aggregation and damage in an insect pest
New research from Gerardo Martín and colleagues looks at how we might support shark species if protected areas are multi-use and still open to fishing. The key is focusing on reefs preferred by sharks and developing our knowledge of shark movement pathways. Here the authors share their work and look at how we can improve species conservation while still supporting communities that depend on coral … Continue reading Protected high-value reefs and movement pathways improve conservation of reef sharks
In their new research, Karen Holl, Leighton Reid and colleagues compare the use of tree islands to other strategies for tropical forest restoration. Here they share their findings, including ecological and economic benefits, as well as lessons to carry forward. A video summary of the research is also available in English and Spanish. A version of this blog was originally shared by Natural History of … Continue reading Do we really need to plant a trillion trees? Tree islands are an ecologically and economically sound strategy for tropical forest recovery
Exploring local and landscape management actions, Costanza Geppert and colleagues recognise the value of flower strips but also point to the importance of organic agriculture when it comes to maintaining pollinator richness. Their new insights were recently published in Journal of Applied Ecology. In recent years, the ‘insect Armageddon’ has received growing attention in Europe. The main driver of this insect decline is agricultural intensification, … Continue reading Flower strips, organic management or small-scale farming: which benefits pollinator abundance, richness and reproduction most?
In their new research, Linhao Wu and colleagues set out to answer the question ‘how do retention harvest and forest type together affect the conservation and recovery of ground beetles assemblages’? Ground beetles (members of the family Carabidae) are common and important components of forest biodiversity. Because they are easy to collect, highly diverse and sensitive to habitat changes, they have been widely used as … Continue reading Green-tree retention benefits recovery of ground beetles
Heino et al.’s recent Policy Direction provides an approach to freshwater biomonitoring that could equip us to manage the effects of climate change in the Arctic. Associate Editor, Robert Britton highlights the work as our latest Journal of Applied Ecology Editor’s Choice. Anthropogenic climate change is not resulting in uniform warming rates across the world, with some regions increasing in temperature faster than others. This … Continue reading Editor’s choice 57:07 – An urgent need for standardised monitoring of Arctic freshwaters
The Applied Ecologist 