Category: Research summaries

Agriculture, Pollinators, Research summaries

Biodiversity in West African parklands promotes pollination of shea

With demand on shea parklands increasing, Aoife Delaney and colleagues explore the pollination services to shea and how we can better support this resource of both ecological and economic importance. Their new research was recently published in Journal of Applied Ecology. Shea parklands occupy over 1 million km2 in the Sudano-Sahelian semi-arid zone of sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal in the west to Uganda in the … Continue reading Biodiversity in West African parklands promotes pollination of shea

Unknown's avatarJournal of Applied Ecology3 Comments
Grasslands, Research summaries

Weathering the storm: plant community flood resilience in intensively managed grasslands and the role of the plant economic spectrum

As flooding events increase in frequency and severity, how will managed grasslands weather the storm? Can we use the traits or ‘strategies’ of the plants that make up these grasslands to predict their resilience? Natalie Oram and colleagues address this issue in their new Journal of Applied Ecology article. Here they discuss their work further. Long story short: in flooded conditions, resource-conservative plant communities are … Continue reading Weathering the storm: plant community flood resilience in intensively managed grasslands and the role of the plant economic spectrum

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Agriculture, Pollinators, Research summaries, Video

A new threat to native bumblebees

In their recently published article, Bartomeus et al. show how the commercial bumblebee trade is affecting the genetic integrity of native pollinators. Here the authors provide a summary of their work. Bees, especially bumblebees, are threatened by human-induced rapid environmental change such as habitat loss, exotic pathogens and global warming. But some species are more resilient than others. This is the case for the buff-tailed … Continue reading A new threat to native bumblebees

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Invasive species, Research summaries

Is invasion success explained by enemy release?

The cover for Journal of Applied Ecology issue 57:06 shows a Cuban treefrog in Florida, USA. Discussing the research behind the image, Elizabeth Roznik explains how invasive species such as this can outcompete native frogs due to their large body sizes, fast growth rates, and tolerance of parasites.

Invasive species are among the leading threats to native wildlife. Understanding the mechanisms underlying invasions can help us manage invasive species and their impacts. Continue reading Is invasion success explained by enemy release?

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Agriculture, Careers, Human-wildlife interactions, Podcast, Research summaries

Why neonicotinoids? Interview with Southwood Prize winner, Ségolène Humann‐Guilleminot

Senior Editor, Romina Rader, recently spoke to Ségolène Humann‐Guilleminot, winner of our Southwood Prize early career researcher award, to find out more about her work on neonicotinoid insecticides in agricultural land.

Ségolène’s research has also been beautifully illustrated (above) by Rob Lang at Underdone Comics. Continue reading Why neonicotinoids? Interview with Southwood Prize winner, Ségolène Humann‐Guilleminot

Unknown's avatarJournal of Applied Ecology1 Comment
Human-wildlife interactions, Perspectives, Research summaries, Video

The need for a code of practice for mosquito management in European wetlands

Bringing together multidisciplinary expertise, Martinou et al. build a framework that aims to balance the priorities of wetland conservation and mosquito control.  

Wetlands provide essential resources to human societies, and the associated biodiversity associated with wetlands has an estimated value ranging from US $44,597- ($)195,478 per hectare per year. Governments around the world have enacted legislation, policies and regulations including the Clean Water Act (United States) and the Water Act (Australia) to protect wetlands from a variety of human activities. Continue reading The need for a code of practice for mosquito management in European wetlands

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Invasive species, Pathogens and disease, Research summaries

How can control of invading plant pathogens increase their rate of spread? How can we prevent it?

Ryan Sharp and colleagues investigate the answers to both of these questions and discuss their recent work, The effect of competition on the control of invading plant pathogens, published in Journal of Applied Ecology.

When pathogens invade into an area, they may find themselves in competition with already endemic pathogen strains. This competition can severely limit the spread of the invader. Control methods generally do not distinguish between pathogen strains. Therefore, when control is applied, both invasive and endemic strains are affected. Continue reading How can control of invading plant pathogens increase their rate of spread? How can we prevent it?

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Research summaries, Restoration

Reclaiming contaminated land through biodiversity

How can we develop efficient ways to reclaim contaminated lands? Ecological Solutions and Evidence Editor-in-Chief, Marc Cadotte shares his recent work with Jia et al.,published in Journal of Applied Ecology. A version of this post is available in Chinese here. According to the IPBES report on land degradation, the degradation of productive lands and intact habitats is a major threat to sustainability, biodiversity and ecosystem … Continue reading Reclaiming contaminated land through biodiversity

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Research summaries, Restoration, Translation

利用生物多样性修复退化土地

Translation by Jin-tian Li.
根据IPBES关于土地退化的报告，农业用地和原生境的退化大大降低了生态系统的恢复力和经济系统的弹性，是对全球可持续发展、生物多样性和生态系统功能的重大威胁。在许多新兴经济体和发展中国家，人类活动所导致的环境污染使大量农业用地和原生境发生了严重退化。在很多情况下，将遭受严重污染的生境恢复到原始状态是不可行的，因为这些生境承载一个健全的原始生态系统的能力十分有限。在这种情况下，我们需要实施一系列修复退化土地的措施，以期达到提高生物多样性、增强生态系统功能的目的… Continue reading 利用生物多样性修复退化土地

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Invasive species, Monitoring and methods, Practitioners, Research summaries, Restoration

Using phenology to guide invasive plant management

Successful restoration of degraded land often depends on well-timed interventions to control invasive species. In their recently published article, Taylor and colleagues present a case study of the effects of incorporating phenology information into invasive plant control operations at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), USA. The authors share their story below. Towards the end of April, millions of birds, including warblers, tanagers, buntings, grosbeaks … Continue reading Using phenology to guide invasive plant management

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