MASSIVE BUMBLEBEE MIGRATION! Yesterday, bird migration hotspot Breskens, the Netherlands, counted ~1000 migrating bumblebee queens in a SINGLE HOUR (trektellen.nl/count/view/1...). More on this extraordinary phenomenon: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @trektellen.bsky.social

📢 Peatland & PV – could do much better! Our new study in @springernature.com shows: Solar parks on drained peatlands emit more GHG than they save. 😱 🔗 Read the study: www.nature.com/articles/s41... Why? Drained peatlands release CO₂—offsetting clean energy gains.

What are the reasons why people choose to protect pollinators like bees, butterflies and hoverflies? 🐝 🦋 A 2024 #SafeguardResearch examines the factors that influence the behaviour of people in rural and urban areas across 3 European countries. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

This gallery of almost all EU bee species high quality photos is quite impressive: pollinatoracademy.eu/images

Bee pollination increases fruit weight and antioxidants in pumpkins Pollination influences crop quality, especially the nutrient composition of fruits and seeds (micronutrients in our diet) #onehealth #health #micronutrients #pollinators #microhunger link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Bee pollination increases fruit weight and antioxidants in pumpkins - Arthropod-Plant Interactions

Due to the global decline of pollinators, global food security is at risk. Crops essentially dependent on pollinators such as pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duchesne, Cucurbitaceae) are the most affected. Although the importance of pollinators for crop productivity is known, there are many gaps in knowledge regarding the influence of pollination on crop quality, especially on the chemical composition of fruits and seeds. Here, we evaluated the relationship between floral display, frequency of visits and crop production, using three pumpkin plantations in the semi-arid region of NE Brazil as a model. In all sites we recorded floral display, floral visitors, and compared fruit set, fruit quality and seed number between natural (NP) and cross (CP) pollination experiments. Bees were the main pollinators, and Apis mellifera and Trigona spinipes were the most frequent. Floral display was positively correlated with the total number of visits, which had a positive relation with fruit weight, specifically because of T. spinipes visits. Visitation by A. mellifera had a negative relationship with pericarp length. Fruit set was about 9% higher in NP than in CP, whose fruits had lower antioxidant activity than the former. Floral display was positively related to the frequency of visits of pumpkin produced in the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil. Bees were the main pollinators, especially T. spinipes and A. mellifera, which positively influenced fruit weight. Thus, pollinators favored fruit set, weight, and quality, in addition to promoting antioxidant potential.

link.springer.com

Mixed plant and arthropod biodiversity responses to solar park establishment on former agricultural lands 🦋 Suggests that, while biodiversity can increase in solar parks post-conversion compared to previous land use, not all taxonomic groups benefit from this change 🌏🧪 doi.org/10.1111/1365...

A new study in Science evaluating published data from 19 countries has pinpointed the minimum habitat levels needed to sustain pollinators in agricultural landscapes. https://scim.ag/3VIq4Cg

A welcome research comparing the results of pollinator monitoring obtained by humans (so-called 'pollination ecologists') and concurrent time-lapse videos (so-called 'the future for lazy' 😜). Take a quick glance at this figure from the paper and judge for yourself doi.org/10.1002/aps3...

We need much more semi-natural habitat (6-37%, depending on species group) in agricultural landscapes to effectively conserve pollinators. Large collaborative synthesis study looking at 59 studies in 1250 landscapes from 19 countries now published in Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

"Why do queen bumblebees emerge from hibernation during weekends?" I love this framing about bias in hobbyist-collected data.

Why do queen bumblebees emerge from hibernation during weekends? - Apidologie

Climate-driven shifts in bumblebee emergence and flowering time can disrupt plant reproduction and affect pollinator health. To study such mismatches, accurate phenological data is crucial but challen...

link.springer.com

Dutch solar parks approach pollinator & plant biodiversity levels of extensive grasslands, but only on the surface not covered by panels. Soil-emergent arthropods and butterflies lack behind. Proud of Timea for leading besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @jappliedecology.bsky.social

Doing science biodiversity is great, but the impact is usually not very tangible. Together with citizen cooperative Land van Ons (@landvanons.bsky.social) we planted 300 meter of native hedgerow last December, and installed nest boxes. Today, I jumped of joy because the kestrel box is occupied!

With first sites being now resurveyed, we have just added another 50+ sites especially in Southern Germany: www.dda-web.de/monitoring/h... (+ more to follow!)

Conservation Biology Göttingen@consbiogoe.bsky.social · 2y ago

New project! Ever wondered about shifting #baselines in #conservation? Thought about quantifying historical biodiversity losses? We launched a nationwide #resurvey of historical bird surveys in Germany. Together with www.dda-web.de, we have...

New project! Ever wondered about shifting #baselines in #conservation? Thought about quantifying historical biodiversity losses? We launched a nationwide #resurvey of historical bird surveys in Germany. Together with www.dda-web.de, we have...

Our March issue is out now! Topics include: 👉The effect of mass-flowering lupin on wild bee conservation🐝 👉Managing marine invasive species in a changing world🌊 👉Assessing foodborne pathogen survival in bird faeces to co-manage farms🐦 Read more: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/13652664...

Now this is exciting. Antonin and his team have just published a study showing that the number of migrating hoverflies through Czechia are positively correlated with the numbers of birds! Suggests that the birds are using the flies as fuel on migration. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10....

Our new paper, based on data from 1,705 studies, shows that pesticides are toxic to organisms they are not intended to harm, including fungi, microbes, plants, insects, & vertebrates such as ourselves. Questions the wisdom of applying over 3 million tonnes of them every year...

Very interesting review article "Crop diversification for pollinator conservation" by Thijs Fijen, @eeraertsmaxime.bsky.social, @juliaosterman.bsky.social, @catrinwestphal.bsky.social and co-authors in Landscape Ecology!

Crop diversification for pollinator conservation - Landscape Ecology

Context Intensive agriculture drives insect decline impacting insect-mediated ecosystem services that support production. Crop diversification shows promise in increasing crop productivity and enhanci...

link.springer.com

New research suggests that adding lupin to crop rotations can promote bumblebees in agricultural landscapes, but diverse bee populations need more than just flowering crops 🐝🌏 🧪 🔗 https://buff.ly/40wpUjc

Very excited about these results! We experimentally added 1ha flowering lupin fields into the crop cultivation, and tested whether that increases pollinator populations. Yes! It helps, but obviously more conservation measures are needed too! besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Mass‐flowering lupin has positive, but limited, effect on wild bee conservation in agricultural landscapes

Our results indicate that lupin can potentially support the few common, abundant bee species that preferentially visit it. However, to effectively support the entire bee community, conservation manag...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

New study: #CropDiversification can help pollinators without taking land out of agricultural production, but only some #pollinator species may benefit. We highlight mechanisms on the spatial and temporal #diversity of crops. Led by Thijs Fijen @w-u-r.bsky.social

Crop diversification for pollinator conservation - Landscape Ecology

Context Intensive agriculture drives insect decline impacting insect-mediated ecosystem services that support production. Crop diversification shows promise in increasing crop productivity and enhanci...

link.springer.com