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Morgan Morrison

@morganmorrison73.bsky.social
152 followers 198 following 24 posts

Pollinator conservation, networks and parasites 🦋🐝🦠 | Postdoc at University of Exeter | Former PhD at Royal Holloway | she/her

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Reposted by Morgan Morrison
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) @ukceh.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🐝 🪰 How can we track change across the UK's insect pollinators? A new paper from @pomscheme.bsky.social outlines how we're generating robust metrics to monitor pollinator trends at a national scale. Another key milestone for PoMS! besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... 🧪 1/
Collage of images featuring bee on flower, UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme logo, a person carrying out a FIT Count on flowers, and a landscape of moorland with a pan trap monitoring system in place.
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Natural History Museum, London @nhm-london.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Museum collections are revealing how the genetic diversity of the moss carder bumblebee has changed over the past century! 🐝 Once widespread across Britain, these bees have declined in number and become increasingly isolated as suitable habitat has been lost.
Photograph of a moss carder bumblebee specimen on a grey background. The bee is orange-brown, showing dark markings, a hairy body, long legs and translucent, veined wings.
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Royal Society Publishing @royalsocietypublishing.org · 30/09/2026
Controlling Varroa mites in managed honey bee colonies can reduce virus spillover into wild pollinators. New #ProcB research found virus prevalence in wild bees and hoverflies fell by 39-85% following mite control. doi.org/10.1098/rspb... | #Ecology
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Insectes Sociaux @insectessociaux.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
New research article! 📰 @morganmorrison73.bsky.social, fmandredini.bsky.social, markjfbrown.bsky.social et al. find that a wing-deforming bee virus is still prevalent in bees across UK protected grasslands 🌿 🔗 doi.org/10.1007/s000... #SocialInsects #BeeHealth #Virus #Pathogen #Conservation
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Abigail Lowe @abigaillowe.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Have you been recording wildlife in your garden this year with iRecord? Sign up to the Big British Garden Survey to contribute to understanding how gardens support biodiversity across the UK. Registration closes soon, so hurry to get your garden on the map! tinyurl.com/25hme4b7 @ukceh.bsky.social
A pair of Five-spot Burnet Moths (Zygaena trifolii) resting on common knapweed.A meadow grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus) displaying excellent camouflage against green leaves.Image of a person taking a photo of a moth with their mobile phone.
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Morgan Morrison @morganmorrison73.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
New paper on DWV genotypes in honey bees and bumblebees across protected areas. Surprisingly, both genotypes were prevalent and often co-detected, with wild bumblebees carrying higher DWV-A loads. This sparks questions about multi-host dynamics and disease monitoring 🐝🌼 doi.org/10.1007/s000...
link.springer.com
Co-occurrence of high levels of deformed wing virus genotype A and B in both managed and wild social bees - Insectes Sociaux
Bees are key pollinators that support global food production and plant biodiversity, yet wild pollinator populations are declining due to anthropogenic pressures, including habitat loss, pesticide use...
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Morgan Morrison @morganmorrison73.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Happy to share our horizon scan of European wild pollinators is out! We identified 10 priority issues for 10yrs, including, for the 1st time, legislation as an opportunity (NRR). However, political shifts may slow progress, while new pesticide tech presents opportunities. doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org
Horizon scanning for European wild pollinators identifies world-leading legislation as a key opportunity for pollinators - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Horizon scanning for European wild pollinators identifies world-leading legislation as a key opportunity for pollinators
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UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) @ukceh.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
New data on insect pollinators show a dramatic decline in hoverflies across Great Britain between 2017–2024. 📉 Around one third reduction in abundance & number of hoverfly species recorded as part of @pomscheme.bsky.social www.ceh.ac.uk/press/new-da... 1/ @jncc.bsky.social 🧪
Epistrophe grossulariae hoverfly and pollen beetles on hogweed, and text headline New data show dramatic decline in hoverflies across Great BritainMeliscaeva cinctella hoverfly, and text about hoverflies and UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme results
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Morgan Morrison @morganmorrison73.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
We spent last summer in just a few of the gardens in one village and look at the pollinator diversity!! Hopefully this will get our volunteers excited about the biodiversity in their gardens! I can't wait to show them this and our results this week!! Thanks @willleohawkes.bsky.social!!
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Ayman Asiri @aasiri.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
🐝 New paper! Do infected honey bees smell different from healthy ones? We found that infection by the gut parasite Vairimorpha spp. changes the volatile compounds emitted by adult honey bees - the first evidence that infected adults develop distinct volatile profiles. doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
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Rosy Christopher @envirosyment.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
It's that time of year again! and much like the Flower Crab Spiders, Spider Spies is coming out of hibernation and running a second year. So if you want to be involved in investigating these colourful spiders and their flower using habits head over to our website foragingecology.com/spider-spies/
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Morgan Morrison @morganmorrison73.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Hive mind: I'm on the hunt for any practitioner reports, policy docs, restoration frameworks, or applied conservation reports that explicitly use plant–pollinator interactions or ecological networks in practical conservation/restoration/rewilding? (Not scientific research) 🐝🌻
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UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) @ukceh.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Great to be partnering with National Garden Scheme on The Big British Garden Survey to reveal the wildlife thriving in our gardens 🦋🐞. Record what you see and help build a national picture of UK #biodiversity. Join in: ngs.org.uk/the-big-brit... 🧪 @abigaillowe.bsky.social
Common drone fly on flowerSilver Y moth on flowerButterfly on flower and headline The Big British Garden Survey
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UKBMS @ukbms.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
UKBMS results out today! Results from fifty years of butterfly monitoring! The UKBMS data reveals declines in 33 species over the last 50 years. Check out the full story below butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blo... And the full 2025 statistics can be found here: jncc.gov.uk/our-work/off...
butterfly-conservation.org
Fifty years of data reveal specialist butterflies disappearing across UK
An extraordinary dataset of over 44 million records from 782,000 volunteer surveys has revealed what has happened to the UK's butterflies as the national landscape has changed over the past 50…
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British Beekeepers Association @bbka.org.uk · 10/04/2026
The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme how you give the public a chance to join in and help monitor the health of our pollinators ukpoms.org.uk/home
ukpoms.org.uk
Welcome to the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) | PoMS
Pollinating insects play a vital role in our environment, ensuring that many of our crops and wild plants are able to set seed and produce fruit. We need to know how pollinator populations are changing, and with your help we are gathering data on a wide range of flower-visiting insects.
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Harry Siviter @harrysiviter.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Hive mind request. I’m looking for long term insect (ideally pollinator) monitoring schemes that have conducted weekly/monthly transects/counts for several years. I know of the Bee walks, UKMS, and PoMs in the UK. I would love some non-UK examples! 🐝🦋🐝🦋🐝🦋
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British Beekeepers Association @bbka.org.uk · 26/03/2026
This gasp-inducing documentary shows a man buzzing over the remarkable insects that bumble around his garden … and ended up changing his life www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
theguardian.com
My Garden of a Thousand Bees review – a joyous film on the unbearable lightness of bee-ing
This gasp-inducing documentary shows a man buzzing over the remarkable insects that bumble around his garden … and ended up changing his life
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Morgan Morrison @morganmorrison73.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
I recommend giving 'Garden of a thousand bees' at watch this week if youre UK based. It's a funny and entertaining watch and all about the ecology of pollinators in gardens (what's not to love). This Wednesday BBC 4 @ 8pm www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Four - My Garden of a Thousand Bees
Wildlife film-maker Martin Dohrn sets out to film over 60 species of bee in his garden.
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Bumblebee Conservation Trust @bumblebeetrust.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
2025 saw bumblebees bounce back from 2024’s worst year on record. But, for many species, numbers are still below average🚨 The latest findings from BeeWalk shows: ⚠️5 species declined even further 📉15 species are below average 📊2 rare species had promising numbers Read on: ow.ly/rPgn50YtjhB
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Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge @camzoology.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Research groups here in Zoology play an important part in Europe’s response to pollinator decline. Read about their recent work: bit.ly/40rpMly @markjfbrown.bsky.social @restpoll.bsky.social @safeguard-pollinators.eu
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Fabio Manfredini @fmanfredini.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Really exciting to see this paper out! Using AI to improve the detection of busy bumblebees visiting cherry flowers 🐝🌸🍒 great collaboration between U of Aberdeen and James Hutton Institute 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
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Safeguard Project @safeguard-pollinators.eu · 27/02/2026
📢 Safeguard releases three new policy briefs! Each of the new briefs translated the project's research into guidance for decision-makers across different policy areas. 👉 Available on the Safeguard project website and in the Safe-hub policy corner: safeguard-pollinators.eu/policy-corner
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Fabio Manfredini @fmanfredini.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
www.linkedin.com/posts/fabio-...
linkedin.com
📣📣 2-year postdoc position available in my group at the University of Milan (Italy). We are looking for a biologist/entomologist with molecular skills as part of the Horizon ProPollSoil project… | Fab...
📣📣 2-year postdoc position available in my group at the University of Milan (Italy). We are looking for a biologist/entomologist with molecular skills as part of the Horizon ProPollSoil project https:...
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Reposted by Morgan Morrison
Biology Open @biologyopen.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
Simon Loughran, @fmanfredini.bsky.social & co explore how natural deformed wing virus infections and cognitive ability shape brain gene expression in honey bee foragers. doi.org/10.1242/bio.... #Transcriptomics #HoneyBees
(B) PER conditioning assays. (1) Initial feed and water desensitisation. Harnessed bees given 3–5 μl 30% (w/w) sucrose; antennae touched with water. (2) Acclimatisation. 1 h in darkness (lab cabinet), 22–25°C, 35–40% relative humidity. (3) Conditioning. Five citral presentations (5 μl 95% v/v on filter paper in 20 ml syringe) each reinforced with 30% sucrose. (4) Filter. Discard bees showing PER to first odour presentation or no PER to sucrose. (5) Memory tests. Three trials same day+three trials next day. Group assignment: Good Learners=PER in all six tests; Poor Learners=no PER in any test. (6) Storage. Freezing at −80°C for later molecular work.
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Safeguard Project @safeguard-pollinators.eu · 16/01/2026
🦠 A new #SafeguardResearch examines how viruses spread between managed honey bees and wild pollinators - and the results challenge some common assumptions. 👉 Read the full study: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #EUPollinators #honeybees #wildpollinators
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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Nice to be starting 2026 with our new paper with @sei.org on making #CitizenScience biological recording more inclusive @savebutterflies.bsky.social doi.org/10.5334/cstp...
doi.org
Increasing Inclusivity in Biological Recording in the United Kingdom: Progress to Date and Future Priorities | Citizen Science: Theory and Practice
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Morgan Morrison @morganmorrison73.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
If youre looking for a conference this summer, join us at the IUSSI international Congress in Freiburg. If you need somewhere to submit an abstract, some wonderful colleagues and I are hosting a symposium on Conserving Wild Social Insects. Take a look at the brief! iussi2026.org/scientific-s...
iussi2026.org
Scientific Symposia
01 – Adult phenotypic plasticity and the regulation of division of labor in social insects Romain Libbrecht, Abel Bernadou This symposium will explore the factors and mechanisms that regulate…
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Safeguard Project @safeguard-pollinators.eu · 19/12/2025
🌼Sown wildflower plantings can help counter pollinator decline by restoring key resources. A #SafeguardResearch looks into how higher flower diversity supports bees & butterflies - especially in flower‑poor seasons. 👉 Read the full study: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Phil Stevenson @philstevenson.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Heather nectar metabolites reduce within-colony epidemics of the bumblebee parasite Crithidia bombi showing that anti microbial compounds in nectar are effective at improving bee health at colony levels. @rbgkew.bsky.social @markjfbrown.bsky.social royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
royalsocietypublishing.org
Heather nectar extracts reduce within-colony epidemics of the bumblebee parasite Crithidia bombi
Abstract. Disease and habitat loss are significant causes of pollinator declines, and evidence indicates the two are linked. In Britain, lowland heath is a
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Safeguard Project @safeguard-pollinators.eu · 22/10/2025
New IUCN Red List data shows worsening trends for Europe’s wild #pollinators: 100 more bee species are now threatened, and the percentage of vulnerable butterfly species is up 76% in a decade. More at: www.safeguard.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de/News/ViewNew...
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Harry Siviter @harrysiviter.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
PhD position at the University of Bristol (with me!) entitled 'The legacy impacts of extreme climate events on animal behaviour, physiology, and fitness'. Fully funded and is available for UK-domiciled students of black heritage. Please reach out with any questions. tinyurl.com/5n7s8yp9
findaphd.com
Funded PhD open to UK-domiciled, home fee applicants of Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black or mixed Black heritage - The legacy impacts of extreme climate events on animal behaviour, physio...
PhD Project - Funded PhD open to UK-domiciled, home fee applicants of Black African, Black Caribbean or other Black or mixed Black heritage - The legacy impacts of extreme climate events on animal beh...
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Julia Koricheva @juliakoricheva.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
PhD applications are now open @treesdla.bsky.social for 2026 intake. Have a look at a project on effects of forest diversity on floral reward production for pollinators that we advertise with @philstevenson.bsky.social. Do apply/get in touch if you are interested! www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/eff...
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IUSSI-NWES @iussi-nwes.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
We are delighted that our Winter Meeting 2025 in Leuven 🇧🇪 is approaching! Abstract submissions now open: www.iussi-nweurope.org/meetings Date: December 18-19 Abstract deadline: October 15 Host: Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution at KU Leuven Plenary: Ido Pen & @rmash.bsky.social
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Morgan Morrison @morganmorrison73.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
And if you want proof I now know every single flower in all our 32 project gardens ...
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Morgan Morrison @morganmorrison73.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Find out more about my research and the Pollinator Pathmaker Constantine Network on Gardeners' World this week. A great overview of the Pollinator Pathmaker and the great community on which our research is based. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002j9sh
bbc.co.uk
Gardeners' World - 2025: Episode 24
As summer starts to make way for autumn, Monty is harvesting sweetcorn, taking stock of his plants in pots and pruning summer-fruiting raspberries.
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Butterfly Conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
The #BigButterflyCount results are in and it's official... 2025 was an average year for butterflies. See the full results and what can be done to help butterflies and moths 👇 butterfly-conservation.org/big-butt…
Common Blue butterfly resting on heather against a dark pink background. Text overlay reads 'the results are in' with Butterfly Conservation's Big Butterfly Count logo. Photo credit Matt Berry
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UKBMS @ukbms.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
UK Butterfly abundance Indicators for 1976-2024 have been released, showing an 18% decline in overall butterfly abundance for the UK. Habitat specialists have fared worse, declining by over a third. Check out the full statistics here ⬇️ buff.ly/1AIDB3J
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Dave Goulson @davegoulson.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
New Europe-wide study finds that efforts to provide pollinator habitat in urban areas - such as sowing wildflower mixes - really do work, boosting numbers of bees and butterflies: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Pollinator‐Promoting Interventions in European Urban Habitats—A Synthesis
Syntheses of urban pollinator-friendly management are lacking, hindering policy implementation compared to farmland. Addressing this gap, our re-analytical data synthesis demonstrates the generally p...
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Mark Brown @markjfbrown.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Thank you! And what an honour to be appointed Director of the amazing @zoologymuseum.bsky.social Sad to leave @rhulbiology.bsky.social after a wonderful 16.5 years, but very excited by this new challenge and amazing opportunity. I can’t wait to get started!
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Morgan Morrison @morganmorrison73.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
After a bit of trouble shooting glue types, our mass bee tagging was under way in the village of Constantine
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Morgan Morrison @morganmorrison73.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Field work has begun ... Here's to a camera roll full of insects 🦋🐝 For my sanity, please pray for enough rain to keep gardens growing but not so much that our large sampling plan fails
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Butterfly @butterfly-project.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
Find out what pollinators are, why they are important and why they are declining: www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/ar...
europarl.europa.eu
What’s behind the decline in bees and other pollinators? (infographic) | Topics | European Parliament
Find out what pollinators are, why they are important and why they are declining.
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Rosybeeplants @rosybeeplants.bsky.social · 23/03/2025
We are have updated our research into which garden plants attract the most pollinators. Our original research included 5 years of data. We then moved house so this is now 9 years of data over 2 different locations. www.rosybee.com/research-study
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Morgan Morrison @morganmorrison73.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
A brilliant week of citizen scientist pollinator identification training on for the participants of the Pollinator Pathmaker Constantine Network Shout out to these hairy footed flower bees for being the tricky candidate for is it a solitary bee or bumblebee
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Prof. Jeff Ollerton @jeffollerton.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
In a new paper that I co-authored we suggest that #Biodiversity Net Gain may be falling short for some of the most vital, yet overlooked, members of our ecosystems: invertebrates. Read more about it here, with a link to download the open-access paper: jeffollerton.co.uk/2025/03/28/i...
jeffollerton.co.uk
Is Biodiversity Net Gain a missed opportunity for invertebrate conservation? A new open access study suggest ways to improve it
The UK has set ambitious targets under the Global Biodiversity Framework 2030, aiming to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. One of the key policies designed to help achieve this is Biodiversity Ne…
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Morgan Morrison @morganmorrison73.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
First pollinator spotted (and chased with a camera) on our Pollinator Pathmaker Constantine Network living artworks!! Prepare yourself for a flurry of photos of pollinators this summer 🌸🐝
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Morgan Morrison @morganmorrison73.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
A few snapshots of the prep for the Pollinator #PathmakerProject in Constantine over the last few weeks It's been great to get the plants in the ground over the last few days 🧑‍🌾 Stay tuned for when these are in full bloom!! 🌼🌸🪻
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Julia Osterman @juliaosterman.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
📢 New study: Insect Biomasse & abundance were similar in protected areas & urban wastelands, but 🐝wild bee diversity was higher in urban areas! Protected areas (Natura 2000) may need targeted management to support pollinators. 👇 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @wilosterman.bsky.social
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iBartomeus @ibartomeus.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
[new paper] EuPPollNet: A European Database of Plant-Pollinator Networks onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... Another wonderful paper of @joseblanuza.bsky.social making open more than >1500 networks and looking at their properties. Come for the data, stay for the cool figures!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
EuPPollNet: A European Database of Plant‐Pollinator Networks
Motivation Pollinators play a crucial role in maintaining Earth's terrestrial biodiversity. However, rapid human-induced environmental changes are compromising the long-term persistence of plant-pol...
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Morgan Morrison @morganmorrison73.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
📢 New paper from #poshbee on effects of repeated sulfoxaflor exposure during key stages of bumblebee queen life cycle We found no effects of single or repeated exposure on 👑🐝 We urge future studies to consider repeated exposure when assessing impacts of pesticides doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.70011
doi.org
Examining the effects of repeated pesticide exposure on bumblebee queen survival and reproduction
Here, we look at the effects of an unstudied, yet biologically likely exposure regime, on bumblebee queens. We found that neither exposure to sulfoxaflor pre- or post-hibernation, nor their combinati....
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