@majrundlof.bsky.social @buzznicholson.bsky.social, and I love them, so we're developing this work as a method for post-approval pesticide monitoring for bees. In the future, we hope to link to broader pollinator monitoring. Illustration by the talented Maj Persson www.majpersson.se

Working with these colonies, we've found them to be excellent (intermediate) indicators of bees' pesticide exposure and effect. Worryingly, we also show 60% of colonies exceed a current suggested specific protection goal for bumble bees (10% colony weight reduction)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

They also have the bonus that you can order boxes of them in the post! Perfect for experiments, outreach and if you need a little company. I've had some very interested delivery drivers over the years!

Being central-place foragers, they handily sample the landscape for us. Telling us about the flowers and pesticides they encounter, and if I knew how, disease, etc.

Their large hairy bodies, love of some of our well-known crops and abundance in the landscape make them excellent pollinators - look at all that pollen! 😍

Thank you 😊

Please can you add me? 😊 scholar.google.co.uk/citations?us...

Thank you 😊 and I absolutely agree about soil health. Its just not my area so I don't know where to start 🙈

Thinking about impact helps my focus and objectivity and motivates me to do what I do. I want functional and sustainable landscapes for people and biodiversity. And I'll keep exploring these themes all the time it makes sense for my family, my team, and me 🥳 11/11

I moved to TCD. I lecture human-biodiversity interactions, #Entomology etc. I LOVE it, but managing teams in 2 countries with 2 young kids at home is a huge challenge. I have a ginormous student loan, no magic pots of money and even with my privilege, I struggle with the elitism in Academia. 10/11

For me, humans are integral to the system. Each discipline is complex (always open to collaboration), so I aim to simplify interdisciplinarity. Pure science, applied ecology, conservation, and engagement are all important. 9/11

Fast forward a few years (for another thread), linking ecology, economics, and socio-psychology became my basis. We're building a database of pollinator conservation practices to ask questions like what is best ecologically? What are large landholders most likely to do? .. 8/11

So, a friend and I tried something new! We discovered nature interactions and individuals' empowerment were consistently stronger predictors of people's pollinator conservation actions than factors like knowledge and financial resources. 7/11
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

I had greatly underestimated the role of socio-psychological factors (beyond economics) in shaping people's conservation behaviour, which isn't surprising given my background in ecology 🤷‍♀️ Photo of @majrundlof.bsky.social by V. Westin Sverige Nature 6/11

I presented (IMO!) a sound ecological and economic argument for pollinator habitat, but only ~2% of the land I advised over (5,599 Ha, so 108 Ha) was converted. 5/11

Enthused, I moved on to a NERC impact fellowship, producing bespoke pollinator management reports for farmers in my region based on scientific evidence. I ran computer simulations to model the ecological benefits and conducted basic cost-benefit analyses. 4/11

First of my (extended) family to study a higher degree, I had terrible imposter syndrome. But with excellent supervision from Juliet Osborne, I gained confidence and, perhaps as a result, LOVED my PhD. It showed in my productivity - 5 research papers from 3.5 years of study. 3/11

I studied the mechanisms and management of crop pollination (squash) in partnership with the agricultural industry. I found insect pollination was worth £3,400/ Ha, and simple conservation measures promoted pollinator visitation to crop flowers. 2/11 academic.oup.com/jee/article/...