Maria Clara Castellanos

Bumble bee colony health is diminished in a mesotunnel enclosure planted with a cucurbit monoculture crop - New publication out by Gauger et al. doi.org/10.26786/192...

Gradual pollen release in a buzz‐pollinated plant: Investigating pollen presentation theory under bee visitation Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

How do plants stave off greedy pollinators? Read our new paper on pollen dosing in buzz pollinated flowers just out in @funecology.bsky.social
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

👇 🌸 see Special Issue in New Phytologist on Nectar & nectaries with many ways of studying nectar biology - including our 2024 paper on nectar traits evolutionary potential @a-romerobravo.bsky.social @newphyt.bsky.social

Anna, qué gran noticia, ¡felicitaciones!

Savanna with all the grasses dead, although we are not in the dry season. This savanna is close to the river and was flooded a few months ago

Those savannas next to the river that experienced flooding a few months ago are now ready to burn (flood-sensitive grasses); savannas further from the river are green (non-flammable).
Flooding enhances fire, i.e., water and fire are complementary forces in Los Llanos del Orinoco, Colombia.
🧪🌍🔥

Path diagram of pollen fates

Where does pollen go after leaving a flower? Our paper on pollen fates in buzz pollinated flowers is out. Congrats to the three brilliant undergrads that carried out this study from beginning to end!

pollinationecology.org/index.php/jp...

The Pollinator Academy is an online platform that provides tools and training to help strengthen your knowledge of the taxonomy of European pollinators. Follow us and visit our website to find out more! #PollinatorAcademy #Pollinators #Taxonomy #Bee #Hoverfly #Butterfly Pollinatoracademy.eu

Extremely interesting opinion piece by MacIvor & Irwin on "Mail-order solitary bee cocoons as a gateway for biological invasion": doi.org/10.26786/192...

The second one comes from India, looking at Bee diversity in apple orchards of the Lower Himalaya: research synthesis, a new field study, and future needs - by Virkar et al.: doi.org/10.26786/192...

Two new papers out from very different regions: the first one investigates how Timing of flowering affects pollination of Viburnum edule in Alaskan boreal forest by Kornhauser & Mulder: doi.org/10.26786/192...

Understanding Pollination in Urban Food Production: The Importance of Data Validation and Participant Feedback for Citizen Science Project Design Urban agriculture depends on insect pollination, but knowledge gaps persist due to difficulties accessing diverse growing spaces. We developed a citizen science approach for monitoring insect visits ...

🍅Our new paper in @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social evaluating the effectiveness of #CitizenScience approach for understanding plant-pollinator interactions in urban food growing 🫛 @davegoulson.bsky.social @calacastellanos.bsky.social @leah-salm.bsky.social nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Experts on wildfires are posting about the fires in the northern part of Iberia, because fires there right now are remarkably large and numerous. But the causes are the same as in any Mediterranean environment. The thread below explains the complexity and why we need to adapt (in Spanish).

Copernicus

¿Por qué la región entre Zamora, León y Ourense arde tanto?
No, no es para construir aerogeneradores, ni por ninguna de las teorías conspiranoicas que estamos leyendo. La explicación es más compleja… y menos cómoda para quienes buscan respuestas simples. 1/13

Casi extraterrestre!

Allotments are vanishing when the UK urgently needs more of them In praise of digging for potatoes.

An article I wrote for @theconversation.com in response to #allotment sell-offs. Featuring evidence from myself and @davegoulson.bsky.social and the amazing work led by Jill Edmondson's team at Sheffield. #communitygardens #urbanbiodiversity #growyourown
theconversation.com/allotments-a...

Having Sir David Attenborough narrate a story based on our findings on the dyeing poison frog was something that I never imagined, even in my wildest dreams. Now it’s happening, in the new BBC series “Parenthood” (Episode on Freshwater)! 🤩 www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zih...
📸: Screenshot from trailer

A poster advertising the eventnb with images of home growing and a QR code in the bottom right corner to scan to register. The Text reads: This interdisciplinary two-day event will bring together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to: • Map current UK urban agriculture research • Identify knowledge gaps and shared priorities • Foster new collaborations for future projects and funding

A second page of the poster advertising the event. This provides a schedule for the day, including three panel sessions on Diversity, Governance and Community on Day 1, 17th September, and a faciliated workshop to focus on research priorities, synergies and knowledge gaps and a visit to Moulsecoomb Forest Garden. The bottom half of the poster has photos of speakers.

🥕 Are you a UK researcher or practitioner working in urban agriculture? Please join us at 'Growing Together: A Transdisciplinary Forum on UK Urban Food Systems'
📅17-18th September 2025
📍University of Sussex
✍️Register by 31st Aug: lnkd.in/eQHbQxP2
❓More info? Contact: e.nicholls@sussex.ac.uk

Paying attention to the correct sequence of numbers is important! Find out why in this freshly published paper by Symington & Rockx: A pervasive typographical error in an equation for calculating nectar density is likely to have limited consequences - doi.org/10.26786/192...

Trait–fire mismatching. Illustrative examples of mismatch are shown where anthropogenic shifts in fire patterns have plausibly reduced plant fitness.

Trait–fire mismatching in animals. A conceptual overview of how trait–fire mismatches are defined and measured, and a few examples.

Can plants keep up with fire regime changes through evolution?
doi.org/10.1016/j.tr... | @cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social

What about animals?
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... | @globalchangebio.bsky.social

Trait–fire mismatching
Food for thought by @ltkelly.bsky.social et al

🧪🌍🔥🌳🌿🌾🌐 #ecoevo

🦋 Amid the growing controversy over pesticide-heavy lily farming in the Netherlands, @jeroenvandersluijs.bsky.social sat down with @dvhn.nl for an in-depth interview. The conversation goes far beyond lilies – touching on wider environmental issues 🐛

👉 butterfly-europe.eu/interview-wi...

Horizon project Butterfly's webpage now published!

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

📢 Don't miss JPE's new issue with lots of novel data, methods papers and discussion on the EU pollinator monitoring schemes 📢

The response by Potts et al. to the comment published yesterday (Krahner et al.) is now online as well! :
doi.org/10.26786/192...

And here is a comment by Krahner et al. on the Proposal for an EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (EUPoMS), where they ask for explaining the exclusion of pan traps: doi.org/10.26786/192...

A new article in JPE by Visser et al. compares citizen science and academic surveys: doi.org/10.26786/192...

Another important methodology paper just published by Pattrick et al. to clarify once and for all "The concentration and energetic content of floral nectar sugars: calculation, conversions, and common confusions" doi.org/10.26786/192...

Brighton is a great place to live and home of a unique National Elm Collection currently affected by Dutch Elm Disease. The city is also surrounded by large areas affected by ash dieback. Feel free to reach out informally if you are interested in applying.

Few English elms still survive after Dutch elm disease spread in the UK

🌳Join us for a PhD in tree disease at the University of Sussex 👩‍🔬🌳 (please share!) Epidemiology and ecology to understand disease spread & prevention, and ecological consequences. This is a competitive fully funded PhD - deadline for applications June 25th www.sussex.ac.uk/study/fees-f...

Phenology changes for the Japanese cherry tree (Prunus jamasakura) in Kyoto. Left: Day of the year of the flowering peak for the period between 812 and 2024. Right: Relation between March mean air temperature (°C) in Kyoto and the day of the year of the Japanese cherry tree peak flowering for the period between 1890 and 2024. https://jgpausas.blogs.uv.es/2025/06/11/134-years-of-climate-warming-effects/

Climate warming is not a recent phenomenon; it has had detectable impacts on plants for at least 134 years!

The onset of phenological plant response to climate warming @newphyt.bsky.social
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

🧪🌎🌿🌐🌳 🍁 #PlantBiology @cideinvestiga.bsky.social @csic.es