Movement and spatial ecology in agricultural landscapes
Lead Research Organisation:
Rothamsted Research
Department Name: UNLISTED
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Technical Summary
Research in this project is focused on the movement ecology and spatial patterning of populations of pests (insects & pathogens) and beneficials (natural enemies & pollinators). Many pests and their natural enemies are highly mobile (which affects their ability to colonise and damage crops), while the quantity and quality of seed and fruit production in many crops is dependent on the spatial structuring of the crop and the movement patterns of pollinators. This project seeks to tackle all aspects of spatial scaling from national and regional dynamics through to landscape and farm-scale patterns and individual movements, in an attempt to better understand how sustainable food production and high levels of biodiversity can co-exist in agricultural landscapes. The research tackles the following questions:
1. Are invasive species and their migration pathways predictable, and can models be developed that elucidate a mechanistic understanding of observed spatial patterns of pests?
2. Do pest species exhibit spatial synchrony over large scales, and does this synchrony facilitate area-wide suppression given additional management interventions?
3. At what scale should pests, pathogens and natural enemies be managed (monitored and controlled) for maximum yield?
4. Does the spatial patterning of floral resources of differing nutritional quality affect the search strategies, foraging success, colony fitness and pollination services of bees?
5. How do sub-lethal infections of diseases and parasites affect the navigational capabilities, foraging success, and fitness of infected versus uninfected hives?
These questions will be tackled with a variety of approaches, including exploitation of Rothamsted’s long-term datasets and classical experiments; purpose-built entomological radars for studying long-range migration and short-range foraging movements; and mathematical models to predict and explain spatio-temporal dynamics in pest and beneficial populations.
1. Are invasive species and their migration pathways predictable, and can models be developed that elucidate a mechanistic understanding of observed spatial patterns of pests?
2. Do pest species exhibit spatial synchrony over large scales, and does this synchrony facilitate area-wide suppression given additional management interventions?
3. At what scale should pests, pathogens and natural enemies be managed (monitored and controlled) for maximum yield?
4. Does the spatial patterning of floral resources of differing nutritional quality affect the search strategies, foraging success, colony fitness and pollination services of bees?
5. How do sub-lethal infections of diseases and parasites affect the navigational capabilities, foraging success, and fitness of infected versus uninfected hives?
These questions will be tackled with a variety of approaches, including exploitation of Rothamsted’s long-term datasets and classical experiments; purpose-built entomological radars for studying long-range migration and short-range foraging movements; and mathematical models to predict and explain spatio-temporal dynamics in pest and beneficial populations.
Planned Impact
unavailable
People |
ORCID iD |
| Andrew Reynolds (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Abolaffio M
(2018)
Olfactory-cued navigation in shearwaters: linking movement patterns to mechanisms
in Scientific Reports
Ariel G
(2017)
Chaotic Model for Lévy Walks in Swarming Bacteria.
in Physical review letters
Bauer S
(2017)
From Agricultural Benefits to Aviation Safety: Realizing the Potential of Continent-Wide Radar Networks.
in Bioscience
Bell J
(2011)
The trait and host plant ecology of aphids and their distribution and abundance in the United Kingdom
in Global Ecology and Biogeography
Bell JR
(2015)
Long-term phenological trends, species accumulation rates, aphid traits and climate: five decades of change in migrating aphids.
in The Journal of animal ecology
Bell JR
(2012)
Putting the brakes on a cycle: bottom-up effects damp cycle amplitude.
in Ecology letters
Bell JR
(2013)
Predicting insect migration density and speed in the daytime convective boundary layer.
in PloS one
Brooks D
(2012)
Large carabid beetle declines in a United Kingdom monitoring network increases evidence for a widespread loss in insect biodiversity
in Journal of Applied Ecology
Carruthers JM
(2017)
Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) as a resource for farmland insect pollinators: quantifying floral traits in conventional varieties and breeding systems.
in Global change biology. Bioenergy
Chapman JW
(2012)
Seasonal migration to high latitudes results in major reproductive benefits in an insect.
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
| Description | Objective 2.1 • Significant progress has been made in understanding: (i) mechanisms underlying the evolution of animal movement patterns; (ii) population-level consequences of pest insect movements for agricultural systems; and (iii) large-scale spatial changes in natural enemy communities. We have published many significant papers in this objective, including high-profile papers in PNAS (Chapman et al 2012), Ecology Letters (Bell et al 2012), Current Biology (Chapman et al 2015), Science (Hu et al 2016). Our work has made major theoretical and empirical advances in the study of insect migration and population dynamics, such as understanding the environmental cues which initiate and guide migrations, the role of migration in the population growth of pest species. All of this work has significant implications for monitoring and forecasting crop pests. Many of these advances have been published in some key review papers, including Chapman et al 2015 in Ecology Letters. Objective 2.2 • Predictive models developed which examine how epidemics spread to inform surveillance programs for invading diseases. The work is used in monitoring programs on sudden oak death, ash dieback and acute oak decline in the UK and various citrus monitoring programs in Brazil and the USA. A potential new method of manipulating pest (OSR pollen beetle) populations by a novel visual control method (changing the petal colour) has been identified. Sam Cook's research papers (Ferguson et al 2015 & 2016, both in Pest Management Science) report that use of on-line decision support tools can reduce by around a half the amount of monitoring time required for pollen beetle control, helping growers to spray to threshold only when necessary and reducing unnecessary insecticide applications. It also shows that damage in the crop is very temperature dependent (so thresholds based on adult numbers are not as accurate as they could be if temperature was also considered). Sam Cook's work also showed clearly that field margins can help achieve a win-win scenario for improving farmland biodiversity and promoting biocontrol ecosystem services (and in turn contribute to UK/EU goals in sustainable intensification of agriculture). In summary she found that: • Current margin mixtures designed for birds or bees/butterflies can also support natural enemies of crop pests • Annual/biennial field margin mixtures containing a cereal, legume and a brassica species support populations of the natural enemies of pests of ALL the major crops of the main arable rotation - especially specialist natural enemies which are often the most effective biocontrol agents. • Careful selection of plant composition can improve margin value for natural enemies of crop pests by increasing flowering periodicity early and late into the season. • Autumn and spring sowing of annual/biennial margins is complimentary. Perennial margins complement the use of biennial mixtures, and although not utilised by the specialist natural enemies of brassica pests, play an important role in the provision of overwintering habitats as well as floral resources. Land managers should therefore be encouraged to plant as diverse range as possible. • Strategies to encourage moment of natural enemies from margins and into the crop are needed for effective biocontrol. Spatially-separating field margins could be one way to do this and the development of repellents derived from entomopathogenic fungi is a promising avenue for future research. Objective 2.3 • The first 2 field seasons of data has been collected for the new BBSRC-funded uplift project on the effect of sub-lethal doses of neonicotinoids on bee foraging success; significant progress has also been made in understanding spatial patterns of bee foraging. Andy Reynolds theoretical work has identified the hallmark of olfactory-cued navigation, and uncovered strong evidence for the this hallmark in the flight patterns of shearwaters flying over vast expanses of visually featureless ocean. The theory explains how these birds can pinpoint their colonies after 100's km. This paves the way for modelling olfactory-cued navigation in insects (mate location, host plant location etc.). This work resulted in widespread media coverage, e.g., National Geographic, Telegraph, Daily Express, New York Times. Andy Reynolds also extended his optimal searching theory from 2 to 3-dimensions. The theory has been used to understand the 3-dimensional foraging flight patterns of bumblebees (paper under review). |
| Exploitation Route | • The work on disease prediction (Van Den Bosch; Parnell) is used to inform Defra's national surveys for P. ramorum and is being extended in a BBSRC funded project on ash dieback. The methods are also used routinely by the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to look for the invasive pests and pathogens that threaten the citrus industry in the US. • The work on insect declines (Brooks; Chapman) was published in a major report of the "State of Britain's Larger Moths" (Fox et al 2013), and launched to the public / media at an event in London in Feb 2013 at which Maurice Moloney (RRES Director), Martin Warren (Butterfly Conservation CEO) and Chris Packham (BBC presenter) spoke. • The Pollination Ecology group (Haughton) provided information to Baroness Winchester who used this in a debate on bee health and insecticides at the House of Lords in Jan 2013; a motion was passed to support research into bee health. • The radar entomology work (Chapman) featured in 4 major BBC TV shows (Horizon, Springwatch, Autumnwatch and a BBC4 film on Painted Lady butterflies), plus a major SKY TV series with David Attenborough (Conquest of the Skies). • RHS Chelsea Flower show -'Petals & Pests' (Sam Cook) exhibit on how petal cues can be used to manipulate movement of pests and beneficial insects in arable crops and gardens. Awarded Silver medal. |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Environment |
| Description | Predictive models of disease epidemiology have been developed, which examine how epidemics spread; this information can be used to inform the design of disease surveillance programs for invading crop diseases. The results of these studies have been used to design monitoring programs for sudden oak death, ash dieback and acute oak decline in the UK and various citrus monitoring programs in Brazil and the USA. Further funding received through the BBSRC - GCRF - IAA scheme (awarded to University of Exeter after move of PI Chapman to UoE) was used to hold a Radar Entomology training workshop at Exeter (in collaboration with colleagues from Rothamsted), which was attended by students from China and India - these students returned to their home labs with expertise in using radar to monitor movements of migratory insect pests. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment |
| Impact Types | Societal Economic |
| Description | Rothamsted advice on National Pollinator Strategy |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | Rothamsted (Haughton) made a scientific contribution to the shaping of the National Pollinator Strategy produced by DEFRA for the UK Govt. |
| Description | Rothsamsted contribution to Parlimentary Question |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| Impact | Rothamsted (Haughton) provided scientific evidence in response to a question raised in the House of Lords on pollinator health, which lead to the development of the National Pollinator Strategy. |
| Description | BBSRC DTP studentship |
| Amount | £70,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2013 |
| End | 12/2016 |
| Description | CB Dennis Trust |
| Amount | £20,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | C.B. Dennis British Beekeepers' Research Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2014 |
| End | 03/2015 |
| Description | Defra Link |
| Amount | £600,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | |
| Description | ERC Fellowship |
| Amount | € 1,200,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Research Council (ERC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Belgium |
| Start | |
| Description | EU COST Action |
| Amount | € 400,000 (EUR) |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Belgium |
| Start | 09/2013 |
| End | 09/2017 |
| Description | GCRF-IAA |
| Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2016 |
| End | 04/2017 |
| Description | Marshall-Sherfield Fellowship |
| Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Marshall Scholarship |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2015 |
| End | 08/2017 |
| Description | NERC DTP Studentship |
| Amount | £70,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2016 |
| End | 09/2019 |
| Description | Newton Fund |
| Amount | £100,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2015 |
| End | 03/2016 |
| Description | Newton Twinning Award |
| Amount | £150,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | |
| Description | STFC - Newton Fund |
| Amount | £1,000,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | |
| Description | Scottish Government |
| Amount | £263,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Government of Scotland |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | |
| Description | Syngenta |
| Amount | £300,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Syngenta International AG |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Start | |
| Description | USDA |
| Amount | £180,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United States |
| Start | |
| Description | ENRAM |
| Organisation | European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) |
| Department | COST Action |
| Country | Belgium |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Chapman leads an EU COST Action called "ENRAM" (the European Network for the Radar surveillance of Animal Movement). He brings together all the researchers engaged in radar biology across Europe (about 70 members in 24 countries), and coordinates their research. ENRAM funds about 15 short-term scientific exchanges each year, all coordinated by Chapman as lead of the network. The aims of the ENRAM group dovetail perfectly with the ISPG work-package that Chapman leads. |
| Collaborator Contribution | the members of ENRAM bring expertise in many different fields - physics, engineering, mathematics, meteorology, ornithology, conservation - all of which complement the entomological and agricultural expertise at Rothamsted. |
| Impact | See the ENRAM website for a full list of outputs and activities. |
| Start Year | 2013 |
| Description | BBC Autumnwatch |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Chapman appeared in a BBC Autumnwatch programme to discuss his research on nocturnal moth migration, and how he had used the Rothamsted radars to reveal amazing insights into the navigational capabilities of migratory moths; he also discussed how the movement capabilities of moths are related to the changing patterns of their distribution and abundance. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | BBC Horizon |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Chapman took part in a BBC Horizon show on the topic of "What is killing our bees", during which he gave interviews to explain the BBSRC-funded research that is being carried out to study the sub-lethal effects of insecticides and diseases on bees, using the Rothamsted radars. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | BBC Springwatch |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Chapman appeared on BBC Springwatch to take about the importance of daytime insect migration, and the role that aerial biomass plays in supporting insect-feeding birds. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | British Beekeepers Association Spring Convention |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Rothamsted hosts a research exhibit at the annual beekeeping spring convention, and engages with the participants who all share a common interest in keeping and conserving honeybees and other pollinators. This is an excellent opportunity for 2-way knowledge exchange between academics and all those interested in bees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014,2015,2016 |
| Description | Conquest of the Skies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Chapman was filmed for a SKY TV documentary presented by Sir David Attenborough, to discuss his ground-breaking research on the migration of the painted lady butterfly, in which he was the first person to show that they flew at high altitudes and also his discovery of their compass mechanism. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | HAAS seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A seminar on my research on the BBSRC and NERC grants that I hold was given at the Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, China, by Chapman in July 2016, to a large audience primarily of undergraduate and postgraduate students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Insect Migration Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Chapman organised an international symposium on Insect Migration at the International Congress of Entomology in Florida, USA, where 3 presentations from work carried out in the grant were presented (as part of programme of 16 international speakers) to a large audience comprised of students, fellow scientists, media and policymakers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Moth Migration Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Chapman organised a symposium on moth migration at the Entomological Society of America, at which he spoke on moth movement and its impact on population dynamics and range changes, and he invited leading US researchers to speak on similar topics. The symposium was attended by scientists, policymakers and industry figures. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Nanjing Agricultural University seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A seminar on my research on the BBSRC and NERC grants that I hold was given at the Nanjing Agricultural University, China, by Chapman in July 2016, to a large audience primarily of undergraduate and postgraduate students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Painted Lady film |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Chapman contributed to a major film about the migration of the Painted Lady butterfly, which was aired on BBC4 in the UK, and also shown overseas. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Radar Aero-ecology Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Chapman (as chair of the EU COST Action "ENRAM" - the European Network for the Radar surveillance of Animal Movement) organised a major international conference on the topic of "Radar Aero-ecology" in Rome, in February 2017, which was attended by more than 100 participants. A 2-day programme of talks from international speakers (including members of this grant at Rothamsted) discussed the use of radar for studying animal movements, an area where Rothamsted leads the world. The conference was also preceded by a training school also organised by ENRAM (for which Chapman is chair), which trained about 30 students in the use of radar for studying animal movements. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://conferencedetails-enram.rhcloud.com/ |
| Description | Rothamsted Open Evening |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Research in Chapman's group on the study of insect movement, relating to all the BBSRC and NERC grants that Chapman holds, was the focus of an open event to the public in September 2016, consisting of an evening of talks from group members and a public demonstration of the radar techniques we have pioneered in our group. It was attended by 200+ members of the general public including local school children and students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Texan Lutheran University seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A seminar on my research on the BBSRC and NERC grants that I hold was given at the Texas Lutheran University in March 2016 by Chapman, to a large audience primarily of undergraduate and postgraduate students, and the seminar was posted on youtube. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | University of Austin, Texas seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A seminar on my research on the BBSRC and NERC grants that I hold was given at the University of Austin, Texas by Chapman in March 2016, to a large audience primarily of undergraduate and postgraduate students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | University of Exeter seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A seminar on my research on the BBSRC and NERC grants that I hold was given at the University of Exeter's Penryn campus, by Chapman in October 2016, to a large audience primarily of undergraduate and postgraduate students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | University of Minnesota seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A seminar on my research on the BBSRC and NERC grants that I hold was given at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-St Pauls, by Chapman in November 2015, to a large audience primarily of undergraduate and postgraduate students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |