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We propose a model to consider data dependencies and assess spatial and temporal variability in land use specific floral coverage across landscapes. Data dependence arising from repeated measurements across the flowering season is taken into account using hierarchical Archimedean copulas, where the correlation is assumed to be stronger within seasonal periods than between periods. For each seasona

Strawberry and oilseed rape are economically important and co-flowering insect-pollinated crops that may affect each other via shared pollinators. One potential negative effect of pollinator sharing is stigma clogging, i.e. that pollen from one plant species covers the stigma and prevents pollination in the other. We tested if application of oilseed rape pollen on strawberry receptacles reduces po

The study uses household level data from four villages inand around Cross River National Park (CRNP), Nigeria to assess therole of primate meat in local livelihoods and diets. Okwangwo is anenclave community within the national park, Butatong houses theCRNP headquarters. Kanyang1 and Abo Ebam are located fartheraway from the park. 149 respondents were surveyed. Sale ofbushmeat contributed 4 percen

Butterfly monitoring schemes are recording programs initiated to monitor nationwide butterfly abundance and distribution patterns, often with help from volunteers. The method generates high-resolution data, but may be associated with a degree of habitat sampling bias if volunteers prefer to survey areas perceived to be high-quality butterfly habitats. This can result in habitats becoming underrepr

The phylogenetic relationships among hemosporidian parasites, including the origin of Plasmodium falciparum, the most virulent malaria parasite of humans, have been heavily debated for decades. Studies based on multiple-gene sequences have helped settle many of these controversial phylogenetic issues. However, denser taxon sampling and genome-wide analyses are needed to confidently resolve the evo

Making decisions between alternatives are challenging when there is weak or unreliable knowledge about the risks and benefits of the alternatives. This requires a trade-off between risks (and benefits). Here, we comment on a recent paper on risk–risk trade-offs and highlight the difficulties of making such trade-offs when the available evidence is of different strength. One current example of a ri

Mass-flowering crops (MFCs) are increasingly cultivated and might influence pollinator communities in MFC fields and nearby semi-natural habitats (SNHs). Across six European regions and 2 years, we assessed how landscape-scale cover of MFCs affected pollinator densities in 408 MFC fields and adjacent SNHs. In MFC fields, densities of bumblebees, solitary bees, managed honeybees and hoverflies were

Plant-feeding insects reduce yields substantially in all major crops despite considerable crop protection efforts. A lack of long-term monitoring data and insufficient ecological knowledge of pest insects limit our possibilities to characterize drivers of change in their abundances. We demonstrate how a suite of complementary methods and data sources can be used to analyse historical shifts in pes

Honeybees might outcompete wild bees by depleting common resources, possibly more so in simplified landscapes where flower-rich habitats have been lost. We tested this by experimentally adding honeybee hives to nine sites while ensuring that ten additional sites were free from hives. The landscape surrounding each geographically separated site either held low (homogeneous landscape) or high (heter

The Baltic Sea is the world's largest area suffering from eutrophication-driven hypoxia. Low oxygen levels are threatening its biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. The main causes for eutrophication-driven hypoxia are high nutrient loadings and global warming. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) contribute to eutrophication as they are important sources of nitrogen to coastal areas. Here, we eva

While addition of managed honeybees (Apis mellifera) improves pollination of many entomophilous crops, it is unknown if it simultaneously suppresses the densities of wild insects through competition. To investigate this, we added 624 honeybee hives to 23 fields of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) over 2 years and made sure that the areas around 21 other fields were free from honeybee hives. We dem

Soil microorganisms play an integral role in the regulation of carbon (C) cycling. In high-latitude ecosystems, climate warming is leading to higher plant productivity, shrub expansion and faster nutrient cycling; all of which increase resource availability to soil microorganisms. To understand how a legacy of enhanced resource availability affects the functional traits of microbial communities, a

Agri-environment schemes are programmes where landholders enter into voluntary agreements (typically with governments) to manage agricultural land for environmental protection and nature conservation objectives. Previous work at local scale has shown that these features can provide additional floral and nesting resources to support wild pollinators, which may indirectly increase floral visitation

The demand for agricultural products is expected to increase as a result of population growth, changed diets and demands for bioenergy. At the same time, agricultural yields in many regions are expected to be negatively impacted by climate change. Here we show, how altered winter conditions in combination with an extreme weather event impact reproductive development and yield of oilseed rape (Bras

Plant invaders often exhibit substantially higher productivity than the communities they replace. However, little is known about interactions among invaders and microbial decomposers responsible for converting organic nutrients into plant-available forms to fuel this productivity. We performed two laboratory incubations with soil and plant material collected from five-year-old experimental plantin

Soil microbial communities perform vital ecosystem functions, such as the decomposition of organic matter to provide plant nutrition. However, despite the functional importance of soil microorganisms, attribution of ecosystem function to particular constituents of the microbial community has been impeded by a lack of information linking microbial function to community composition and structure. He