Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Adrien Rusch @arusch.bsky.social · Aug 21

📣 🪲 Check out this paper led by @tperrot.bsky.social, which provides a clear demonstration that the intensive use of pesticides can be more detrimental than beneficial for crop production due to their negative impacts on natural pest control.

Thomas Perrot @tperrot.bsky.social · Jul 30

New publication in Proceedings B: urlr.me/qZ39CJ. We show that the use of insecticides reduces rapeseed yields beyond a threshold of 36g/ha. The reason is that insecticides reduce natural regulation, leading to an increase in insect pests and weeds!

Crop yield loss under high insecticide regime driven by reduction in natural pest control | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Current agricultural pest management mainly relies on the use of synthetic insecticides with strong adverse impacts on the environment or humans. Decreasing crop productivity in the case of pesticide-...

urlr.me

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ARC2020 @arc2020.bsky.social · Jul 2

Op-ed by not 1 but 2 UN special rapporteurs 😮 Marcos A Orellana & @olivierdeschutter.bsky.social
www.arc2020.eu/europe-must-...
#pesticides @corporateeurope.org @eeb.org @paneurope.bsky.social @fian-international.bsky.social @fianbelgium.bsky.social @foeeurope.bsky.social @slowfoodhq.bsky.social

Op-Ed | Europe Must End The Double Standards In Toxic Pesticides Exports | Agricultural and Rural Convention

A number of hazardous pesticides which are banned in the EU are freely manufactured and exported to other countries with weaker regulations, putting human health and the environment at risk. The EU al...

www.arc2020.eu

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Nicolas Gross @nicolas-p-gross.bsky.social · Jun 3

Our new paper is out to day in Nature Ecology and Evolution!

It is called: Thresholds of functional trait diversity driven by land use intensification

⬇️
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#FunctionalTraits 🌐 ➕📏

@inrae-france.bsky.social @urep.bsky.social @cnrsecologie.bsky.social @bexplo.bsky.social

Thresholds of functional trait diversity driven by land use intensification - Nature Ecology & Evolution

Land use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity change and ecosystem functioning. Here the authors identify thresholds of grassland plant community structure and stability in response to la...

www.nature.com

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Adrien Rusch @arusch.bsky.social · May 28

Dear James, could you share a pdf version of the paper? Looks very interesting. Thanks.

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Florence Habets @florencehabets.bsky.social · May 20

Une économie qui va couter très cher:

Le cout du traitement des pesticides dans l'eau juste pour avoir de l'eau potable au robinet serait de l'ordre du milliard d'euros par an...
Et on supprime des aides pour l'agence qui promeut la seule agriculture qui fait sans?
Fausse économie, fausse route?

Le Monde @lemonde.fr · May 20

Le ministère de l’agriculture supprime 15 millions d’euros de fonds alloués à l’Agence bio

L’agence chargée du développement et de la promotion des produits bio a appris, mardi, la suppression des 5 millions d’euros alloués à ses campagnes de communication ainsi que la réduction de 10 millions d’euros de la dotation du fonds Avenir bio, destiné à soutenir des projets de développement de filières biologiques.

www.lemonde.fr

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Silvia Ceausu @silviaceausu.bsky.social · May 1

Our study on the biodiversity impacts of agriculture in @natureecoevo.bsky.social rdcu.be/ekept Minimizing biodiversity loss requires a balance of expansion and intensification,while preserving unmodified land #Biodiversity #LandUse #ConservationScience @dleclere.bsky.social @tnewbold31.bsky.social

Geography and availability of natural habitat determine whether cropland intensification or expansion is more detrimental to biodiversity

Nature Ecology & Evolution - Both agricultural expansion and intensification drive biodiversity losses. Here the authors quantify and compare globally the biodiversity impact of land conversion...

rdcu.be

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Adrien Rusch @arusch.bsky.social · Apr 8

2/2# Predicting the effects of agroecology expansion on natural pest control services: adum.fr/as/ed/voirpr...

Please circulate the offers 🙏

adum.fr

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Adrien Rusch @arusch.bsky.social · Apr 8

📣 We are offering 2 PhD thesis projects @inrae-save.bsky.social with Gaëtane Le Provost, Brice Giffard & my self.

1/2# Impacts of land-use change on biodiversity and ecosystem services adum.fr/as/ed/voirpr...

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Adrien Rusch @arusch.bsky.social · Apr 4

We are offering a two-year postdoc position to work on the spatiotemporal dynamics of native and invasive pest species in vineyard landscapes. Co-supervision between @inrae-save.bsky.social & @cbgpmontpellier.bsky.social with @cnmeynard.bsky.social. More info: jobs.inrae.fr/en/ot-25562

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Pauline Bellot @paulinebellot.bsky.social · Apr 3

Our latest study is online! 🐣

We show that tebuconazole, a widely used fungicide, significantly reduces growth and survival of house sparrow chicks at concentrations similar to those found in birds from intensive vineyard areas !

📢 CNRS press release 👉 bit.ly/42u5itZ
📄 Article 👉 bit.ly/4cjZs1F

One of the most widely used fungicides in farming harmful to reproduction in birds

bit.ly

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Szymek Drobniak @szymekdr.bsky.social · Apr 1

In our new preprint lead by @pietropollo.bsky.social we show how to use meta-analysis to compare not sample means but also kurtosis & skewness, as well as within-group covariance between multiple groups. The era of meta-analyzing whole distributions is here ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

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Francois Keck @francoiskeck.bsky.social · Mar 26

Our study ‘The global human impact on biodiversity’ is out in Nature!

Through an unprecedented synthesis (2133 studies!) we show that humans are not only shrinking species numbers—but reshaping entire communities across the planet. 🌍🌐🐟🌿🪲

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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UCL Faculty of Life Sciences @ucllifesciences.bsky.social · Mar 21

A new study by @alexpigot.bsky.social and colleagues reveals the critical role of biodiversity in the functioning of ecosystems.
@uclcber.bsky.social

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Macroecological rules predict how biomass scales with species richness in nature

Despite advances in theory and experiments, how biodiversity influences the structure and functioning of natural ecosystems remains debated. By applying new theory to data on 84,695 plant, animal, and...

www.science.org

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Guillaume Fried @g-fried.bsky.social · Mar 15

A 2-year post-doc position to work on the Fellow project, about the response of arable plant communities to gradients in agricultural practices, and their role on agroecosystem functioning (particularly the link with pollinators and beneficial insects) 🌸🐝 Position based at Cesab, Montpellier

FRB｜Fondation pour la recherche sur la biodiversité @frbiodiv.bsky.social · Mar 6

[📢 #Recrutement] La FRB recrute :

◉ Un ou une post doctorant(e) qui animera le groupe de travail FRB-Cesab Fellow
◉ Un ou une manager opérationnel qui supervisera la gestion globale de @biodiversaplus.bsky.social

📝 rejoignez-nous : www.fondationbiodiversite.fr/la-fondation...

Recrutement - Fondation pour la recherche sur la biodiversité

Créée en 2008, la FRB recherche régulièrement de nouveaux collaborateurs. Elle constitue un point de convergence entre la science et la société, autour des défis que doit aujourd’hui relever la recher...

www.fondationbiodiversite.fr

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James Bullock @jmbecologist.bsky.social · Mar 12

“Fragmented landscapes consistently have both lower α diversity and lower γ diversity [but higher β diversity]

Our findings refute claims that habitat fragmentation can increase biodiversity at landscape scales”
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Species turnover does not rescue biodiversity in fragmented landscapes - Nature

An analysis of habitat fragmentation using a dataset of more than 4,000 species worldwide shows that fragmentation reduces biodiversity at all scales, and that increases in β diversity do not compensa...

www.nature.com

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Prof Richard Betts @richardabetts.bsky.social · Feb 5

Although NOAA's page on atmospheric CO2 levels has vanished, you can still get this vital information from Ralph Keeling's team at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego keelingcurve.ucsd.edu

Please follow bsky.app/profile/keel... for updates and share

Don't let science be hidden

A graph of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations at the Mauna Loa observatory, Hawaii, from 1958 to 4th February 2025. It shows carbon dioxide levels rising at an accelerating rate over the decades. This is known to be due to emissions of carbon dioxide from human activity, mainly fossil fuel burning but also deforestation. The first CO2 concentration value in March 1958 was 315 parts per million (ppm). The latest daily value is 426 ppm. The graph also shows a seasonal cycle of a few ppm within each year, which is known to be linked to the growing season in the northern hemisphere causing a temporary uptake of carbon in spring and summer and release in autumn. The graph is produced routinely by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego.

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Fabian A. Boetzl @fboetzl.bsky.social · Feb 5

Postdoc at SLU Uppsala! 🇸🇪 The work will use a large database to investigate drivers of pest and pathogen outbreaks and their links to climate to improve crop protection 🐛🌽🌡️ Work with fantastic PIs, Ola Lundin, Hanna Friberg and Giulia Vico! Apply here: www.slu.se/en/about-slu...
Please share!

Jobs and vacancies at SLU. | slu.se

Jobs and vacancies at SLU. Read more about each job by clicking the job title. Please, follow the instructions closely when applying.

www.slu.se

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iBartomeus @ibartomeus.bsky.social · Jan 9

[new paper] Tailored policies for perennial woody crops are crucial to advance sustainable development rdcu.be/d39od We believe that perennial crops are an overlooked player in food production & sustainability. Here we explain opportunities and risks, led by @cmarnu.bsky.social @ebdonana.bsky.social

Tailored policies for perennial woody crops are crucial to advance sustainable development

Nature Sustainability - Perennial woody crops are important sources of food that can provide ecosystem benefits through their long-lived nature and structural complexity. This Perspective provides...

rdcu.be

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Reporterre 🌍 | Le média de l'écologie @reporterre.net · Dec 20

La chercheuse Élodie Vercken est l’une des autrices du livre « Sortir des labos pour défendre le vivant ».

Prôner la neutralité, c’est dépolitiser la science et l’« instrumentaliser pour défendre le statu quo », dit-elle.

Lire l'article : reporterre.net/On-assiste-a...

« On assiste à une montée en puissance de mouvements contre la science »

La chercheuse Élodie Vercken est l'une des autrices du livre « Sortir des labos pour défendre le vivant ». Prôner la neutralité, c'est dépolitiser la science et l'« instrumentaliser pour défendre le s...

reporterre.net

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gavin jones @ecologyofgavin.bsky.social · Dec 20

We need to all collectively decide to stop propping up these journals (MDPI and “Frontiers In” megajournals) by lending them our credibility.

Every time you submit to, review for, guest edit, or even cite (??) these journals, you lend them your hard earned credibility.

Don’t do it.

Mark A. Hanson @hansonmark.bsky.social · Dec 20

I was approached re: the Finnish decision to downgrade MDPI & Frontiers journals in 🇫🇮 rankings (THE article).

This decision was based on broad patterns, including in our recent study "The strain on scientific publishing"
(link: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...)

A quick 🧵 1/n
#SciPub #AcademicChatter

Finland downgrades MDPI and Frontiers – will others follow suit?

Decision to downgrade 271 journals on quality and operating model concerns sparks debate

www.timeshighereducation.com

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Sciences de l'environnement - univBordeaux @deptse-ub.bsky.social · Dec 19

Last but not least. 🍇

Et avec une visio en plus.

INRAE - Santé et Agroécologie du Vignoble SAVE @inrae-save.bsky.social · Dec 19

La soutenance de thèse de Pierre Blondel, c'est aujourd'hui à 13h30 dans l'amphithéâtre de l'ISVV @isvv-bordeaux.bsky.social !

Si vraiment vous ne pouvez pas être sur place, un lien visio est disponible : inrae-fr.zoom.us/j/5262895456...

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Alexa Varah @alexavarah.bsky.social · Dec 11

Looking for a PhD? Please apply!

Charlie Outhwaite @charlieouthwaite.bsky.social · Dec 9

1. How can AI-based insect monitoring technologies enhance large-scale insect monitoring?
• Co-supervised by Tom Breeze (Reading), Alexa Varah (NHM) and Tom August (UK CEH).
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

CR2025_25: How can AI-based insect monitoring technologies enhance large-scale insect monitoring? at Institute of Zoology on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - CR2025_25: How can AI-based insect monitoring technologies enhance large-scale insect monitoring? at Institute of Zoology, listed on FindAPhD.com

www.findaphd.com

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INRAE - Santé et Agroécologie du Vignoble SAVE @inrae-save.bsky.social · Dec 3

📌Bienvenue à SAVE - INRAE Nouvelle-Aquitaine Bordeaux !

➡️ www.linkedin.com/posts/inrae-...

@inrae-france.bsky.social

INRAE SAVE Santé et Agroécologie du Vignoble on LinkedIn: 📢 C'est avec grand plaisir que nous vous présentons notre vidéo…

📢 C'est avec grand plaisir que nous vous présentons notre vidéo officielle d'unité! 🥳 A la production : Coline Verneau, responsable communication de centre…

www.linkedin.com

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Adrien Rusch @arusch.bsky.social · Nov 29

So cool! Thanks for sharing!

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John Griffin @jngriffy.bsky.social · Nov 28

Strongly agree with this letter in Science arguing that field-based research should be more highly and fairly valued in academia. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The value of field research in academia

From anthropology to zoology, immersion within communities, cultural settings, and study systems is integral to research and learning (1, 2). Fieldwork, the direct observation and collection of data i...

www.science.org

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