Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · 5d

📢Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights into AI-powered #biodiversity research shaping the future of eco-informatics and #conservation!

We’re excited to welcome outstanding international speakers who will present and actively engage in our workshops.
www.biointakt.de/en/springsch...

Functional Agrobiodiversity & Agroecology @funcagroeco.bsky.social · 19d

International Spring School: #Bioacoustics & Species Recognition using AI 🐝🐦🦗

Join us March 23–27, 2026!
Infos & registration: www.biointakt.de/en/springsch...

@feda.bio
@uni-goettingen.de
@agrarunigoe.bsky.social
@thuenen.de

Picture: Isabelle Arimond soundrecorder and video recordings on yellow plate for insect monitoring

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · 9d

We’re on board! In our team meeting, we already discussed comments and suggestions on the EU Nature Restoration Law, drawing on the different perspectives within the group 🚜🐝👩‍🌾
Led by @velado.bsky.social
#Teamwork #Research #NatureRestorationLaw #EU

FEdA | Biodiversität erforschen und erhalten @feda.bio · 9d

Ziel der EU-Verordnung zur Wiederherstellung der Natur: Basis bereiten, damit geschädigte Ökosysteme sich erholen können. Wie kann dies in Deutschland gelingen? Bis 3.10.25 den Nationalen Wiederherstellungsplan mitgestalten: beteiligung.bundesumweltministerium.de/de/wiederher...

Dialog BMUV

beteiligung.bundesumweltministerium.de

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · 10d

🎉 Great team success! New publication just came out — the result of inspiring group discussions led by @teja-tscharntke.bsky.social It's fantastic to have such a collaborative spirit in the lab!

Biodiversity conservation needs mix of measures and collaboration

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Reposted by Catrin Westphal

Functional Ecology @funecology.bsky.social · 22d

📰Published📰 Spiders that inhabit agricultural landscapes benefit from diverse habitat types🕷️

buff.ly/cEydJJH

🧪🌍

Spiders that inhabit agricultural landscapes benefit from diverse habitat types

Marco Ferrante, Dana Fabienne Liebke, Annika L. Hass, Martin Wollenweber, Kyra Zembold, Isabelle Arimond, Stefan Schüler, Catrin Westphal This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology re…

buff.ly

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Reposted by Catrin Westphal

PIK_climate @pik-potsdam.bsky.social · 14d

Seven of nine planetary boundaries now breached – ocean acidification joins the danger zone," says PIK director Johan Rockström presenting the key findings of the Planetary Health Check 2025 today. #PlanetaryBoundaries
➡️ www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/late...

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Reposted by Catrin Westphal

Thijs Fijen @thijsfijen.bsky.social · 13d

We need much more semi-natural habitat (6-37%, depending on species group) in agricultural landscapes to effectively conserve pollinators. Large collaborative synthesis study looking at 59 studies in 1250 landscapes from 19 countries now published in Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · 24d

Hiking along the villages and flower fields of the #ProjectKOOPERATIV!
With perfect weather, diverse landscapes and lively stands from regional partners, the atmosphere was truly inspiring.

www.uni-goettingen.de/de/628701.html
#Landvolk
#DeutscherImkerbund
#Northeim

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · 24d

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made this day special – farmers, nature conservation groups, the Beekeepers’ Association, farmers’ organizations, local crafts and gastronomy – and of course all the hikers who joined us on the trails. 💚

@nabu.de
@agrarunigoe.bsky.social
@uni-goettingen.de

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · 24d

🥾 Hiking along the villages and flower fields of the #ProjectOOPERATIV!
With perfect weather, diverse landscapes and lively stands from regional partners, the atmosphere was truly inspiring.

www.uni-goettingen.de/de/628701.html
#Landvolk
#DeutscherImkerbund
#Northeim

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · 24d

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made this day special – farmers, nature conservation groups, the Beekeepers’ Association, farmers’ organizations, local crafts and gastronomy – and of course all the hikers who joined us on the trails. 💚

@nabu.de
@agrarunigoe.bsky.social
@uni-goettingen.de

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · 24d

Hiking along the villages and flower fields of the #ProjectKOOPERATIV!

With perfect weather, diverse landscapes and lively stands from regional partners, the atmosphere was truly inspiring.

www.uni-goettingen.de/de/628701.html

#Northeim
#Landvolk
#DeutscherImkerbund

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · 26d

Along several routes you can explore:
🌼blooming areas of the KOOPERATIV project
🚜local farms and agricultural practices
🦌fascinating insights into crafts, nature & conservation
☕delicious offers from local gastronomy

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · 26d

This day is made possible thanks to the strong engagement of our regional partners in agriculture, crafts & nature protection – working hand in hand for a vibrant and sustainable countryside. 💚

#AgriEnvironmental #CoDesign #CoCreation #Participation
@funcagroeco.bsky.social

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · 26d

🌼Tour de Flur in Northeim!
On September 14, 2025 (10 AM – 4 PM), we invite you to join our community #HikingDay, together with many dedicated local partners.

Here you find the routes:
www.uni-goettingen.de/de/628701.html

#ProjectKOOPERATIV
@agrarunigoe.bsky.social
@uni-goettingen.de

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · 29d

Team effort at the GFÖ conference 💚Talks & posters on many results from our projects were truly inspiring – thanks to everyone for their great contributions!

www.uni-goettingen.de/en/646422.html
www.uni-goettingen.de/en/628701.html
www.uni-goettingen.de/en/632949.html

@agrarunigoe.bsky.social

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Reposted by Catrin Westphal

Functional Agrobiodiversity & Agroecology @funcagroeco.bsky.social · 29d

Back to the office after a great time at the GFÖ conference! We shared talks & posters on bee health, ground-nesting, grassland #Restoration, bird #Conservation, combinations of landscape-scale conservation measures, and the establishment of perennial flower fields as #AECM.

@gfoesoc.bsky.social

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · Aug 15

Huge congrats to Qian Zhang on finishing the first chapter of her dissertation and publishing a major study!
Big milestones — well done! 🥳

#PhDJourney

Functional Agrobiodiversity & Agroecology @funcagroeco.bsky.social · Aug 13

📣 New Publication!

Our meta-analysis highlights the value of flower areas🌼 in supporting ground-active predators 🪲🕷️and offers practical guidance on how to design them for greater effectiveness 📊

👉🏼 doi.org/10.1111/1365...

@uni-goettingen.de
@agrarunigoe.bsky.social
@jappliedecology.bsky.social

Expansive flower field filled with bright red poppies under a vivid blue sky with scattered white clouds, surrounded by rolling green hills and dotted with several trees along the horizon and roadside.

Copyright: Qian Zhang

Reposted by Catrin Westphal

Functional Agrobiodiversity & Agroecology @funcagroeco.bsky.social · Aug 12

Landscape-scale conservation can mitigate negative effects of habitat fragmentation.

doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...

#Pollinators #Biodiversity #Agroecology #Bumblebees #Metabarcoding #ConservationScience

@uni-goettingen.de
@agrarunigoe.bsky.social

Copyright: Ira Hannappel

Bombus pascuorum

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Reposted by Catrin Westphal

Functional Agrobiodiversity & Agroecology @funcagroeco.bsky.social · Aug 12

Using pollen metabarcoding, we found that B. lapidarius and B. pascuorum forage across the landscape, relying particularly on flowers in non-productive AES within small grassland fragments. 🌼
doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...

@uni-goettingen.de
@agrarunigoe.bsky.social

Copyright: Ira Hannappel

Bombus lapidarius on Lotus corniculatus

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Reposted by Catrin Westphal

Functional Agrobiodiversity & Agroecology @funcagroeco.bsky.social · Aug 12

📝 Paper alert:

Our study shows how non-productive agri-environmental schemes (AES) boost pollen diversity for bumblebees in fragmented, dry grasslands.

doi.org/10.1016/j.bi...

#Pollinators #Biodiversity #Agroecology #Metabarcoding #ConservationScience

@uni-goettingen.de
@agrarunigoe.bsky.social

Copyright: Ira Hannappel

Calcareous grassland near Goettingen, Germany.

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Reposted by Catrin Westphal

Functional Agrobiodiversity & Agroecology @funcagroeco.bsky.social · Jun 27

Great excursion to Frau Holle Land! 🌿🐑🦋
Traditional sheep grazing keeps rare dry grasslands alive — we even spotted the thyme blue butterfly (Phengaris arion) and the bee orchid (Ophrys apifera). Plus, rare segetal flora like Venus’s comb and tasty orchard snacks along the way.

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · Jun 24

Many thanks to the fantastic team for making our outreach activity a great success! Your creativity, energy, and dedication turned complex scientific topics into fun and engaging experiences for everyone who visited.

Functional Agrobiodiversity & Agroecology @funcagroeco.bsky.social · Jun 24

🐛Dummy caterpillars to assess predation rates, a network game to understand cascading effects of species loss in food webs, and 🐝 a bee quiz to inform about different ecological strategies — we had lots of fun and interesting discussions #NoS @agrarunigoe.bsky.social @uni-goettingen.de

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · Jun 21

Bei uns gibt es nicht nur Fakten zu #Bienen und #Blühmischungen - wir simulieren Verluste in Nahrungsnetzen und machen ein #CitizenScience Knetraupenexperiment 🐛🐛🐛

#ndwgoe 🧪
@funcagroeco.bsky.social
@agrarunigoe.bsky.social

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · Jun 19

📢 Check out our new publication led by @kathicz.bsky.social
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

@agrarunigoe.bsky.social
@uni-goettingen.de
@unihalle.bsky.social

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Catrin Westphal @catrinwestphal.bsky.social · Jun 19

More isn’t always better.
Landscape-scale measures that offer both nesting habitats and floral resources support bees more than those boosting only flowers. We show empirical evidence of synergistic and antagonistic effects of organic farming, flower fields, and natural habitats.

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