☀️New Paper!☀️ In @ecol-evol.bsky.social

Dwarf mongooses lose body mass in hot weather due to limited behavioural plasticity

With top co-authors: @josharbon.bsky.social, Amy Morris-Drake, @juliekern.bsky.social, @andyradford.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71963
@bristolbiosci.bsky.social

🧵⬇️

One of the bumblebee colonies in my PhD project showing off their tags! The coloured circle tags are their identification tags, and the green square tags are their RFID tags to track their foraging efficiency in the field 🐝 #bumblebees #bumblebeeresearch

Bumblebees foraging on the Phacelia out at Fenswood 🐝🌸

An interview article about my new paper with my co-author Dr Liam O'Reilly is out now in New Scientist! Give it a read for the bees 🐝🌸

Electric signals from power lines discourage bees from landing on nearby flowers, and there is growing concern that this so-called “electric pollution” could be causing widespread disruption to insect behaviour.

Congratulations to @victoriamallinson.bsky.social for her first research article 📚🔬🌹

"Weak anthropogenic electric fields affect honeybee foraging" http://dlvr.it/TKvZJt

@bristoluni.bsky.social @victoriamallinson.bsky.social‪, Fraser Woodburn, & Liam O’Reilly
@cp-iscience.bsky.social

Excited to share that my first research article is now out in iScience:
“Weak anthropogenic electric fields affect honeybee foraging”
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...

Huge thanks to my co-authors and supervisors for their support throughout!
#pollinators #bees #ecology #electrosensory #beeresearch

One month later and all 16 flight cages are built and the Phacelia are coming along nicely. Only two weeks till the bumblebees arrive 🌸🐝

📷 Drone photos kindly taken by Tom Bennett from Bristol's Hot Robotics Facility

11 out of 16 flight cages built and first signs of my Phacelia tanacetifolia coming through! A very successful first week in the field 🤩🐝🌸

First flight cages built for my first PhD project. 6 down and 10 to go - watch this space! 🌸🐝 @bristolbiosci.bsky.social @swbiodtp.bsky.social

First flight cage up for @victoriamallinson.bsky.social first PhD project. 16 more to go (and lots of planting) 🐝🌸🌻 @bristolbiosci.bsky.social

Electrical pollution results in fewer bees landing upon flowers 🐝🌸🐝

“Bees use natural electric fields (E-fields) from flowers to enhance foraging and pollen transfer. Human infrastructure creates anthropogenic E-fields that may interfere with bees' detection of floral cues.”

In our latest paper, me and my colleagues found that bumblebee abundance decrease with more arable land in the landscape. Reduced pesticide use, higher crop diversity and promoting floral resources and alternative bumblebee habitats could help limit these negative effects www.mdpi.com/3083388

So many amazing student contributions at the #IUSSI24 meeting🔥🔥🔥 and in particular...

...huge congratulations to the winners of student prizes:

🏆Ellie Cooper Coombs (talk)
🏆Szymon Szymanski (talk)
🏆Charlotte Fryday (poster)
🏆 @victoriamallinson.bsky.social (poster)

Thanks also to the judges!

I would love to join this list! I work with bumblebees and the effects of climate change and pesticide use on health and behaviours 🐝🌼

Honoured to receive the Highly Commended Poster award at the IUSSI NW European Section Meeting 2024! My poster explored how anthropogenic electric fields affect honeybee foraging 🐝

Such a rewarding experience to share this work. Thank you to everyone at @iussi-nwes.bsky.social

#IUSSI2024 #IUSSI24

Successful trip to #IUSSI2024

Tori, Ellie, and Szymon all winning prizes for their presentations 🐝🎉

Lots of @bristolbiosci.bsky.social representation at #IUSSI2024