Research

My particular interests are climate change and plant-pollinator interactions.  

I just finished writing up the report for the Bumblebees on the Mynd project and you can read about it here and the full report is here.

My MSc project looked at the effect of climate change on UK bumblebee projected distributions and how their abundances have changed over the progress of BeeWalk.  I completed an extended literature review investigating how species specialism affects their vulnerability to climate change.  

For my BSc Ecology dissertation I investigated the potential for Rhododendron ponticum extracts to be used to control garden snails on lettuce crops.


If you are interested in any of my research please send me an email (jennifer.jones.ecology@gmail.com).  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bilberry bumblebees and the National Trust

Image
In my totally 'unbiased' view, these are the best UK  bumblebee  species.  Not only are they super fluffy like other bumblebees, they are adorably sized, and are found in one of my favourite habitat types;  upland heath. BB worker near Pumlumon (June 2018) I have only seen this species once and I was lucky enough to almost study their foraging behaviour for my MSc thesis.  Unfortunately due to the current situation (coronavirus again!) the MSc field work didn't happen.  However, I have just finished writing up the 2020 season report from volunteer data from Bumblebees on the Mynd so this is a perfect time to share this!  Here are some links to check out for these bumblebees and brain wash you all with their fluffiness.  I mean, look at their cute little red bums! Bumblebee Conservation Trust BWARS Steven Falk's Flickr BBCT Pollinating the Peak project by Rho Green at BBCT ( @BuzzingPeak ) Bumblebees on the Mynd National Trust project  @BumbleontheMynd  (see more below!
Read more

Can species reintroductions be successful? The story of the lucky butterflies (part 1: Large Blues)

Image
Large Blue history  The UK's population of Large Blue butterfly ( Phengaris arion ) has always been rare, and sadly declined until it went extinct in 1979. However, it's conservation and reintroduction has been a major success story in invertebrate conservation. Large Blue butterflies mating at Daneway Banks (June 2023) In June 2023, I was lucky enough to join a joint field meeting of the Royal Entomological Society (RES) and the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) to see the success of the Large Blue reintroduction project at Daneway Banks SSSI (Gloucestershire). This population is not only the largest UK population, but also the largest population globally (since 2019)!  BSBI and RES field meeting at Daneway (17th June 2023) The Large Blue relies on the red ant Myrmica sabuleti  to complete its lifecycle. The decline of these ants in the 60s-70s resulted in the 1979 Large Blue UK extinction. These ants cannot build mounds to reach suitable microclimates (heat) un
Read more

Invertebrate surveys

Image
Why bother? Invertebrates are excellent indicators of ecosystem health and make up most of life on Earth (97%). In the UK, we have more than 32,000 terrestrial and freshwater and 7,000 marine invertebrate species. Many of these are declining or endangered. Like the diversity of invertebrates, there are many survey techniques depending on the species you want to survey for (target taxa), habitats present, life stage, and whether you are proving presence/absence or calculating populations. What shall I survey? If I had the time I would survey everything but as much as I would love to, this just isn't achievable. So what are the main survey priorities? An excellent starting point is looking at the habitats present as this can inform which groups we might find more of and suggest how invertebrates use the site. It is useful to map habitats and features first, then choose the survey methods to use. This includes habitat type (broad and/or specific), size, connectivity, substrate type, w
Read more