Cuckoo bumblebees are obligate parasites that must successfully invade and gain control of a host bumblebee colony to achieve reproductive success. As apex species, these cuckoos have been considered as potential indicator species of healthy bumblebee habitat for some time. However, our limited understanding of cuckoo bumblebee ecology makes it difficult to understand their full impact on host populations and the challenges they face as a group. In this talk, Sofia describes this fascinating host-parasite relationship and presents experiments she has conducted to unravel the complexities of the cuckoo bumblebee lifecycle.
Tag Archives: PhD research
Friend, Foe, or Freeloader? The Flower Crab Spider
The Flower Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) is a camouflage expert when it comes to hiding out on flower heads to capture prey. In this talk, Rose will introduce the ecology of these spiders, why it is important to study these types of interactions, the many different techniques she’s utilising to do that, and how you can get involved with helping to decipher the choices these spiders make.
An ‘Alien’ in Antarctica
A tiny flightless midge, Eretmoptera murphyi, accidentally introduced to Antarctica in the 1960s, has spread across Signy Island and now dominates the soil ecosystem. Its larvae feed on dead plant material, enriching the soil with nitrogen and changing conditions in ways that could help other species invade. Octavia’s research reveals these midge-altered soils also release more greenhouse gases, meaning this small insect could be quietly accelerating climate change in one of the planet’s most fragile environments.