Mastodawn

🦫 Could Beavers Help Tackle One Of Climate Change’s Fastest-Growing Challenges? [UK] 🦫
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https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/climate-change-beavers-hidden-battle-against-britains-rome-cook-frgve/ <-- shared technical article
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx26r1gz1x8o <-- shared media article, “Beavers have helped reduce flood risk…”
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https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/saving-species/beavers <-- shared overview, beavers in the UK
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https://www.npr.org/2026/05/21/nx-s1-5738979/beavers-britain-climate-change-flooding <-- shared media article, “As floods get worse, Britain tries a new solution: beavers”
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https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/why-rewild/reintroductions-key-species/key-species/eurasian-beaver <-- shared reintroduction overview
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https://youtu.be/NXZjt1M6loY?si=pwjU0t1GXxGLfNnD <-- shared video, “Watch the moment wild beavers return to Cornwall” [UK]
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https://youtu.be/65HBgO33GDo?si=2qfBAa2Qaz23I81g <-- shared video, “First Beavers in Bedfordshire in over 400 years” [UK]
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https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/our-work/our-projects/scottish-beavers/ <-- shared overview, beaver reintroduction into Scotland
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https://youtu.be/vCjvCQHX7mQ?si=fJS9E1wi0LyDq5Fw <-- shared video, “Scotland Released 11 Beavers Into a Dead River — What They Did With Mud and Sticks Was [amazing]”
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H/T @RomeCook
“In [this] article, [the author] explore[s]:
🌿 How beaver-created wetlands support biodiversity
🦟 Their potential influence on mosquitoes and other insect pests
🕷️ The indirect role they may play in tick ecology
🦇 How dragonflies, bats, birds, amphibians and beneficial insects contribute to natural pest regulation
🚜 What this could mean for sustainable agriculture and agroforestry
🌍 Why this matters for biodiversity, farming, and human and animal health in a changing climate…
The beaver isn’t simply creating wetlands. It may be rebuilding the ecological balance that our landscapes have gradually lost….”
#Beavers #BeaverConference2026 #NatureBasedSolutions #Wetlands #Ecology #Biodiversity #Entomology #IntegratedPestManagement #BiologicalControl #Agroforestry #SustainableAgriculture #ClimateChange #OneHealth #EnvironmentalScience #Conservation #Research #ResearchCollaboration #Wildlife #EcosystemServices #bioviversity #conservation #restoration #landscaperecovery #trophiccascade #Rewilding #Nature #SpeciesReintroduction #Environment #EcosystemEngineers #nature #restoration #floodmanagement #FloodMitigation #flood #flooding #floodrisk #sustainability #wetlands #hydrography #hydrology #dams #impoundment #deadwood #waterresources #landscapeengineer # agriculture #benefits #agroforestry #vegetation #waterquality #ecology #ecosystem #restoration #riversystemsstabilisation #climatechange

ABC Feeds 17h ago

Scientists prepare natural enemy to fight one of Australia's worst weeds
By Jennifer Nichols

An imported plant pathogen that will spread on the wind is being readied for release against one of Australia's worst weeds.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2026-07-01/lantana-noxious-weed-biological-control-rust-under-preparation/106674568

#AgriculturalWeedControl #Agriculture #GrassWeed #PerennialWeeds #Weeding #BeefCattleFarming #Biosecurity #BiologicalControl #JenniferNichols

Scientists prepare natural enemy to fight one of Australia's worst weeds

An imported plant pathogen that will spread on the wind is being readied for release against one of Australia's worst weeds.

Journal of Plant Ecology Jun 20

Herbivory by the biocontrol agent Agasicles hygrophila is associated with divergent #SoilMicrobialLegacies from the invasive #AlternantheraPhiloxeroides and its native congener, Alternanthera sessilis.

#PlantInvasion | #BiologicalControl | #CompensatoryGrowth | #SoilLegacyEffect

https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtaf209

Journal of Plant Ecology Mar 21

【🎉Latest accepted article】
#SoilMicrobes mediate the effects of #ParasiticLitter input on #PlantInvasion

#BiologicalControl | #Competition | #Cuscuta

https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtag048

Journal of Plant Ecology Dec 20, 2025

【🎉Latest accepted article】
Soil microbes from herbivory-damaged native congener impair invasive plant tolerance to biocontrol

#PlantInvasion | #BiologicalControl | #CompensatoryGrowth | #SoilLegacyEffect | #AlternantheraPhiloxeroides

https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtaf209

Jon Sullivan Nov 29, 2025

Look! Cinnabar moth!

Last summer I was surprised to find cinnabar moth caterpillars feeding on the native pahokoraka, Senecio quadridentatus, in the middle of Christchurch city, NZ. Cinnabar moths were released to control the European pasture weed ragwort back in the 1940s.

I collected four caterpillars and fed them on pahokoraka leaves until they pupated on 16 January. I put them on some scrunched up newsprint in a plastic container and put that outside in a shaded area of our garden. Today, three adult moths emerged.

They're day-flying moths which retain the poisons of their host plants and advertise that to would-be predators with their bright colours,

https://inaturalist.nz/observations/328816568

#mothodon #moths #nz #Christchurch #BiologicalControl

NIOO-KNAW Apr 11, 2025

New publication: Microbial interactions influence the chemical defense of wild and cultivated #tomato species. #biologicalcontrol #domestication
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-025-01598-y

Microbial Interactions Influence the Chemical Defense of Wild and Cultivated Tomato Species - Journal of Chemical Ecology

Tomato, a globally significant crop, faces continuous threats from pests and pathogens, necessitating alternative approaches to reduce chemical inputs. Beneficial soil microbes, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), offer promising solutions by enhancing plant growth and pest tolerance. However, domestication may have weakened tomatoes’ interactions with these microbes, potentially compromising their innate immunity, a hypothesis that remains largely unexplored. To address this gap, we examined the effects of AMF and PGPR inoculation on growth, herbivory resistance, and metabolic responses in the domesticated Solanum lycopersicum ‘Moneymaker’ and three wild tomato relatives. Our findings reveal that microbial inoculation significantly influences both domesticated and wild tomatoes, with PGPR generally enhancing and AMF reducing plant growth across species. Using targeted and untargeted metabolomics, we found that soil microbes substantially alter plant chemistry above- and belowground in a species-specific manner. Notably, herbivore responses were more affected by AMF presence than by tomato species. These results highlight that while domestication has profoundly shaped tomato traits, microbial interactions can modulate these phenotypes. Thus, selecting microbial strains best suited to modern cultivars is crucial for optimizing plant growth and resilience against pests.

SpringerLink

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Sarah Arnold Oct 25, 2024

Paper out in British Journal of Entomology and Natural History soon. Arnold, S.E.J., Fountain, M.T., Silva, C.X., & Wamonje, F. O. The introduced parasitoid Lysiphlebus testaceipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is widespread in fruit-growing regions of England. BJENH, 37. [14/14]

#BiologicalControl #IntroducedSpecies #ParasitoidWasp #Biocontrol #EcosystemServices #Horticulture #AgriculturalEntomology #Entomology

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Sarah Arnold Oct 25, 2024

Ultimately, what does this mean for UK biocontrol? It may mean that we will see a smaller species richness of aphid parasitoids active on some farms, which may or may not affect our ability to control aphids. We'll have to see what happens. [12/]

#Biocontrol #BiologicalControl #Horticulture #Aphids