Biology Education

Pollinators in agricultural landscapes suffer from an increasingly intensive agriculture and loss of semi-natural habitat, which has resulted in lack of flower resources. To support pollinators, flower plantings have been suggested as a promising conservation action, and flower plantings have indeed been found to increase both abundances and diversity of several pollinator groups. However, the knowledge is still limited about how well different flower mixes establishes in different planting contexts (e.g. soil type, moisture, shade/sun exposed areas), how these contexts can affect flowering phenology and hence which pollinator species that are supported.

In Sweden, a new agricultural policy (implemented from EU´s Common Agricultural Policy 2023-2027) has been implemented that promotes flower plantings. It is a voluntary choice for farmers; however, it is an attractive choice since the planting of flower mixtures in set-aside land (in contrast to no planting) reduces the amount of land farmers need to take out of production. The flower planting project “Hela Skåne blommar” and “Hela Sverige blommar”, run by Hushållningssällskapet (https://hushallningssallskapet.se/forskning-utveckling/hela-sverige-blommar/), helps farmers with flower mixtures and in 2022 they already involved 225 farmers in Skåne and 800 in Sweden, and covered altogether 2 750 ha farmland.

Despite the large scale of the flower plantings, there has been no thorough evaluation of which factors that impact establishing rates or the visiting pollinator community. In this project, you will work together with researchers and stakeholders (Hushållningssällskapet) to evaluate how different seed mixtures establishes and their flowering phenology in different contexts, and which pollinators that visit the flower plantings in different replicated setups. The time and scale of the project and the specific research question can be modified depending on your interest and if the project is a BSc or MSc project. Fieldwork will involve plant and insect surveys and can be conducted during the flowering of the different seed mixtures (June – August) in favourable weather conditions, or later in autumn or next spring depending on the specific research question.

Are you interested? Please contact:

Ulrika Samnegård ulrika.samnegard@biol.lu.se or

Maj Rundlöf maj.rundlof@biol.lu.se

Small migratory birds travel thousands of kilometers between the breeding and wintering areas while crossing seas and deserts. In this project you will conduct research to answer how do they complete such amazing migrations. We are looking for a motivated student interested in animal migration that would like to investigate patterns about bird migration using multisensor data loggers. These loggers have opened many possibilities for studying bird migration, as they can tell us about when birds fly, the amount of time spent airborne, how high up they fly and where do they go, among other things. There are many intriguing questions that can be answered with this type of data, and it is up to you, the student (with input from the supervisors), to decide which question(s) to address. Get in touch with us and we will discuss the existing possibilities.

What we offer:

• A Master´s project or “Applied work in biology” (if only interested in the field season).
• Accommodation at Stensoffa between mid-May until mid-June.
• Data from loggers already collected last year to start working on your research questions.

This project will suit you if:

• You would like to do fieldwork with birds.
• Want to work with novel multisensor loggers that provide many possibilities for studying various aspects of bird migration.

What to expect:

• Exciting project where you will ask questions yourself about the whereabouts of migratory birds.
• Learn how to set up nets and ring birds.
• Fieldwork around Lund, recapturing and deploying multisensor data loggers in thrush nightingales (Luscinia Luscinia).
• Learning about statistics and project management while developing your own research ideas.

Start: Spring 2024 (May)

Contact:

Pablo Macías Torres, PhD student pablo.macias_torres@biol.lu.se

Anders Hedenström anders.hedenstrom@biol.lu.se

Sandiga gräsmarker utgör viktiga livsmiljöer för ett flertal hotade arter, så som vildbin, fjärilar och skalbaggar. En minskning av arter knutna till dessa livsmiljöer beror till stor del på en ändrad markanvändning, med följder som igenväxning av de öppna och sandiga miljöerna. Mellan åren 2020-2022 genomfördes statligt finansierade åtgärder för att restaurera sandiga gräsmarker i syfte att gynna ett antal hotade solitära vildbin. Men även andra arter gynnas av liknande åtgärder. I detta examensarbete föreslår vi en uppföljning av bevarandeåtgärder med fokus på effekter på skalbaggsfaunan. Här finns möjlighet att i ett verkligt fall av genomförda bevarandeåtgärder, med en tydligt uppställd experiment-kontrolldesign studera effekter på förekomst och abundans av ett urval av sällsynta och hotade skalbaggar. Projektet erbjuder även en möjlighet att delta i en större projektgrupp som parallellt kommer att arbeta med att följa upp effekter på solitära vildbin och deras resurser under våren och sommaren 2024. Det finns möjlighet att planera för gemensamt fältarbete med övriga deltagare och projektassistenter, samt utrymme för att formulera egna vetenskapliga frågeställningar kopplat till bevarandeåtgärder och populationseffekter.

Lämpligt som 15 eller 30 hp projekt

Kontaktuppgifter till handledare:

Andreas Nord, andreas.nord@biol.lu.se

Maria von Post, maria.von_post@biol.lu.se

Bombus sylvarum is a small bumblebee species which has a melanistic morph in southern Sweden. However, further north in Sweden it can be found as both a melanistic and light morph within the same population. This is in contrast to other parts of Europe such as the UK where it only exists as a light morph. Due to the morph’s discrete nature, we hypothesis that these are controlled by a single or a few loci, which we would like to identify. The student would work with whole genome sequences of individuals from the same population to infer candidate loci. The work can further be complemented with field work in lake Kvismaren were both morphs exist, either to estimate frequency of the two morphs or collect individuals for DNA lab work.

We are looking for a master student to join us in exploring the population genomics of bumblebees and hoverflies. However, we can also offer 15-credit projects involving field and/or DNA-lab work.

About our lab

We are interested in the evolution of sex chromosomes, as well as questions about local adaptation and conservation genomics. We can offer projects giving both experience in the DNA lab, as well as skills in analysing next generation sequencing data. For projects including lab work and population genetic questions we would prefer the student to have taken the course Molecular Ecology and Evolution, or equivalent course. We are also open to students taking an integrative approach, combining genetic methods with other analyses, such as niche modelling and morphometrics.

Interested?

If you are interested in this project in particular, similar projects on morph variation in Volucella bombylans, or projects involving population genomics and sex chromosomes in bumblebees and birds, please do not hesitate to contact us! We would love to set up a meeting to discuss any project in more detail and answer any questions you might have. Please contact both of us in an email:

Simon Jacobsen Ellerstrand: simon.jacobsen_ellerstrand@biol.lu.se

Bengt Hansson: bengt.hansson@biol.lu.se

Flower color is one of the most striking traits to attract pollinators and it varies between species and populations.

Pollinators may have preferences for certain flower colors (but antagonists like florivores as well).

At the same time, environmental factors like soil nutrients, pH, water availability, and tissue structure can influence color.

Aim: Disentangle the biotic and abiotic agents affecting color in native populations of D. purpurea

We look for a highly motivated student interested in plant-pollinator interactions and/or flower evolution.

Join our international research group passionate about flowers!

Have a look at twitter for more information:

https://x.com/SLozadaGobilard/status/1768757303379972377?s=20

CONTACT:

Sissi Lozada Gobilard

sissi.lozada_gobilard@biol.lu.se

The underlying causes of the global decline of wild bees is important to understand because bees are essential for pollination of both crops and wild plants (Potts et al. 2016). Bees forage on nectar and pollen, where the latter is the main resource used to feed the growing larvae (Lau et al. 2022). Many bees, either at species or individual level, show clear preferences for pollen from certain plant species or genera: at the species level for solitary bees (Persson et al. 2018; Yourstone et al. 2021;2023). It has been suggested that this is caused by an inability by the larvae to digest pollen from certain plant genera, likely because of their chemical protection (Praz et al. 2008; Sedivy et al. 2012). However, it may also be caused by the need to optimise the nutritional balance between macronutrients, i.e., carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids (Leonhardt et al. 2022), and a recent study has shown that the availability of specific macronutrients, rather than flower species per se, shape plant-pollinator networks in real landscapes (Vaudo et al. 2024).

Potential aims

In this project you will look closer into if and how bee species, such as Osmia bicornis (Red mason bee) and Bombus terrestris (Buff-taled bumblebee) optimise nutritional content of its pollen collection over time, and if this is restricted by the quality of the floral resources in the surrounding farmland landscape.

Methods and time plan

You will use existing data on pollen foraging collected by Persson et al. (2018) and Yourstone et al. (2021; 2023), combined with published data on pollen nutritional content (e.g. Hanley et al 2008; Pamminger et al 2019). Depending on your interests and the extent of the project you may also using image analysis to extract you own pollen data already collected from bees (Olsson et al. 2022), and, or make pollen collection in the field during summer and perform nutrient assessments in the lab.

Project duration: 15-30 credits using existing data only, 45-60 credits including field data collection/lab work

Supervisors and contact info:

• Ola Olsson, Dept of Biology: ola.olsson@biol.lu.se
• Johanna Yourstone, CEC: johanna.yourstone@cec.lu.se
• Anna Persson, CEC: anna.persson@cec.lu.se

References – read more!

Hanley et al 2008: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01415.x

Lau et al 2022: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rstb.2021.0510

Leonhardt et al 2022: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rstb.2021.0171

Olsson et al. 2021: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/2041-210X.13575

Pamminger et al 2019: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7394

Persson et al 2018: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ece3.4116

Potts et al. 2016: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature20588

Praz et al 2008: http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/07-0751.1

Vaudo et al 2024: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2317228120

Sedivy et al 2012: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2010.01828.x

Yourstone et al 2021: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109249

Yourstone et al 2023: https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arad028

In a bluetit population situated outside Lund the prevalence of blood parasites has increased in the population from around 45% in 1996 to over 85% being infected in the 2020s. The increase seems to be linked to an increase in temperature when the birds are newly hatched and are still in the nest boxes being feed by their parents. This is a time period where biting midges are known to visit the nest boxes and potentially spreading the disease.

We are now seeking a master student to investigate the role of temperature, brood sizes and seasonality on the abundance of vectors in the nest boxes. The project includes fieldwork, some level of invertebrate species identification (either through morphology or with the use of molecular methods) as well as an opportunity to investigate the level of parasite the caught vectors are carrying using molecular methods.

Supervisors: Olof Hellgren, Fredrik Andreasson and Jan-Åke Nilsson

If you think this sounds like an exciting and interesting project, please contact:

Olof Hellgren (olof.hellgren@biol.lu.se), Fredrik Andreasson (fredrik.andreasson@biol.lu.se)  or Jan-Åke Nilsson (Jan-ake.nilsson@biol.lu.se) via e-mail or come visit us on the second floor of the Ecology building.