Mutualisms are relationships between organisms of different species in which each individual benefits from the activity of the other. These relationships are hugely important in nature. Essential services provided by mutualists include pollination, seed dispersal and the constitution of global cycles of carbon and other nutrients.
There are very, if any, ecosystems on Earth that are not substantially influenced by human activities. In most ecosystems, humans have changed many abiotic and biotic components, for example by changing disturbance or nutrient regimes and by adding or removing species. In many cases, the ecosystems that currently exist have no historical analogues; this greatly complicates the task of managers who seek to conserve local, regional and global biodiversity and to ensure the sustainable delivery of ecosystem services.
In a paper published by C·I·B researchers, Rainer Krug and Dave Richardson examined a system consisting of two seed-attacking biocontrol agents (a midge, Dasineura dielsi and a weevil, Melanterius servulus) and one invasive alien plant (Acacia cyclops).
C·I·B post-doctoral fellow, Dr Shelley Edwards, is a co-author on a recently published study looking at links between the chemical communication system of lizards and their environment.
The new approach of ‘sustainable intensification’ in the livestock industry aims to increase food production from existing farmland while minimising pressure on the environment. While beneficial in many respects, this approach poses a major environmental risk, since many newly developed pasture plants pose a high risk of becoming invasive.
