The big picture: using wildflower strips for pest control
They may be beautiful, but these strips prove pretty deadly for every farmer's mortal enemy: aphids
Science
Dan Blumgart
PhD Student
Protecting Crops and the Environment
PUBLICATIONS
Email
dan.blumgart@rothamsted.ac.uk
Location
Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, AL5 2JQ
Professional Platforms
ResearchGate
Biography
Dan is interested in conserving invertebrate diversity and abundance within the agricultural landscape. He is also interested in the role of insects and other invertebrates in ecosystem functions, such as pollination and pest control. His PhD focuses on the mechanisms behind the decline in British moth populations over the past 50 years and whether agri-environmental schemes are an effective tool for reversing these declines. With a focus on field margins, he is investigating how biodiversity can be maximised within intensively cultivated areas. Dan has extensive experience in invertebrate taxonomy and ecology, both in the UK and in the tropics. Aside from his PhD, he is currently working on a taxonomic survey of parasitoid wasps from Madagascar.
PhD Projects
- Investigating the mechanisms behind moth declines: plants, landscape, pollution and climate
Awards
- 2014 - MSc Applied Ecology, University of Exeter, UK
- 2013 - BSc Conservation Biology and Ecology, University of Exeter, UK