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All Outputs (98)

Dynamic selection of environmental variables to improve the prediction of aphid phenology: A machine learning approach (2018)
Journal Article
Holloway, P., Kudenko, D., & Bell, J. R. (2018). Dynamic selection of environmental variables to improve the prediction of aphid phenology: A machine learning approach. Ecological Indicators, 88, 512-521. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.10.032

Insect pests now pose a greater threat to crop production given the recent emergence of insecticide resistance, the removal of effective compounds from the market (e.g. neonicotinoids) and the changing climate that promotes successful overwintering a... Read More about Dynamic selection of environmental variables to improve the prediction of aphid phenology: A machine learning approach.

The sensitivity of breeding songbirds to changes in seasonal timing is linked to population change but cannot be directly attributed to the effects of trophic asynchrony on productivity (2017)
Journal Article
Franks, S. E., Pearce-Higgins, J. W., Atkinson, S., Bell, J. R., Botham, M. S., Brereton, T. M., …Leech, D. I. (2018). The sensitivity of breeding songbirds to changes in seasonal timing is linked to population change but cannot be directly attributed to the effects of trophic asynchrony on productivity. Global Change Biology, 24(3), 957-971. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13960

A consequence of climate change has been an advance in the timing of seasonal events. Differences in the rate of advance between trophic levels may result in predators becoming mismatched with prey availability, reducing fitness and potentially drivi... Read More about The sensitivity of breeding songbirds to changes in seasonal timing is linked to population change but cannot be directly attributed to the effects of trophic asynchrony on productivity.

Aphid population dynamics: from fields to landscapes. (2017)
Book Chapter
Bell, J., Pierre, J., & Dedryver, C. (2017). Aphid population dynamics: from fields to landscapes. In Aphids as crop pests (280-302). (2). Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI). https://doi.org/10.1079/9781780647098.0280

Cereal aphid studies form the backbone of this chapter and will be discussed at length, but shall also occasionally discuss the dynamics of aphids that use other annual crops and trees as their host. The overall purpose is to outline the components o... Read More about Aphid population dynamics: from fields to landscapes..

A New Approach to Modelling the Relationship Between Annual Population Abundance Indices and Weather Data (2017)
Journal Article
Elston, D., Brewer, M., Martay, B., Johnston, A., Henrys, P., Bell, J., …Pearce-Higgins, J. (2017). A New Approach to Modelling the Relationship Between Annual Population Abundance Indices and Weather Data. Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13253-017-0287-4

Weather has often been associated with fluctuations in population sizes of species; however, it can be difficult to estimate the effects satisfactorily because population size is naturally measured by annual abundance indices whilst weather varies on... Read More about A New Approach to Modelling the Relationship Between Annual Population Abundance Indices and Weather Data.

Handbook of protocols for standardized measurement of terrestrial invertebrate functional traits (2016)
Journal Article
Moretti, M., Dias, A. T., de Bello, F., Altermatt, F., Chown, S. L., Azcárate, F. M., …Berg, M. P. (2017). Handbook of protocols for standardized measurement of terrestrial invertebrate functional traits. Functional Ecology, 31(3), 558-567. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12776

Trait-based approaches are increasingly being used to test mechanisms underlying species assemblages and biotic interactions across a wide range of organisms including terrestrial arthropods and to investigate consequences for ecosystem processes. Su... Read More about Handbook of protocols for standardized measurement of terrestrial invertebrate functional traits.

Impacts of climate change on national biodiversity population trends (2016)
Journal Article
Martay, B., Brewer, M., Elston, D., Bell, J., Harrington, R., Brereton, T., …Pearce-Higgins, J. (2017). Impacts of climate change on national biodiversity population trends. Ecography, 40(10), 1139-1151. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.02411

Climate change has had well-documented impacts on the distribution and phenology of species across many taxa, but impacts on species’ abundance, which relates closely to extinction risk and ecosystem function, have not been assessed across taxa. In t... Read More about Impacts of climate change on national biodiversity population trends.

The Unique Contribution of Rothamsted to Ecological Research at Large Temporal Scales (2016)
Book Chapter
Storkey, J., Macdonald, A., Bell, J., Clark, I., Gregory, A., Hawkins, N., …Whitmore, A. (2016). The Unique Contribution of Rothamsted to Ecological Research at Large Temporal Scales. In Advances in Ecological Research (3-42). (55). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aecr.2016.08.002

The Rothamsted Estate in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, is home to the longest running ecological and agricultural experiments in the world that have generated unique data sets on the assembly and functioning of ecosystems that stretch back more than... Read More about The Unique Contribution of Rothamsted to Ecological Research at Large Temporal Scales.

Phenological sensitivity to climate across taxa and trophic levels (2016)
Journal Article
Thackeray, S. J., Henrys, P. A., Hemming, D., Bell, J. R., Botham, M. S., Burthe, S., …Wanless, S. (2016). Phenological sensitivity to climate across taxa and trophic levels. Nature, 535, 241–245. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature18608

Differences in phenological responses to climate change among species can desynchronise ecological interactions and thereby threaten ecosystem function. To assess these threats, we must quantify the relative impact of climate change on species at dif... Read More about Phenological sensitivity to climate across taxa and trophic levels.

Quantifying interspecific variation in dispersal ability of noctuid moths using an advanced tethered flight technique (2015)
Journal Article
Jones, H. B., Lim, K. S., Bell, J. R., Hill, J. K., & Chapman, J. W. (2016). Quantifying interspecific variation in dispersal ability of noctuid moths using an advanced tethered flight technique. Ecology and Evolution, 6(1), 181-190. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1861

Dispersal plays a crucial role in many aspects of species' life histories, yet is often difficult to measure directly. This is particularly true for many insects, especially nocturnal species (e.g. moths) that cannot be easily observed under natural... Read More about Quantifying interspecific variation in dispersal ability of noctuid moths using an advanced tethered flight technique.

Changes in large-scale climate alter spatial synchrony of aphid pests (2015)
Journal Article
Sheppard, L. W., Bell, J. R., Harrington, R., & Reuman, D. C. (2016). Changes in large-scale climate alter spatial synchrony of aphid pests. Nature Climate Change, 6, Article 610-613. https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE2881

Spatial synchrony, the tendency of distant populations to fluctuate similarly, is a major concern in ecology1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. Except in special circumstances3,9, researchers historically had difficulty identifying drivers of synchrony in field systems... Read More about Changes in large-scale climate alter spatial synchrony of aphid pests.

Organic Farming: Biodiversity Impacts Can Depend on Dispersal Characteristics and Landscape Context (2015)
Journal Article
Feber, R. E., Johnson, P. J., Bell, J. R., Chamberlain, D. E., Firbank, L. G., Fuller, R. J., …Macdonald, D. W. (2015). Organic Farming: Biodiversity Impacts Can Depend on Dispersal Characteristics and Landscape Context. PloS one, 10(8), Article e0135921. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0135921

Organic farming, a low intensity system, may offer benefits for a range of taxa, but what affects the extent of those benefits is imperfectly understood. We explored the effects of organic farming and landscape on the activity density and species den... Read More about Organic Farming: Biodiversity Impacts Can Depend on Dispersal Characteristics and Landscape Context.

Large-scale migration synchrony between parasitoids and their host (2015)
Journal Article
PÉREZ-RODRÍGUEZ, J., SHORTALL, C. R., & BELL, J. R. (2015). Large-scale migration synchrony between parasitoids and their host. Ecological Entomology, 40(5), 654-659. https://doi.org/10.1111/een.12241

1. Parasitoids are a valuable group for conservation biological control. In their role as regulators of aphid pests, it is critical that their lifecycle is synchronised with their hosts in both space and time. This is because a synchronised parasitoi... Read More about Large-scale migration synchrony between parasitoids and their host.

Long-term phenological trends, species accumulation rates, aphid traits and climate: five decades of change in migrating aphids (2014)
Journal Article
Bell, J. R., Alderson, L., Izera, D., Kruger, T., Parker, S., Pickup, J., …Harrington, R. (2015). Long-term phenological trends, species accumulation rates, aphid traits and climate: five decades of change in migrating aphids. Journal of Animal Ecology, 84(1), 21-34. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12282

Aphids represent a significant challenge to food production. The Rothamsted Insect Survey (RIS) runs a network of 12·2-m suction-traps throughout the year to collect migrating aphids. In 2014, the RIS celebrated its 50th anniversary. This paper marks... Read More about Long-term phenological trends, species accumulation rates, aphid traits and climate: five decades of change in migrating aphids.

Population metrics for migrating aphids (2013)
Presentation / Conference
Bell, J., Harrington, R., Taylor, M., & Verrier, P. (2013, December). Population metrics for migrating aphids. Paper presented at Nordic Association of Agricultural Scientists

Predicting Insect Migration Density and Speed in the Daytime Convective Boundary Layer (2013)
Journal Article
Bell, J. R., Aralimarad, P., Lim, K., & Chapman, J. W. (2013). Predicting Insect Migration Density and Speed in the Daytime Convective Boundary Layer. PloS one, 8(1), Article e54202. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054202

Insect migration needs to be quantified if spatial and temporal patterns in populations are to be resolved. Yet so little ecology is understood above the flight boundary layer (i.e. >10 m) where in north-west Europe an estimated 3 billion insects km−... Read More about Predicting Insect Migration Density and Speed in the Daytime Convective Boundary Layer.

Intraguild predation in winter wheat: prey choice by a common epigeal carabid consuming spiders (2012)
Journal Article
Davey, J. S., Vaughan, I. P., King, R. A., Bell, J. R., Bohan, D. A., Bruford, M. W., …Symondson, W. O. (2013). Intraguild predation in winter wheat: prey choice by a common epigeal carabid consuming spiders. Journal of Applied Ecology, 50(1), 271-279. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12008

Predators can provide a valuable ecosystem service by suppressing crop pests. However, intraguild predation, where predators compete for the same prey resource whilst consuming each other, may destabilize population dynamics and increase the risk of... Read More about Intraguild predation in winter wheat: prey choice by a common epigeal carabid consuming spiders.