Project lead: Matt Tsuruda
I am broadly interested in how insect biodiversity relates to habitat restoration in agricultural ecosystems and how we can use insects to tell us about the success of these restorations.
The huge diversity and abundance of insects means that they respond quickly and sensitively to changes in their ecosystems. Consequently, we can use insects as “bioindicators”, organisms that can tell us about the state of an ecosystem without the need for complicated/expensive environmental testing.
My goal is to identify the ideal group of insects that can give growers and policy-makers the most information about the success or lack thereof of their agricultural habitat restoration or other diversification practices
Photo by Matt Tsuruda
Photo by Matt Tsuruda