Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 Royal Entomological Society Journal Awards.
Insect Conservation and Diversity is a Royal Entomological Society journal that uniquely combines insect diversity and conservation, focusing on invertebrate preservation. Emphasizing wild arthropods and their specific relationships, this journal covers topics like biogeography, climate change impacts, conservation genetics, and global biodiversity.
ICAD welcomes submissions on past and present biodiversity distribution, monitoring arthropod populations, identifying harmful influences, and restoring ecosystem services. With a broad scope, we encourage submissions across insect and arthropod conservation, encompassing ecological theory and practical management.
Insect Conservation and Diversity Winner
Ashley Darst: Diversity of bumble bees and butterflies in Minnesota roadsides depends on floral diversity and abundance but not floral native status (17.4)
Pollinators are declining globally, and habitat loss and fragmentation are major contributors. One way to combat habitat loss is to restore land currently unsuitable for pollinators.
Roadsides provide a great opportunity for pollinator habitat restoration, with over 10 million acres in the United States alone.
“This is an excellent piece of early career research with solid experimental design and analysis. The work is especially impressive as it was completed partially at the undergraduate level. The research is a great example of how on-ground collaboration between researchers and land managers can have direct conservation benefits. In this case, the lead author worked closely with their local transport department to link scientific outcomes to management on the ground, resulting in better outcomes for pollinator communities and threatened species on Minnesota roadsides.”
– Judges’ comments
Ashley is currently a second-year Ph.D. candidate in Nick Haddad’s lab at Michigan State University studying Integrative Biology and Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour. Her research focuses on the effects of human-caused changes on pollinators, particularly butterflies.
She strives to further our understanding of pollinator declines and how humankind can sustainably coexist with the natural world.
Her published research examines roadsides as pollinator habitat and investigates what traits may preadapt butterflies to tolerate heavy metal pollution. She is currently researching whether pollinators prefer sodium-enriched nectar and whether plants with sodium-enriched nectar have a higher pollination rate.
These findings will have implications for pollinators using roadsides in which road salts are used as de-icers. She is also researching the lethal and sublethal effects of combinations of pesticides on monarch butterflies, with the hope to better understand butterfly declines.
Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Photo credit Ashley DarstIn her winning research, she and her co-authors found roadsides supporting many pollinators, including the endangered rusty patched bumble bee and the monarch butterfly.
Roadsides with greater floral abundance and diversity had greater bumble bee and butterfly abundance and diversity. However, they found similar bumble bee and butterfly abundance and diversity in roadsides planted with high-diversity native seed mixes and low-diversity non-native seed mixes. This is because many native plants never established and unseeded plants colonized the roadsides, likely due to a lack of management after seeding. They recommend planting diverse seed mixes with many flowers in roadsides and budgeting for continued management of pollinator plantings.
