Reunion Supper

Last Sunday, we received the visit of Ainhoa Magrach - a former PhD from the Lab who is now working at Laurance's Lab in Cairns, Australia. This, together with the return of Lucía and Martin (who had been away for a few months), was the perfect excuse to have a long lunch. A good occasion to remember that having good fun together is a key element for doing good work together.

La verdad a secas de los humedales

This strip, stressing the ecosystem services provided by wetlands, conmemorate the World Wetlands Day. It was done by one of the coolest enviornmental and science-cartoonists in Europe: Seppo Leinonen.

Follow the link to his page, where Spanish and French versions of the strip - as well as many other great cartoons are posted:

http://www.seppo.net/e/wetlands-are-not-wastelands

Impact of fragmentation on forest epiphytes

This autumn we are reaping the fruits of a long period of work - by a bunch of fantastic PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. Here goes another one, from Ainhoa Magrach's thesis:

Magrach, A., Larrinaga A.R. & Santamaría L. (2012) Internal habitat quality, rather than the configuration of remnant patches, determines the effects of fragmentation on Austral forest epiphytes. PLoS One 7: e48743.

(In the picture, the mistletoe Tristerix corymbosus, one of the study species.)

Ainhoa is now at the Laurance Lab in Cairns, Australia, where she keeps doing work on the effects of fragmentation on interspecific interactions -  and making us jealous with awesome pictures of her study systems...

And two papers more from the Lab

October has been a very active month for the Lab. Two more papers are now on early view of Journal of Ecology. Congratulations to the two PhD students who lead them as first authors (Lucía Latorre, from the LES, and Fran G. Gonzalvez, from Miguel A. Rodríguez-Gironés' Lab at the EEZA, Almería)!

Latorre, L., Larrinaga A.R., Santamaria, L. Combined impact of two exotic herbivores on different life-stages of an endangered plant endemism, Medicago citrina. Journal of Ecology.

Gonzalvez, F.G., Santamaría, L. & Rodríguez-Gironés M.A. Flowers attract weaver ants to deter pollen thieves. Journal of Ecology.

Our Lab supports Open Access

Even if we have difficulties to afford it, at current prices...

Have a look at this video that explains, with cunning and humour, the why's and how's of Open Access Journals

Rats resistant to control

A still-ongoing study reported in BBC News and Science Daily shows that repeated control using rodenticides (such as Bromadiolone and Difenacoum) is causing the evolution of resistance in rats: up to 75% of rats in Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire (UK) had built up a resistance. Besides representing a telling example of real-time evolution, these results suggest that traditional approaches to pest control may - by ignoring evolutionary processes, backfire and promote further the invasion process (as bites become food for resistant rat individuals and  rodenticides harm their predators).

Rats are the most ubiquitous invasive species on insular ecosystems, being present in almost 90% of the world's islands. At the LSE, the PhD thesis of Lucía Latorre focuses on the impact and management of "invasion complexes", groups of co-occurring invasive species that establish positive or negative inter-relations (e.g., as predator and prey - such as black rats and feral cats). We'll keep you updated of her results.