2016, Saunders, Manu, Peisley, Rebecca K, Rader, Romina, Luck, Gary W

Ecological interactions between crops and wild animals frequently result in increases or declines in crop yield. Yet, positive and negative interactions have mostly been treated independently, owing partly to disciplinary silos in ecological and agricultural sciences. We advocate a new integrated research paradigm that explicitly recognizes cost-benefit trade-offs among animal activities and acknowledges that these activities occur within social-ecological contexts. Support for this paradigm is presented in an evidence-based conceptual model structured around five evidence statements highlighting emerging trends applicable to sustainable agriculture. The full range of benefits and costs associated with animal activities in agroecosystems cannot be quantified by focusing on single species groups, crops, or systems. Management of productive agroecosystems should sustain cycles of ecological interactions between crops and wild animals, not isolate these cycles from the system. Advancing this paradigm will therefore require integrated studies that determine net returns of animal activity in agroecosystems.

2015, Saunders, Manu

Ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) are predators of aphid and psyllid species and are often released or encouraged into timber plantations as natural enemies of economic pests. Some temperate coccinellid species overwinter in mass aggregations; however, little is known about coccinellid aggregations in Australia. Aggregations of Harmonia conformis were observed only on stone walls of a camp shelter near Shelley, Victoria in July 2014. Publication of more observational records and dedicated surveys will determine if old stone walls and buildings in managed landscapes have the potential to provide overwintering habitat for natural enemies and other beneficial insects.

2018, Saunders, Manu

The ecosystem services concept was developed in the 1980s and 1990s to promote the understanding that nature is essential for human survival and well-being (Westman, 1977; Ehrlich & Mooney, 1983; Daily, 1997). Of course, this idea is not new. Humans have appreciated the benefits nature provides for millennia. However, incorporating the concept into modern science and developing meaningful ways to quantify and value ecosystem services has been complicated. There are also broad misconceptions about the concept. Although much of the lit- erature on ecosystem services has focused on economics and accounting systems, the concept is not simply about 'putting a price on nature'. As a conceptual framework, it has direct application to basic and applied research on species and systems that interact with humans. Quantifying how species and their interactions provide benefits to humans is a valuable way to inform biodiversity conservation programmes and sustainable production systems.

2016, Saunders, Manu, Luck, Gary W

Ongoing debate over the ecosystem services (ES) concept highlights a range of contrasting views and misconceptions. Schröter et al. (2014) summarize seven recurring arguments against the ES concept, which broadly relate to ethical concerns, translation across the science-policy interface, and how the concept's normative aims and optimistic assumptions affect ES as a scientific approach. In particular, recent criticism has focused on how the concept is unable to address ecological complexity due to the limitations of the economic stock-flow model that ES is based on (Norgaard 2010). Acknowledging ecosystem disservices (EDS) (i.e., outcomes of ecosystem functions that negatively affect human communities) has been suggested as a way to account for this ecological complexity (McCauley 2006; Lyytimäki 2015).

2016, Smith, Tobias J, Saunders, Manu

Pollination is a critical ecosystem function with high ecological and economic value. Conservation initiatives aimed at protecting diverse pollinator communities in natural and agricultural habitats are essential, but the implementation and success of such initiatives often depends on public support. Mass media play an important role in building public awareness around environmental issues, and biased coverage can have damaging effects. Here, we present the first analysis of how Australian mainstream media present the 'pollinator' paradigm. We gathered insect pollinator and pollination related articles from major Australian online newspapers published over a period of 9 years, and performed a qualitative content analysis using deductive coding to record information on the pollinator species or groups discussed in the story. We found 151 stories, and demonstrate that within these, there was a disproportionate focus on introduced European honey bees as the most important, or only, pollinator insect relevant to Australia. Only 15% of stories mentioned native bees as pollinators and 17% mentioned non-bee pollinators. There is potential that the trend we report here for pollinators may be indicative of a larger overall simplification and neglect of biodiversity concepts in mainstream media, both in Australia and globally. As public awareness of science and environmental issues partly depend on disseminating accurate information beyond the scholar network, it is imperative that the broader effects of inaccurate science communication are fully understood.

2018, Saunders, Manu, Smith, Tobias J, Rader, Romina

In their Perspective "Conserving honey bees does not help wildlife" (26 January, p. 392), J. Geldmann and J. P. González-Varo argue that because managed honey bees are an agricultural animal, their crop pollination does not fit the definition of an ecosystem service. This distinction, the authors suggest, is a key step to wild pollinator conservation. This argument highlights a fundamental misinterpretation of the ecology of ecosystem services: Services are delivered to beneficiaries through ecological processes and interactions, not by organisms alone.