🐝🦠 New paper: rdcu.be/eOf7A Phages may drive microbial diversity, yet we often don’t even know how phages & bacteria correlate in nature. Our new study tackles this in the honeybee gut, thanks to the great work of PhD student @malickndiaye.bsky.social at @dmf-unil.bsky.social @fbm-unil.bsky.social

PLEASE SHARE. PhD advert: Predicting Pollinator Health and Disease Through Molecular and Sensor-Based Surveillance. tinyurl.com/559hjsm4 Rare opportunity at the intersection of molecular ecology, disease surveillance, modelling and precision apiculture. DEADLINE 24th OCTOBER!

#microsky 🧫🧪

Delighted to announce the launch of the BBSRC-funded UK-wide microbiome innovation network Microbiome-Net. I'm looking forward to representing and furthering the East Midlands Microbiome Research Network's contributions to research, innovation and policy. www.liverpool.ac.uk/microbiome-i...

Monika Yordanova leads on this study exploring coexposure of pesticides & Enterococcus on the health of developing bee larvae 🐝. Often seen as a pathogen, small doses of the microbe may reduce some of the impacts of pesticide toxicity under some conditions. doi.org/10.1093/fems...

Experimenting with AI to make accessible summaries of research. What are peoples thoughts? Here is a summary of a paper looking at the role of flowers in parasite transmission. Parasites in bloom: flowers aid dispersal and transmission youtu.be/sGGHzrW0Lmc @royalsocietypublishing.org

🌿 Over 1000 signed up to join us at #OurImperial Silwood Park for Bugs, Birds & Beasts Day - our biggest turnout yet at this lively day of science, nature & family fun! From falconry to butterfly hunts, from an orchestra to 3D insects, this was a day out to remember! Thank you everyone! 🦅🐛💧

My 4th 'Bugs Day' at Imperial's Silwood campus. The boys (and I) had a wonderful time at an event that just gets better each year. For Imperial team's interesting in public engagement with the natural world or environmental research, Bugs day is a wonderful resource to reach public audiences.

Glad to finally be able to share this paper! We found that epiphytes and their close relatives tend to have small range sizes, meaning a high proportion are likely to be at risk of extinction www.nature.com/articles/s41...

For over 100 years, epiphytes - plants that grow on other plants such as orchids & bromeliads - were believed to be widespread and resilient 🌿 But our new study in Nature Plants tells a very different story 👇

🪴 Epiphytic plants, including popular houseplants and orchids, may be at high risk of extinction across the globe, according to new research by scientists at Imperial College London and @rbgkew.bsky.social 🧵

📣 Imperial College Research Fellowships! Prestigious 4yr fellowship ✔️ Salary from £48k ✔️ Up to £45k for research ✔️ A supportive, inclusive research environment ✔️ UK or international ✔️ <4 yrs post-PhD Drop me a pm if you are interested in bee/microbe related research! tinyurl.com/mr3k5a93

Women at Imperial celebrates the achievements of our staff, students and alumni, and raises awareness of support and initiatives across the university. Join us for Women at Imperial Week from 10–14 March 2025 with a series of events and workshops. www.imperial.ac.uk/women-at-imp...

Looking for a masters (MRes/Msci) in Ecological sciences? @imperiallifesci.bsky.social youtu.be/b9HAZsvBpm8?...

Please don't turn your lawn into plastic. Plastic grass reduces food & shelter for wildlife such as bees & butterflies; has a high carbon footprint; sheds micro-plastics which wash into our rivers and seas. Create a wildlife-friendly space instead. More bit.ly/3wE67P8 🐝

Funded PhD opportunity in the Graystock lab! If you are interested in pollinators, microbes, parasites and machine learning, please get in touch! - only a few days left to let me know! Whilst a project using the above is planned, im happy to adapt to the strengths of a candidate

"Ants solving a geometric problem and it's amazing." This is a great example of 'emergent phenomenon': - None of the ants understand the problem they're solving. - None of them can see the whole shape. - A series of small decisions or rules add up to something with a new layer of complexity.

Nice to catch up with everyone at the #IUSSI conference in London today. A good representation from the lab too with some excellent student posters! With @nesbit-sci.bsky.social, Charlotte and Monika - I think it's also safe to say my phone camera has seen better days!

PhD studentships now available in all areas of Life Sciences at Imperial College London www.findaphd.com/phds/program...

This Edinburgh Botanics light show installation is designed to illustrate mycelium networks. It’s almost as impressive in daylight as when lit up!

Wondered how pollinator learning affects pollination for 🌺🌻🌼? More complex flowers 🌺🌻🌼 require more learning, and learning ⬆️pollen collection, but has NO effect on pollen transfer! New Behavioral Ecology pub from #RussellLab grad & undergrads; collab w/ Ashman Lab academic.oup.com/beheco/advan...

Did you know we can track the movements of bumble bees using radio technology? This research reveals fascinating insights into their behaviour across different landscapes and helps guide vital conservation efforts. 🧪🌎🐝

There's just something about bee mites that makes me feel uneasy! anyway - here's a picture of some poor bees at the end of a field experiment we ran (we hadn't considered mites in the design but they became an interesting part of the study!). Its amazing how many mites a single bee can carry!

In the lab we have been enjoying learning and optimising methods to rear bumblebee larvae in the lab. Its more involved than rearing honey bees but just a cute to see then consume the diet!

In 2015 i helped document the oldest known wasp individual (atleast 506 days old). Will this get me on to the #wasplove starter pack @waspwoman.bsky.social ? peerj.com/articles/848/

We've upgraded the labs 3D printer and its such a cool toy! here it is printing a graduate students design that will be showcased at the upcoming winter IUSSI conference at QMUL

Putting QR codes on bees to track them may seem like a very cool thing to do, but don't be fooled, you've got to keep these puppies clean and that is one laborious task!

Taking a look down the microscope at bumblebee guts and watching lots of crithidia bombi (a bee parasite) swimming around! 🐝🐝 #parasites #pollinator #microscope

1/2 Capturing the architecture of bumblebee nests in 3 dimensions! First look with the new 3D scanner, some refining to do but so far so good! #bee #nest #3dscanning #3dscan

Please Share. Postdoc available with me on Pollinator Microbiomes. To develop/engineer microbial communities that protect bees from stressors. Collaborating with Quinn McFrederick (UCR) & Marc-Emmanuel Dumas (Imperial). www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-jobs/description/index.php?jobId=21816

Research Fellowship call OPEN NOW 4 yrs research & salary funding. local & international applicants. Get in touch if looking for funding to develop your own research & you think my lab (pollinator microbial ecology) will synergise. Based at imperial college london www.imperial.ac.uk/life-science...

We're looking for a lab tech (3yr) with experience in microbial ecology and/or controlled plant growth. This is part of the exciting large 'Green Revolution' project which includes 2 technicians, 5 postdocs & 5 PIs all based at Silwood Park, Imperial College London www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...

The honey bees active and finding the pollen, good signs for the year ahead! They have already started to conspire against me documenting their hives though..

Our preprint on the very cool, very weird (ant-like??) microbiome of the solitary bee Anthophora bomboides is up on bioRxiv !! Its overwhelmingly dominated by Actinobacteria and one fungus (Moniliella spathulata)-- but only in the brood cell... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...