Insect population responses to air pollution

This project will conduct national scale analyses of air pollution impacts on insect populations using long-term data-sets monitoring over 1,000 terrestrial insect species, and experimental analyses of direct and indirect effects of nitrogen dioxide pollution on insects. The student will work with JNCC

and Natural Resources Wales to use these data to explore quantifying ecological safe limits for air pollution, and how these can feed into reporting indicators for the 25-year environment plan. Our supervisory team have an excellent track-record of supporting students in delivering high quality research papers (e.g. in PNAS and Global Change Biology) and delivering impact through

co-supervisors' organisations (JNCC, NRW and CEH). There is negligible understanding of ecological safe limits of air pollution, or how impacts on individuals scale up to determine population and community level impacts. This project will quantify how individual insects and their populations respond to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and explore

mechanistic pathways for these impacts. The student will gain an understanding of how to lead novel 'frontier' science alongside an interdisciplinary team and a range of stakeholders to generate impact. Specifically, they will gain expertise in chemical ecology and evaluating ecological safe limits of pollutants, experimental design,

insect rearing, plant-insect interactions, statistical data analysis, and use of air pollution models.