Open Call for Research Projects in ICTS-Doñana!

The Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructure Doñana Biological Reserve (ICTS-Doñana) announces the opening of a call for international research projects in the Doñana Natural Space.

Selected projects will receive a grant of up to €10,000 per application, intended to cover expenses such as travel and per diems for researchers, consumables, and small research project materials.

Priority will be given to international projects that collaborate with Spanish research teams in Doñana Natural Space, that make use of the facilities of the ICTS and/or use environmental monitoring data provided by ICTS-Doñana.

The call for proposals will remain open until 30 June 2024, with priority given to projects led by young researchers and women.

Send your research project in Spanish or English with the CV of the Principal Researcher to direccion.ebd@csic.es

Download Application model

Funding: Junta Andalucía Call QUAL21-020



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Bees not the be-all and end-all to pollination

Bees not the be-all and end-all to pollination

Bees are well-documented as the most effective pollinators of crops world-wide.  However, the contributions by pollinators other than bees play a significant role in crop production and stability in the face of environmental change. "Non-bee" insects such as flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps and ants were researched in 39 different field studies, across five continents to directly measure their pollination services in comparison to bees. Non-bees performed 25–50% of the total number of flower visits. Although non-bees were less effective pollinators than bees per flower visit, they provided slightly more visits; so these two factors compensated for each other resulting in similar pollination services. This paper suggests that both non-bee and bee insects are required for optimal fruit production, the non-bee insects providing a unique benefit to fruit crops.  This research indicates that non-bee insect pollinators play a significant role in global crop production and respond differently than bees to the presence of natural vegetation in the landscape, a finding which has implications for changes in land use. Non-bee insects provide a valuable service and potential insurance against bee population declines. informacion[at]ebd.csic.es: Rader et al (2015) Non-bee insects are important contributors to global crop pollination. PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.1517092112


http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/11/24/1517092112.abstract