Government department spending cuts announced in the Budget last month are set to hit the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) particularly hard, with annual savings of £400 million by 2011 being called for. Although DIUS will aim to make the savings through efficiency drives and “strategic reprioritisation”, there are concerns that widespread cuts could destabilise the higher education sector.

For further information, please see: Research Fortnight 323 6 May 2009 p.1, 6, 2, 16, 17.

Despite the frequent public preconception that urban waterways such as canals and ditches are polluted eyesores, devoid of almost all wildlife, recent research has shown that they can have more macroinvertebrate diversity than similar water systems in rural areas. They can also provide habitat for several endangered species.

Urban habitats may provide an important refuge for biodiversity in the face of climate change and increasing fragmentation. However, to date there has been little data provided to assess the conservation value of urban areas, and very few studies focusing on urban water systems.

A new Dutch study compared the biodiversity value of urban waterways in two towns in the Netherlands with natural and manmade drainage systems in rural areas, such as small streams and rivulets. Macroinvertebrate species, including snails, mites, flies and exotic crustaceans, were studied.

Urban waterways with low levels of nutrients (particularly nitrogen and phosphorous), were found to have the highest diversity of macroinvertebrates, and the highest number of endangered species. Waters with high levels of nutrients and poorly developed vegetation meanwhile had low macroinvertebrate diversity. The number of exotic crustaceans was high in nutrient-rich waters, probably because they are better able to cope with harsher conditions, such as low oxygen levels, than native species.

The researchers concluded that the key factors for macroinvertebrate biodiversity in urban water systems are levels of nitrates, sediment composition, transparency and submerged vegetation.

For further information, please see: Vermonden, K., Leuven, R.S.E.W., van der Velde, G. et al. (2009). Urban drainage systems: An undervalued habitat for aquatic macroinvertebrates. Biological Conservation. 142: 1105-1115.

On Sat. 16th May, 11.00am to 3.00pm, the North East’s Climate Change Action Committee will be holding a Climate Change Fair in Barnard Castle. It will be held in the Methodist Church and on Scar Top open area.

The event has been arranged by Helen Goodman MP.

There will be many things to see and do, including building bird boxes and surveying for earthworms with Newcastle University. There will be lots of information about how people can live greener lives, /and also save a good deal of money/!

For further information please contact Graham Tenby, Climate Change Action Committee

The British Ecological Society and the Biochemical Society are working together to run a series of meetings aimed at bringing together those working in science policy. ‘Policy Lunchbox’ will begin on 27 May with a meeting with Nick Dusic, Director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering, aiming to explore ‘How to work with the opposition and influence manifesto development in the run-up to the 2010 election’. This will be followed, on 8 July, by a meeting with Jack Stilgoe, Senior Policy Advisor at the Royal Society, to answer the question: ‘How can Learned Societies forge greater links with the Royal Society?’

Both events will be held at the Biochemical Society, Holborn, London. The meetings are free to attend but you must register for a place in advance: please contact rebecca.smith@biochemistry.org to do so.

Further information at: Biochemical Society and British Ecological Society websites

Reducing pesticide use has been a major EU policy goal over the last few years. One way the EU intends to achieve this is by developing biological or non-chemical pesticides as replacements for conventional pesticides. Now, a new UK study has delivered some promising suggestions as to how this may be done.

The study identified some naturally occurring alternatives to control wireworm, a pest which causes major problems in arable crops in many parts of the world. Wireworms are the larvae of click beetles, and they have a particularly harmful impact on potato yields (when more than 10-15 per cent of potatoes are damaged, the crop is no longer financially viable for the farmer).

Normally wireworms are controlled by applying insecticides to the soil. The study however identified three alternative, naturally occurring, pesticides that showed promise for development. These were two types of parasitic fungi and one type of parasitic nematode (or roundworm).

The researchers investigated the pesticidal properties of six fungi and twelve nematodes in all. The wireworms were exposed to the different parasites and the mortality of the wireworms was assessed every week for three weeks. The dead larvae were dissected to confirm the cause of death. After three weeks, there were significant differences in the effects of the fungi. Most striking were the effects of the Metarhizium anisopliae strains, V1002 and LRC181A, which caused 90-100 per cent mortality. There were also significant differences in the parasitic effects of the different types of nematode. The most aggressive was the UK strain of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, UWS1, that caused 67 per cent mortality.

Previous research has demonstrated that the fungi M. anisopliae can work together with chemical pesticides to control wireworm and other pests, and the fungi could therefore be used to reduce the use of conventional pesticides. The same fungi can also be used in conjunction with nematodes, providing the potential for a completely organic approach to controlling pests.

Source: Ansari, M.A., Evans, M and Butt, T.M. (2009). Identification of pathogenic strains of entomopathogenic nematodes and fungi for wireworm control. Crop Protection. 28: 269-272.