How we manage our agricultural landscapes has big implications for the amount of food, animals and fiber that are produced with effects on the livelihoods of people and vibrance of rural communities.  But agricultural ecosystems also support wildlife, clean our air, help regulate the climate, capture water and maintain the very processes that support agriculture and people.  Therefore, the management of  agricultural landscapes needs to understand the tradeoffs between the production of food (and more recently, energy) and income, and the other so-called ecosystem services that also support human-well being.  Our group is broadly interested in understanding how insects that we consider beneficial, such as pollinators or lady beetles, are affected by management and policies that can change the composition of the landscape – that is, how much agricultural land there is compared to forest, grasslands or urban areas, and their arrangement in the landscape.  In addition, decisions at the farm-level, including the amount of non-agricultural set-asides, tillage, cover crops, pesticide use, fertilizer applications, and weed control, also can have big consequences for insects within and surrounding the agroecosystem.  By better understanding the local and landscape-level effects on our beneficial insects, we can better act to manage and conserve those species that support agriculture.

Lab blog and news for agroecosystems…

Publication highlight: Research suggests invasive fruit fly not a problem for grape growers

Much of the research we do in the Gratton Lab focuses on the pests and pollinators of agricultural crops grown in Wisconsin. Former lab member Emma Pelton (M.S. 2015) did her research on an invasive fruit fly, the spotted wing ...
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November 20, 2017 / Hannah Gaines Day

Talking Science: 2017 conferences thus far

The Gratton lab has been busy these past couple of months presenting research at regional and national meetings.  Here are examples of our 2017 research presentations ranging from bee behavioral responses in apple orchards to nitrogen effects on freshwater algal ...
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March 9, 2017 / althe3rd

New lab paper: “A Landscape View of Agricultural Insecticide Use across the Conterminous US from 1997 through 2012”

Insecticide use across the US has increased from 1997 to 2012, according to a recently published paper by Tim Meehan (former UW research associate) and Claudio Gratton entitled “A Landscape View of Agricultural Insecticide Use across the Conterminous US from ...
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December 15, 2016 / althe3rd

Wild about Bees: Kiley Friedrich on Native Pollinators & Their Interactions with Plant Communities

Bees are among the most frequently studied animals, and yet there remains a vast amount of knowledge to be gained about these important pollinators. In this exclusive interview, Kiley Friedrich from the Gratton Lab and Agroecology Master’s program at UW-Madison ...
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December 7, 2016 / Amy Wray / 1 Comment on Wild about Bees: Kiley Friedrich on Native Pollinators & Their Interactions with Plant Communities

New Publication: When biocontrol doesn’t work

Much of the research conducted in our lab focuses on beneficial insects in agricultural landscapes. Specifically, we investigate how the type and configuration of natural habitat in agricultural landscapes influences beneficial insects and the services they provide (e.g., pest control) ...
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December 1, 2016 / Hannah Gaines Day

Bat Week Highlights with Amy Wray

While many spend the final days of October perfecting Halloween costumes and nibbling on sweet treats, bat enthusiasts around the country gather for the annual Bat Week: October 24-31, 2016.  This national, week-long event works to raise awareness around bat ...
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November 9, 2016 / althe3rd

Welcome to our newest lab member, Tracy!

Recently, Tracy Campbell joined the Gratton lab (co-advised by Chris Kucharik) as an Agronomy Master’s student. Tracy will be working with Claudio and Chris to organize a symposium on the use of Ecoinformatics (or “Big Data”) in Agricultural Research.  To ...
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November 4, 2016 / althe3rd

Pollinator Management for Apple Growers

Over the past decade, honey bees in the United States have experienced unprecedented declines.  Scientists believe that these bee losses are caused by a variety of factors including pesticide exposure, loss of floral resources in the landscape due to intensification ...
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November 1, 2016 / Hannah Gaines Day

Field Season 2016 is underway!

The Gratton lab is back in the field working on projects already this year!  Post-doc Hannah's project on Apple pollination is underway, and crews have been out at orchards across southern Wisconsin counting flowers, bees, and enjoying the beautiful sites! ...
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May 6, 2016 / hemberger

Hiring field assistants for spring/summer 2016!

The Gratton lab group is hiring field assistants for 2-3 different projects. Please follow application instructions at the bottom of each position summary---if you are interested in all projects, please apply separately to each contact person. 1. Field Assistants: Prairie ...
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March 1, 2016 / althe3rd