
Food Webs
The kinds of questions we are asking about how communities function include: what is the role of predators in controlling prey (perhaps pest) populations?
Lab blog and news on food webs…

Iceland Work Featured by UMD Entomology!
Gratton lab work in Iceland on annual midge emergence and land-lake linkages was the topic of a recent University of Maryland blog post. Thanks to the Department of Entomology at UMD for this great feature! http://entomology.umd.edu/news/iceland-the-land-of-fire-and-ice-and-midges-oh-my ...
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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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Welcome to our newest lab member, Matt!
The Gratton lab welcomes its newest lab member, Matt McCary! Matt joins us from the Wise lab at the University of Illinois in Chicago where he recently completed his PhD . Matt will be working with Claudio, Randy Jackson, and ...
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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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Gratton lab presents research at WI Ecology
Jeremy Hemberger, Savannah Bartel, and Anna Cates (Jackson lab) presented their research at WI Ecology's 19th Annual Spring Symposium. This symposium was organized by the graduate students of WI Ecology and consisted of graduate student speakers and poster presentations. The ...
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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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Welcome new PhD student, Amanda McCormick!
Amanda joined the Gratton lab (co-advised by Tony Ives) in September and will be working on a project trying to understand what causes the impressive population cycles of midges in Lake Myvatn, Iceland. Here is more about Amanda who recently completed her ...
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Welcome Amy Wray!
In January, Amy Wray joined the Gratton lab to work on a multi-disciplinary study examining the agro-ecological consequences of White Nose Syndrome (WNS) on bats in Wisconsin. In partnership with the Peery Lab and the Wisconsin DNR, this project will ...
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Emma Pelton’s Exit Seminar
All good things must come to an end. Last week, Emma Pelton presented her research for the UW Madison Department of Entomology Seminar Series. This seminar highlighted her work for a Joint Master's degree in Entomology and Agroecology. Her work ...
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Trophic cascades in agricultural landscapes: indirect effects of landscape composition on crop yield
Past studies from our research group show that the composition of the surrounding landscape can influence the abundance and diversity of predatory insects within a field, where complex landscapes (i.e., landscapes with a greater proportion of natural areas) generally support ...
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2015 Field Season Preview
As summer approaches, here's a preview of the our fieldwork projects... Pollinators in bioenergy landscapes: This project is trying to understand the impact pollinator conservation strips around switchgrass plantings have on native pollinator communities. Fieldwork will be conducted at study sites ...
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Waterfowl Production Area (WPA) public meeting
Last week, members of the Gratton lab attended a Waterfowl Production Area (WPA) public meeting. The WPA project is a multi-scale collaboration between US Fish and Wildlife Service Leopold Management District and UW Madison and the goal of the project ...
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Midges connect aquatic and terrestrial food webs
Insects live in virtually every freshwater habitat and can be extremely abundant, composing a large part of the animal biomass in lakes and rivers. Aquatic insects have important roles in food webs, acting as decomposers and consumers of aquatic plants ...
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Pest control benefits of diversified agroecosystems – From top to bottom
[singlepic id=33 w=320 h=240 float=right]When are multiple species better than one? This question has intrigued ecologists for over a century, and has relevance both for conservation and agriculture. Recently, Ben Werling, Claudio Gratton and their coauthors published work examining the ...
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Landscape structure influences pest predation at organism-specific spatial scales.
At which scale should conservation of non-crop habitat take place to sustain such important ecosystem services as the control of crop pests? To help understanding the consequences of land-use decisions, Ben Werling and Claudio Gratton examined the impact of local ...
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