CR2025_60 Sustainable Agriculture & Farming for Ecosystem Resilience (S.A.F.E.R.)

Lead Supervisor: Wendy Harris, Department of Biosciences, Swansea University

Email: w.e.harris@swansea.ac.uk

Co-supervisors: James Bull, Department of Biosciences, Swansea University; Gavin Broad, Natural History Museum; David Spurgeon, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Motivation

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework¹ mandates the enhancement of biodiversity to promote engagement with nature and ensure the resilient ecosystems required for maintenance of sustainable food supply. Insects are critical for providing the ecosystem services (nutrient cycling, soil production, pest control, pollination) needed to achieve this; however, parasiticide use for livestock and pets has long been identified as a ticking timebomb for non-target insect species^2,3,4. Early research had largely focussed on dung-beetles (worth >£367M annually in UK) with more recent studies uncovering further significant impacts on freshwater insects^5,6,7,8. Major knowledge gaps still exist for other insects, risking unknown future losses in ecosystem services, and this presents an exciting opportunity for ecological research with impact.

A recent review by Wells & Collins⁹ prioritises (i) quantifying the levels, (ii) characterising the routes of environmental exposure, and (iii) identifying resulting long-term impacts of biodiversity loss to mitigate the harmful effects of parasiticides in the environment. This interdisciplinary project aims to directly address that call through an integrated programme of entomology, ecotoxicology, and stakeholder engagement.

Project outline

Our overarching aim of this project is to reduce harmful effects of widely used parasiticides on beneficial insects. This will be delivered through the following specific objectives:

• You will conduct a broad-spectrum survey of insect and parasiticide distribution across a range of terrestrial and freshwater habitats, encompassing both recreational and agricultural land use. This objective will specifically address how prevalent parasiticides are in these environments, how this relates to insect distributions and diversity, whether this varies by insect taxonomic or functional group, and what the consequences are for the ecosystem services provided by these groups. During this first year of your PhD, you will receive interdisciplinary training in biodiversity and ecotoxicological survey design, gain expertise insect identification, and be supported to publish your findings in a high impact journal.
• You will then design and implement a novel intervention programme testing hypotheses on companion and domestic animal exclusion for insect community recovery. This objective will quantify how parasiticide persistence in the environment depends on (i) parasiticide type, (ii) treated species, (iii) delivery route (e.g., dung), (iv) weather (e.g., rainfall), and (v) habitat characteristics (e.g., sward height) (Figure 1). With a focus on the most impacted insect groups (Objective 1), you will assess how nature recovery is associated with parasiticide exclusion. In this second year of the project, there will be further training in field experimental design, quantitative analysis, as well as continued opportunities for conference and journal presentation.

• Throughout your project and integrated placement, you will develop a personal network of stakeholder groups (including land managers, pet owners, veterinarians, and regulators). This will allow you to create and deliver an outreach and engagement programme, ultimately delivering impact through policy change.

Training opportunities: 

Placement

As an integral part of your PhD, you will have an opportunity to spend three months working with biologist, entrepreneur and project collaborator Dr Sarah Beynon at Dr Beynon’s Bug Farm in Pembrokeshire. Sarah has a wealth of direct experience in this sector and pioneered many early studies on the value of dung beetles as ecosystem service providers^10,11 and the detrimental impacts of parasiticides on dung beetles in the UK^6,7,12. This placement takes advantage of a well-established relationship between Dr Sarah Beynon and the Swansea University supervisory team. Here, you will be part of on-going, hands-on conservation and environmental sustainability projects, gain experience in report and grant writing, extend your network of stakeholders, and engage with the public through direct outreach activities. 

Student profile: 

You must have, or be nearing completion of, a relevant BSc (e.g., ecology, entomology, zoology), and a relevant Masters is desirable. Previous field experience is desirable but not essential and relevant training will be provided. Capacity to travel for UK fieldwork is needed (driving licence advantageous). 

Co-Sponsorship details:

This project will receive co-sponsorship from Dr Beynon’s Bug Farm. This co-sponsorship will be in the form of a placement.