Blake Dawson

Postdoc at @michiganstateu working on insect pest management, pollination and carrion ecology | Entomologist

[Blake Dawson @Bio_blake]

What better way to finish the week then submitting my PhD thesis and having a few drinks to celebrate 🥳

[Blake Dawson @Bio_blake]

Can non-floral resources on farms enhance pollinator diversity and abundance, and does this lead to increased yield? In our new paper, we experimentally test this idea with a focus on fly biodiversity
https://t.co/55oaddUgBV

[Abby E. Davis @notsocrabbyabby]

It's easy to assume that any insect visiting a flower is a pollinator. But not all visitors are effective pollinators, even if you successfully attract large numbers into fields. @Bio_blake does a great job showing this in his new paper below: 🪰
https://t.co/BOCbAmbRu5

[Blake Dawson @Bio_blake]

Happy to announce that today I have started a new position as a postdoctoral research associate at Michigan State University. Looking forward to working on insect IPM and climate change, though it might take me a while to get use to this cold ❄️

[Blake Dawson @Bio_blake]

New paper out! Does the culling of large herbivores have any indirect impacts on other species? Yes, we found ground-dwelling beetle populations were negatively impacted after the culling of sika deer on Nakajima Island in Japan.

https://t.co/XenhQHIm6b

[John Fieberg @FiebergJohn]

I'm excited to share that I published a first version of my Statistics 4 Ecologists book with University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. You can now download a (FREE) pdf version of the book here:

https://t.co/S7NiLarPzC

[Blake Dawson @Bio_blake]

New paper out! We discuss the need for a multidisciplinary approach to postmortem interval research, and introduce a new conceptual framework that highlights the multiple interdependencies affecting decomposition.
https://t.co/xvHTQasPcE

[Abby E. Davis @notsocrabbyabby]

Our new paper on crop-pollinating flies has been published! We reviewed 431 fly species found globally & compiled their diets and habitat needs into a freely-accessible database. @ESAApplications
https://t.co/gI94UqNgdh
https://t.co/9iCDiDfFwJ
@rominatwi @ManuSaunders

[Blake Dawson @Bio_blake]

@JtdFinch @JPE12328968 @jimpelaJMC @amymariegilpin Great work! Very interesting about M. bengalensis and surrounding landscapes. I also found them on mango flowers in north QLD, but nowhere near as abundant as what you observed.

[Nathan Butterworth @Butterworthbugs]

New paper! Invertebrates are the backbone of rainforest ecosystems. But how genetically diverse are their populations? https://t.co/DHuqjxnne4

[Nathan Butterworth @Butterworthbugs]

What is an ephemeral resource patch? How do their dynamics drive evolution and shape ecosystems? We discuss these questions in our new review! https://t.co/tsxiZo29Fc

[Blake Dawson @Bio_blake]

Captured some nat geo level footage of Green Tree Ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) creating an ant bridge at Wooroonooran National Park, very cool behavior!

[Blake Dawson @Bio_blake]

@ElineMarieS We certainly got a good work out from moving it around

[Blake Dawson @Bio_blake]

Final PhD chapter has just been published! We compared different decomposition metrics on pig and human cadavers. We also devised a unique method to measure mass loss by using a converted scaffold unit. https://t.co/n3rnmD5zrA

[Blake Dawson @Bio_blake]

Ch. rufifacies are hairy maggots that often act as facultative predators. Watch as a small mass of Ch. rufifacies maggots feed upon a smooth C. stygia maggot.

[Blake Dawson @Bio_blake]

New research out! We explored how coexistence is achieved between two blowfly species, Chrysomya rufifacies and Calliphora stygia. We found coexistence was dependent on priority effects and larval densities @Butterworthbugs https://t.co/2iEio9UNDC

[Isabella CK @ck_isabella]

New paper out! I’m very excited about this publication, it’s been a long time coming. We investigated the sublethal impact of two commonly used #pesticides on #CentralBeardedDragons.(1/2) @UOW_CSES @uowresearch @frenchkris007 #newresearch #ecotoxicology #lizards #ecology #phdchat

[Blake Dawson @Bio_blake]

@alisonhaynes1 The x axis is total body score (TBS), which is a measure of decomposition progress that incorporates time. I made the figure in R so happy to share code or advice!

[Blake Dawson @Bio_blake]

New paper out! We investigated the relationship between insect abundance patterns and carrion resource quality. Our findings show how resource quality may drive competition and variation in carrion insect community succession.
https://t.co/x3GVSwHqSR

[Blake Dawson @Bio_blake]

@alisonhaynes1 Thanks Alison. The squares represent changes in abundance over the course of the decomposition process, with all the carcasses pooled together. The darker the colour, the higher the abundance.