Ant trouble in cacao forests? 🐜 Researchers from @ecoresearchzoo3.bsky.social found a way to protect crops in Peru. Turns out, leaf-cutter ants prefer papaya over cacao! 🥭 Smart intercropping saves the harvest #Agroforestry #Sustainability 📷 Melvin Opolka ➡️ go.uniwue.de/leaf-cutter-...
👩🔬👨🔬 Be a scientist for a day! We invite you to the #BioBlitz 2025 in farmland!
📅 May 9–10, 2025
📍 Hubland, Würzburg
Grab a sweep net & binoculars and help document local biodiversity! 🐝🌼🐦🦊
👉 Register: go.uniwue.de/gxwtm
#CitizenScience #Biodiversity #UniWuerzburg #JoinIn
@uni-wuerzburg.de
We found that shade tree diversity and cover had different effects on bird and bats depending on their functional guild and the landscape surrounding the agroforestry systems
Great to see these results finally published! Data Blanca (@bioivanezb.bsky.social) and I collected during my master’s research in Peruvian cacao agroforestry systems, where you can learn more about the favorite food of leafcutter ants and how herbivory damage strongly depends on distance! 🐜
Let’s talk about cacao pollination! You can hear more about my research today at the #gfoe2025 🍫🌳🦟 @gfoesoc.bsky.social
New paper out in @jappliedecology.bsky.social 📃
Led by Blanca Iváñez-Ballesteros @bioivanezb.bsky.social who studied cacao agroforestry systems in Peru during her PhD 🌱
Excited to get reunited at #ECTE2025
[new paper] I'm very happy to present my first PhD chapter in my first post in this nicer environment. If you're interested in birds, bats, agroforestry and tropical agricultural landscapes, check it out! 🦜🦇🌳🍫
¡Contáctame para leer el artículo en español!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Alpine Adventures Await! MERGE offers 10 days excursion in the breathtaking German Alps! 🏔️ Check out here: www.ecology-conservation.de/courses/ From lush valleys to snowy peaks, we explore ecosystems across elevation gradients. 🌿🦋 #LifeOfMERGE #PhotoOfTheWeek
Photo by Fabienne Maihoff
Yesterday I talked about leaf-cutter ants and their role on Peruvian cacao agroforests at #ECTE2025 @soctropecol.bsky.social
Agricultural expansion and intensification are major drivers of biodiversity loss, particularly in tropical regions. Cacao agroforestry systems can bo…
Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology (Zoology III)
Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology (Zoology III)
Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
Pablo Aycart Lazo
Pablo Aycart Lazo
Melvin Opolka
MERGE - Master of Global Change Ecology
Blanca Iváñez-Ballesteros (she/her)
Blanca Iváñez-Ballesteros (she/her)
Blanca Iváñez-Ballesteros (she/her)
Ant trouble in cacao forests? 🐜 Researchers from @ecoresearchzoo3.bsky.social found a way to protect crops in Peru. Turns out, leaf-cutter ants prefer papaya over cacao! 🥭 Smart intercropping saves the harvest #Agroforestry #Sustainability 📷 Melvin Opolka ➡️ go.uniwue.de/leaf-cutter-...
Ant trouble in cacao forests? 🐜 Researchers from @ecoresearchzoo3.bsky.social found a way to protect crops in Peru. Turns out, leaf-cutter ants prefer papaya over cacao! 🥭 Smart intercropping saves the harvest #Agroforestry #Sustainability 📷 Melvin Opolka ➡️ go.uniwue.de/leaf-cutter-...
