Other

Question 1

Nectar decrease fact

Answer 1

Nectar production decreased by 30% between 1930 and 1978

Bauds et al., 2016

Question 2

What is most popular insecticide?

Answer 2

Neonicotinoids

Neurotoxins to most arthropods

Question 3

What % of crop species need pollinators?

Answer 3

75%

Question 4

What % of flowering plant species need animal pollination

Answer 4

88%

Question 5

Value of pollinators

Answer 5

Breeze et al. 2015

£379-£695 million

Question 6

Results of coating seeds in neonicotinoids

Answer 6

Negative results on honeybees - 24% population decline
Wind wild bees (Bombus terrestris) reproduction was negatively correlated with neonicotinoid residues
Woodcock et al., 2017

Question 7

Neonics and honey

Answer 7

1/5 neonics found in 75% of worldwide honey samples

2/5 found in 45% of samples

Question 8

% of UK’s land used for agriculture

Answer 8

70%

Question 9

Pest control method

Answer 9

Beetle banks
Boost predatory insect numbers so control pests
Protect banks from spray
Also overwintering and protection from ploughing

Question 10

Colorado beetle

Answer 10

Leptinotarsa decemlineata
Serious pest in USA
4 sp. predatory bugs/beetles attack it on potato leaves
3 sp. nematodes and bacteria attack it in the soil
On organic farms there was better ‘evenness’ of species abundances
Greater evenness meant more beetles were killed and potato plants benefitted
Crowder et al. 2010

Question 11

Parasitoids quote

Answer 11

Parasitoids are one of the largest and most important group of pest controllers
Cross et al. 1999

Question 12

Bumblebees and habitat quality

Answer 12

Carvell et al. 2017

Habitat quality significantly positively correlated with the survival of family lineages

Question 13

Who does pollinator loss disproportionately affect?

Answer 13

Developing countries

Question 14

What is ecological intensification?

Answer 14

Enhancing ecosystem functions that regulate and support production to get sustainable increases in crop yields

Question 15

How much arable land does Earth have?

Answer 15

3.1/14.7 billion hectares

Question 16

Number of species in Poaceae

Answer 16

857 genera

10,500-11,000 species

Question 17

What is a grass?

Answer 17

• Monocot - parallel-veined leaves and flower parts in multiples of 3
• Perennial or annual herbs, stems erect, ascending, prostrate or creeping, round, hollow or solid at internodes, solid at nodes
• Leaves - alternate, composed of an open sheath, ligule and blade. Sheath encloses at stem
• Flowers - spikelets contain 1 or more florets; usually subtended by glumes
• Wide geographic range

Question 18

Why most grasses can tolerate grazing

Answer 18

-Apical meristems are either underground or at ground level

Question 19

What is the most efficient source of carbohydrate?

Answer 19

Rice

Question 20

When did agriculture begin?

Answer 20

8,000-12,000 years ago

Question 21

Where was wheat domesticated?

Answer 21

Near East

Question 22

Where was corn domesticated?

Answer 22

Central and South America

Question 23

Where was rice domesticated?

Answer 23

India and China

Question 24

Biological and technological advances

Answer 24

1. Introduction of new crops
2. Mechanisation
3. New and improved varieties
4. Inorganic fertilisers
5. Pesticides and fungicides

Question 25

Further crop improvement

Answer 25

• High crop yield
• High nutritional quality
• Nitrogen fixation: less use of fertilisers
• Drought resistance
• Resistance to pests
• Insensitivity to photoperiod: multiple cropping during a growing season if they don’t respond to say length
• Plant architecture: positioning of leaves, branching pattern of stem, height of plant, positioning of organs
• Toxic or unwanted compounds