Manu Sanders
ILWS PhD Graduate
Topic
Wild pollinator communities of commercial almond plantations and native woodland in a semi-arid Australian landscape: implications for conservation of insects and ecosystem services
Description
Dr Manu Saunders graduated in 2014. She began her PhD in March 2010 under principal supervisor Associate Professor Gary Luck. After graduating she worked with Gary as a post-doc researcher on Predicting the delivery of ecosystem services in agriculture landscapes project Project details. In 2017 Manu moved to take up a position as Lecturer in Ecology and Biology - School of Environmental and Rural Science University of New England.
Her research focuses on community ecology and ecosystem services She is particularly interested in how insects create functional links between habitats and people, and how land use change and agricultural management influences biodiversity and ecosystem processes at local and landscape scales. She is also interested in the practice and effectiveness of science communication.
Outputs
Peer Reviewed papers
Saunders, M.E. & Luck, G.W. (2016) Combining costs and benefits of animal activities to assess net yield outcomes in apple orchards. PLOS One. 11(7): e0158618
Saunders, M.E. & Luck, G.W. (2016) Limitations of the ecosystem services versus disservices dichotomy. Conservation Biology. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12740
Smith, T.J. & Saunders, M.E. (2016) Honey bees: the queens of mass media, despite minority rule among insect pollinators. Insect Conservation and Diversity. doi: 10.1111/icad.12178
Peisley, R.K., Saunders, M.E. & Luck, G.W. (2016) Cost-benefit trade-offs of bird activity in apple orchards, PeerJ. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2179
Saunders, M. E., Peisley, R.K., Rader, R. & Luck, G.W. (2016) Pollinators, pests and predators: recognising ecological trade-offs in agroecosystems. Ambio 45, 4-14.
Peisley, R.K., Saunders, M.E. & Luck, G.W. (2015) A systematic review of the benefits and costs of bird and insect activity in agroecosystems. Springer
Saunders, M.E. (2015) Stone structures as potential aggregation sites for coccinellids in managed landscapes. The Victorian Naturalist 132:86.88
Luck, G.W. & Saunders, M.E. (2015). Nature – how do I value thee? Let me count the ways. Wildlife Australia, Autumn, 38-39
Saunders, M.E. (2015) Lost in a floral desert, Wildlife Australia, Autumn, 10-13
Saunders, M.E.(2015) Resource connectivity for beneficial insects in landscapes dominated by monoculture tree crop plantations. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14735903.2015.1025496#.VVkvcWNuSUk
Saunders, M.E., Luck, G.W., (2014) Spatial and temporal variation in pollinator community structure relative to a woodland-almond plantation edge. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, doi: 10.1111/afe.12067
Luck, G.W., Spooner, P.G., Watson, D.M., Watson, S.J., Saunders, M.E. (2014) Interactions between almond plantations and native ecosystems: lessons learned from north-western Victoria. Ecological Management and Restoration 15:4-15.
Saunders, M.E., Luck, G.W., Mayfield, M.M. (2013) Almond orchards with living ground cover host more wild insect pollinators. Journal of Insect Conservation, 17:1011-1025.
Saunders, M.E., Luck, G.W., (2013) Pan trap catches of pollinator insects vary with habitat. Australian Journal of Entomology, 52:106-113.
Dhileepan, K., Trevino, M., Bayliss, D., Saunders, M., McCarthy, J., Shortus, M., Walter, G. (2010) Introduction and establishment of Carvalhotingis visenda (Hemiptera: Tingidae) as a biological control agent for cat's claw creeper Macfadyena unguis-cati (Bignoniaceae) in Australia. Biological Control, 55:58-62.
Book Chapters
Saunders, M., Cunningham, S. & Rader, R. (2-016) Chapter 3. Agricultural Beescapes in Australian Native Bees, AgGuide series published by NSW Department of Primary Industries.
Reports
Saunders, M.E. (2016) Out There: Beyond the birds and the bees, Wildlife Australia. (Winter) 4-6
Conference Papers
Saunders, M. (2015) Net outcomes of ecological interactions between arthropods and crops, at Ecological Society of Australia Annual Conference, Nov 29 to Dec 3, Adelaide, South Australia Saunders, M.(2105) Costs vs benefits of birds and insects in agricultural landscapes. Case study: Victorian apple orchards.6th Biodiversity Across the Borders Conference 2015, Federation University, Ballarat, June 12.Saunders, M. (2015) Lost in a floral desert, pp 246-250 in Nogrady,B. (Ed) The Best Australian Science Writing 2015, Newsouth Books, UNSW, Sydney
Completed Projects while with ILWS
Predicting the delivery of ecosystem services in agriculture landscapes, Luck, G. (2014-2017) ARC Discovery grant, $360,000 Project details
Qualifications
Bachelor of Arts (English literature; Journalism) University of Queensland, 2001
Bachelor of Environmental Sciences, Hons (Ecology) University of Queensland, 2008
Doctor of Philosophy, Charles Sturt University, 2014
Strategic Research Area
Biodiversity Conservation
July 2020