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- Flower Visitation through the Lens: Exploring the Foraging Behaviour of Bombus terrestris with a Computer Vision-Based ApplicationPublication . Varga-Szilay, Zsófia; Szövényi, Gergely; Pozsgai, GaborTo understand the processes behind pollinator declines and for the conservation of pollination services, we need to understand fundamental drivers influencing pollinator behaviour. Here, we aimed to elucidate how wild bumblebees interact with three plant species and investigated their foraging behaviour with varying flower densities. We video-recorded Bombus terrestris in 60 × 60 cm quadrats of Lotus creticus, Persicaria capitata, and Trifolium pratense in urban areas of Terceira (Azores, Portugal). For the automated bumblebee detection and counting, we created deep learning-based computer vision models with custom datasets. We achieved high model accuracy of 0.88 for Lotus and Persicaria and 0.95 for Trifolium, indicating accurate bumblebee detection. In our study, flower cover was the only factor that influenced the attractiveness of flower patches, and plant species did not have an effect. We detected a significant positive effect of flower cover on the attractiveness of flower patches for flower-visiting bumblebees. The time spent per unit of inflorescence surface area was longer on the Trifolium than those on the Lotus and Persicaria. However, our result did not indicate significant differences in the time bumblebees spent on inflorescences among the three plant species. Here, we also justify computer vision-based analysis as a reliable tool for studying pollinator behavioural ecology.
- Bridging biodiversity and gardening: Unravelling the interplay of socio-demographic factors, garden practices, and garden characteristicsPublication . Varga-Szilay, Zsófia; Fetykó, Kinga Gabriela; Szövényi, Gergely; Pozsgai, GaborThe expansion of urban areas threatens biodiversity and disrupts ecological relationships, thereby impeding key ecosystem services. To avert irreversible consequences, there is a focus on improving the biodiversity value of domestic gardens. We employ machine learning and network analysis and examine gardening practices and garden owners’ environmental consciousness in Hungary through a questionnaire-based study to untangle the interplay among socio-demographic factors, garden management and -characteristics. We found that the activities determined as biodiversity-positive were widespread among respondents, but ubiquitous pesticide use (62.14%), lack of undisturbed areas (49.52%), and frequent mowing (32.06%) were also present. Middle-aged respondents demonstrated more biodiversity-supporting activities than those over 55, who had long-term gardening experience and were predominantly conventional gardeners. Respondents of towns showed the least biodiversity-positive activities, whereas those living in cities and the countryside fared better. Additionally, multiple interconnected garden characteristics revealed various types of gardens distinguished by care practices and use, such as gardens for food self-provisioning, ornamental gardens, or those prioritizing biodiversity support. Our results show that garden owners use pesticides independently of socio-demographic parameters, gardening practices, or garden characteristics, suggesting widespread pesticide use in Hungary. Our findings suggest that strategies to promote biodiversity-friendly gardening may not be equally suitable for all gardener owners with different cultural backgrounds, environmental consciousness and gardening habits. Factors like differences between societal groups underscore the preference for in-person programs over online information transfer in several cases, for instance, among the elderly and those living in the countryside. We offer fresh perspectives on the intricate connections between garden diversity, characteristics, and practices, and it lays the groundwork for future research into the sociological drivers of gardening practices in Eastern Europe. Our work emphasises that optimizing gardens for multiple ecosystem services, including biodiversity conservation and enhancing human well-being, requires a nuanced understanding of both ecological and socio-demographic factors.
- New findings of terrestrial arthropods from the Azorean IslandsPublication . Boieiro, Mário; Varga-Szilay, Zsófia; Costa, Ricardo; Crespo, Luis; Leite, Abrão; Oliveira, Raúl; Pozsgai, Gabor; Rego, Carla; Calado, Hugo; Teixeira, Mário; Lopes, David; Soares, António; Borges, Paulo A. V.The knowledge on taxonomic diversity of arthropods is key to better understanding the biodiversity patterns and processes and guiding sustainable conservation strategies and practices. In the Azores, terrestrial arthropods are relatively well-inventoried following the publication of comprehensive checklists that have been regularly updated. Nevertheless, every year, new species are found as a result of new arrivals to the Archipelago and from addressing specific taxonomic lacunae. Here, we update the taxonomic terrestrial arthropod biodiversity of the Azores by reporting for the first time 13 species for the Archipelago, namely Oligonychus perseae Tuttle, Baker & Abbatiello, 1976, Textrix pinicola Simon, 1875, Pholcomma gibbum (Westring, 1851), Schistocerca gregaria (Forsskål, 1775), Phoracantha recurva Newman, 1840, Diachus auratus Fabricius, 1801 Phyllotreta procera (Redtenbacher, 1849), Phyllotreta striolata (Fabricius, 1803), Dibolia occultans (Koch, 1803), Pseudolynchia canariensis (Macquart, 1839), Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus, 1758), Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu, 1951 and Ectemnius cephalotes (Olivier, 1792), and several new species records for specific islands. These species benefitted from the increase in transportation of goods and commodities, both from outside the Archipelago and between islands, to arrive and spread across the Archipelago with some of them posing new challenges to local agriculture, forestry and biodiversity conservation management.
- Bridging biodiversity and gardening: Unravelling the interplay of socio-demographic factors, 3 garden practices, and garden characteristics.Publication . Varga-Szilay, Zsófia; Fetykó, Kinga Gabriella; Szövényi, Gergely; Pozsgai, GaborABSTRACT: The expansion of urban areas threatens biodiversity, disrupts essential ecological relationships and jeopardises fragile ecological networks, thereby impedes key ecosystem services. To avert irreversible consequences, there is a focus on improving the biodiversity value of domestic gardens for both human well-being and conservation and a global imperative for well-planned and sustainable urban environments. Here, we employ machine learning and network analysis and examine gardening practices and garden owners’ environmental consciousness in Hungary through a questionnaire-based study to untangle the interplay among socio-demographic factors, garden management, and garden characteristics. We found that the activities determined as biodiversity-positive were widespread among respondents, but a lack of undisturbed areas (n = 624, 49.52%), mowing several times a month (n = 404, 32.06%) and ubiquitous pesticide use (n = 783, 62.14%) were also present. Middle-aged respondents demonstrated more biodiversity-supporting activities than those over 55, who had long-term gardening experience and were predominantly conventional gardeners. Residents of towns showed the least biodiversity-positive activities, whereas those living in cities and the countryside fared better. Additionally, multiple interconnected garden characteristics revealed various types of gardens distinguished by care practices and use, such as gardens for food self-provisioning, ornamental gardens, or those prioritizing biodiversity support. Our results show that garden owners use pesticides, and within them herbicides, independently of socio-demographic parameters, gardening practices, or garden characteristics, suggesting a widespread pesticide use in Hungary. Our findings suggest that strategies, to promote biodiversity-friendly gardening practices may not be equally suitable for all European countries with different cultural backgrounds, environmental consciousness and pesticide use. In particular, factors like differences between societal groups underscore the preference for in-person programs over online information transfer in several cases, for instance, among the elderly and those living in the countryside. This study offers fresh perspectives on the intricate connections between garden diversity, characteristics, and practices, and it lays the groundwork for future research into the sociological drivers of gardening practices in Eastern Europe. Our work also emphasises that optimizing gardens for multiple ecosystem services, including biodiversity conservation and enhancing well-being across diverse societal groups, requires a nuanced understanding of both ecological and socio-demographic factors.
- Improving biodiversity in Central and Eastern European domestic gardens needs regionally scaled strategiesPublication . Varga-Szilay, Zsófia; Barševskis, Arvids; Benedek, Klára; Bevk, Danilo; Jojczyk, Agata; Kristin, Anton; Růžičková, Jana; Seric Jelaska, Lucija; Veromann, Eve; Vilumets, Silva; Fetykó, Kinga Gabriela; Szövényi, Gergely; Pozsgai, GaborAmid ongoing urbanisation and increasing anthropogenic activities, domestic gardens, while cannot replace natural habitats, play a crucial role in enhancing urban biodiversity by supporting green areas and as parts of ecological corridors. Moreover, these biodiversity-friendly gardens also improve human well-being and foster a connection between nature and people. We circulated an online questionnaire between 2022 and 2023 to investigate how the garden parameters, the gardening motivation of garden owners, and their pesticide use habits depend on each other in nine Central– and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Moreover, we aimed to explore the differences and similarities between gardens and gardening practices with a potential for maintaining high biodiversity. To achieve this, we assessed the ecological value of the gardens, the motivation of garden owners, and their pesticide use habits using an answer-based scoring system. Our findings reveal significant variability both among participating countries and within them on a smaller and larger scale, across all three indices, highlighting the need for region-specific circumstances rather than unified regulations across European countries to maximize the conservation value examined. Our study underscores the potential of domestic gardens in designing eco-networks and informs strategies to optimize their environmental benefits. However, due to the ubiquitous domestic use of pesticides in CEE, informing garden owners about the environmental and human health effects of pesticides would be equally necessary in every area, both urban and rural. Additionally, our findings suggest that effective environmental educational programs and tailored strategies should be developed to meet local needs rather than overarching but too general international targets. At the same time, these programs should provide comprehensive biodiversity-related information, reaching all strata of society. This is especially important in CEE, where such initiatives are currently under-emphasized.
- Flower visitation through the lens: Exploring the foraging behaviour of Bombus terrestris with a computer vision-based applicationPublication . Varga-Szilay, Zsófia; Szövényi, Gergely; Pozsgai, GaborTo understand the processes behind pollinator declines, and thus to maintain pollination efficiency, we also have to understand fundamental drivers influencing pollinator behaviour. In this study, we aim to explore the foraging behaviour of wild bumblebees, recognizing its importance from economic and conservation perspectives. We recorded Bombus terrestris on Lotus creticus, Persicaria capitata, and Trifolium pratense patches in five-minute-long slots in urban areas of Terceira (Azores, Portugal). For the automated bumblebee detection, we created computer vision models based on a deep learning algorithm, with custom datasets. We achieved high F1 scores of 0.88 for Lotus and Persicaria, and 0.95 for Trifolium, indicating accurate bumblebee detection. We found that flower cover per cent, but not plant species, influenced the attractiveness of flower patches, with a significant positive effect. There were no differences between plant species in the attractiveness of the flower heads. The handling time was longer on the large-headed Trifolium than those on the smaller-headed Lotus and Persicaria. However, our result did not indicate significant differences in the time bumblebees spent on flowers among the three plant species. Here, we also justify computer vision-based analysis as a reliable tool for studying pollinator behavioural ecology.