Resumen
Convention to govern benchfee associated to a MSCA IF's stay i Valencia
Throughout Europe, the expansion of111odern, che1nical-intensive agriculture is regarded as the principal cause of
\Videspread declines in abundance and diversity beneficia! a1ihropods. Conse1vation of natural ene1nics in agricultura!
landscapes is considered the 1nost ecologically sustainable 1nethod for biological control of agricultura! pests. An
ecological rclevant hypothesis is that higher plant diversity, through addition of plant species able to supply accessiblc
food and/or shelters at clifferent seasons ofthc year, can increase natural ene1nies1 fitness. Based on cxisting insights
in insect-plant interactions, specific floral seecl 111ixtures (to be placed in field 1nargins oras ground cover vegetation)
can be developed \vhich target specific visiting biocontrol agents. Ho\vever, the particular 1nechanis111s involved
and potential for practical use in fann 1nanage1nent re1nain unclear. In this project I propase to consider the insect
conununity lcvel, including pests and their parasitoids to evaluatc the service ofpest regulation provided by plant
functional and evolutionary diversity ata ti1nc \Vhen cli111ate change is expccted to trigger 111ore frequent or severe
insect outbrcaks. This \Vil! be done by co111paring a group ofnative tlo\vering plants that are already sold by prívate
con1panies far bees pollination (or other intercsts) in tenns ofthcir capacity to serve as source ofsugar (pollen) for
aphid parasitoids \vhile rcsulting unattractivc for their aphid hosts. The best resulting plants \Viil be isolately tested
under greenhouse to evaluate their efficiency by 111easuring the rcsulting parasitis1n rate by aphid parasitoids under
opthnal and cxtre1nely hot conditions (sun11ner in \falencia, Spain, \Vhere this experhnent \Vill be perfonned during
the seconchncnt). 'fraining for 1ne \vill include experÍlnental design, insect physiology, 1-IPLC analysis, 'vind tunnel
i11anage1nent, insect thennal resistance, plant flo,ver and pallen characterization, plant-insect interactions, statistics and
others.
