Dr Macfadyen’s research examines the interactions between species and how this relates to agroecosystem function, focussing on insect pests in grain cropping landscapes.
Current activities
All ecosystems are made up of a complex network of many hundreds of species interacting with each other in a variety of ways.
This 'tangled web' links species that may appear to be relatively isolated from each other in time and space.
It is these interactions between species that form the basis of processes such as plant pollination, waste decomposition and seed dispersal that are crucial to the proper functioning of an ecosystem.
In agroecosystems the service of natural pest control can be supplied by the activities of naturally occurring beneficial invertebrates, such as, spiders, parasitic wasps and ladybeetles.
Sometimes these beneficials are not abundant at the right place at the right time and so farmers in broadacre cropping landscapes rely heavily on insecticides to control pest numbers.
However insecticide use, along with other land management decisions, can have far reaching impacts on other components of the community linked by species interactions.
Dr Macfadyen's research combines two main themes:
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How local management decisions (e.g. the use of particular crop rotations or insecticides) influence invertebrate community structure and function on farms.
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How wider–scale landscape structure and configuration (e.g. amount of arable land, woody vegetation and perennial pastures etc.) influences biodiversity and therefore the provision of ecosystem services such as natural pest control.
She utilises food web techniques and network analysis to describe community structure and the link between structure and function. A greater understanding of the ecology of these communities will lead to improved strategies for the management of invertebrate pests in grains cropping landscapes.
This research is part of the National Invertebrate Pest Initiative (NIPI) and funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).
Background
Dr Macfadyen's research focuses on the analysis of complex species networks to assist in the management of agroecosystems.
Dr Macfadyen joined CSIRO Entomology as a research scientist in 2008 focussing on research relating to the spatial ecology and management of invertebrate pests and natural enemy complexes in agricultural landscapes.
Prior to moving to Canberra she was based in the United Kingdom (UK) for three years at the University of Bristol working on a project investigating food webs in organic and conventional farming systems.
This project showed that whilst organic farms in the region had greater diversity, and this translated into differences in network structure, there was no increase in the provision of natural pest control services on organic farms.
She was based in Brisbane prior to her move to the UK where she conducted laboratory studies on Helicoverpa spp. neonate foraging behaviour at the University of Queensland.
These moths are serious pests of multiple crops within Australia and the research project was aimed at understanding how the very young larvae utilize silk extruded from their abdomen as they move around the plants.
Her PhD research focused on the use of naturally occurring arthropod predators for the control of Helicoverpa spp. in grain crops in southeast Queensland.
Academic qualifications
Dr Macfadyen holds the following qualifications:
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Bachelor of Science with first class Honours, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
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Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland, Australia.
Learn more about CSIRO Entomology Research Projects.
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