Professor Simon G Potts (fres)
Professor of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
School of Agriculture, Policy and Development
University of Reading
United Kingdom
Biography
Dr. Simon G Potts (FRES) is currently working as a Professor of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in the Department of School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading , United Kingdom. Projects - Current: • Sustainable Management of Orchard Pollination Services (BBSRC and NERC) • LIBERATION: Linking Farmland Biodiversity to Ecosystem Services for Effective Ecological Intensification (EU Framework 7) • UK Pollinator Monitoring and Research Partnership (Defra) • Crops: Sustainable pollination services for UK crops (LWEC Insect Pollinator Initiative) • AgriLand: Linking agriculture and land use change to pollinator populations (LWEC Insect Pollinator Initiative) • Urban Pollinators: their ecology and conservation (LWEC Insect Pollinator Initiative) • Landscape food webs: structure and function (NERC) Editorial: • Ecology Letters - Editor (2013-2014) • Journal of Pollination Ecology - Editor • Nature Conservation - Advisory board • BioRisk - Subject editor Membership: • RES: Royal Entomological Society - Fellow • BES: British Ecological Society - Member • EurBee: European Association for Bee Research – Member • BWARS: British Bee, Wasp and Ant Recording Society – Member Simon's research has been featured on BBC1 Panorama, BBC2 Horizon, a BBC1 documentary 'Bees, Butterflies and Blooms', German, French, US, Korean and Malaysian TV, as well as BBC Radio 4's 'Farming Today' and 'Costing the Earth', BBC Radio 2 news, and several local TV and Radio programmes. Simon's research has been widely used to inform policy development by the United Nations, Convention on Biological Diversity, European Commission, UK and other national governments • Intergovernmental science-policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES): Summary for Policy Makers 'Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production' • England's National Pollinator Strategy • POSTnote 537: Rewilding and Ecosystem Services • POSTnote 442: Reversing insect pollinator decline • POSTnote 348: Insect pollination • POSTnote 254: Farmland wildlife • Policy and Practice Notes 28: Spatial targeting brings new opportunities for agri-environment schemes • Policy and Practice Notes 25: Land use change: Opportunities for pollinator conservation and risks for pollinator losses • Policy and Practice Notes 20: Managing urban areas for insect pollinators • Policy and Practice Notes 19: Crop pollination by wild and managed insects: Why diversity matters • Policy and Practice Notes 13: The benefits of managing pollinators for crop productiony
Research Interest
Understanding the relationship between land use, biodiversity and ecosystem services Food security: role of biodiversity and ecosystem services in food production Developing evidence-based adaptation and mitigation options for policy and management applications Conservation of pollinators and sustainable management of pollination services Environmental drivers of biodiversity and ecosystem services, including: land use change, climate change, agrochemicals, invasive species and socio-economic factors Quantifying the economic and socio-cultural value of pollination and other ecosystem services Ecology and management of agro-ecosystems for the conservation of biodiversity Member of Soil Research at Reading
Publications
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Potts SG, Vulliamy B, Dafni A, Ne'eman G, Willmer P. Linking bees and flowers: how do floral communities structure pollinator communities?. Ecology. 2003 Oct 1;84(10):2628-42.
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Potts SG, Vulliamy B, Roberts S, O'Toole C, Dafni A, Ne'eman G, Willmer P. Role of nesting resources in organising diverse bee communities in a Mediterranean landscape. Ecological Entomology. 2005 Feb 1;30(1):78-85.
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Potts SG, Roberts SP, Dean R, Marris G, Brown MA, Jones R, Neumann P, Settele J. Declines of managed honey bees and beekeepers in Europe. Journal of Apicultural Research. 2010 Jan 1;49(1):15-22.
