Silvia Rönnau

LUCRIS

Research:

My research focuses on the effects of pesticides and their mixtures on non-target insect species.

For food production as it is done currently, we need to use pesticides to produce enough food. However, not only insects that are harmful to our food are affected by pesticides but also other insects such as hoverflies, bumblebees and butterflies which are important pollinators.

All these insects frequently occur in areas that contain pesticide residuals of multiple different pesticides, however, the effect sublethal effect of a single pesticide in these species is not well understood and there is very little research on the effect of multiple pesticides that can be ingested in low doses.

My work mostly focuses on vision and how the perception of the environment affects other functions, but I also have a strong interest in the cognitive abilities of insects.