Audrey A. Grez

My research focuses on the effects of habitat fragmentation, both of native forests and agroecosystems, on the ecology of insects and on the ecological processes in which they participate, with applications toward conservation biology and biological control of pests.  In the last years I have studied the effects of the heterogeneity of agricultural landscapes on the abundance and diversity of aphidophagous insects (especially coccinellids) and biological control. More recently, I have been studying the consequences on biodiversity of Harmonia axyridis invasion in Chile, assessing the underlying mechanisms involved. Also, I am unravelling the role of understory in pine plantations on biodiversity conservation.

My current research aims to assess the effects of taxonomic and functional diversity of coccinellids on biological control of aphids in alfalfa, and how they are affected by landscape context.