Research
How ornamental plants can support pollinator communities
Cultivated ornamental plants are ubiquitous in many urban and suburban habitats (1). Despite the prevalence of these cultivated varieties in human-managed green spaces, including in gardens planted specifically to enhance urban biodiversity, their capacity to provide habitat for declining pollinator populations is not well known. For my doctoral research, I examined patterns of bee, fly, butterfly, and beetle visitation to 50 cultivars of commercially popular annual and perennial ornamental plants in a semi-natural field setting. I used a network based approach to determine the potential for these varieties to build resilient and diverse pollinator communities in urban landscapes. The publications associated with this research can be found here
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The role of floral phenotypic traits in shaping pollinator attraction to ornamental cultivars
Pollinator taxa rely on floral visual, chemical, and structural cues to locate and learn nutritional rewards (2). Many ornamental cultivars have been bred for an extended period of time with human, rather than pollinator, preference in mind. Notably, the phenotypic traits that are under selection in cultivar development are often those that are relevant to pollinator attraction in 'natural' systems (3). A central question of my doctoral research was whether this variation in floral traits among closely related cultivars shaped their relative attractiveness to pollinators at both the species and community level. To test this question, I collected data on traits of 25 herbaceous perennial ornamental cultivars (color, scent, morphology, plant size, pollen and nectar quality) and correlated multimodal floral phenotype with patterns of pollinator visitation in the field. The publication associated with this research can be found here
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Incorporating metrics of pollinator attraction into ornamental flower trials
There is significant interest among stakeholders in the floriculture industry in integrating measures of pollinator health into cultivar breeding and marketing (4). To date, however, there are no consistent guidelines on how to quantify and define 'pollinator-attractive' for ornamental flowers. For my postdoctoral research with Dr. Patch and Dr. Grozinger, I am developing a protocol and associated webtool for assessing the relative attractiveness of ornamental cultivars to pollinators using plants submitted as entries into the Penn State Flower Trials. The primary goals of the research are to 1 determine the minimum sampling effort needed to accurately score both visitation rate and the primary taxa attracted and 2 quantify variation in observation data collected by different individuals. This research is supported by the Horticultural Research Institute and USDA-SCRI. The publication associated with this research can be found here
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Surveying monarchs and milkweeds in urban gardens
Monarch butterflies have been experiencing dramatic declines in the Western United States (5), prompting significant concern among conservations and the general public. Recently, researchers have detected a phenomenon of resident monarchs occurring in urban gardens in the California East Bay (6). However, the implications of this non-migratory population for persistence of monarchs in the West is still largely unknown. For my postdoctoral research with Dr. Elizabeth Crone and Dr. Cheryl Schultz, I am investigating 1 the factors associated with monarch activity in the urban landscape and 2 whether urban gardens are acting as a source or sink for this vulnerable population.
Monarch butterflies have been experiencing dramatic declines in the Western United States (5), prompting significant concern among conservations and the general public. Recently, researchers have detected a phenomenon of resident monarchs occurring in urban gardens in the California East Bay (6). However, the implications of this non-migratory population for persistence of monarchs in the West is still largely unknown. For my postdoctoral research with Dr. Elizabeth Crone and Dr. Cheryl Schultz, I am investigating 1 the factors associated with monarch activity in the urban landscape and 2 whether urban gardens are acting as a source or sink for this vulnerable population.
(1) Frankie, G. W. et al. Ecological Patterns of Bees and Their Host Ornamental Flowers in Two Northern California Cities. Source J. Kansas Entomol. Soc. 78, 227–246 (2005).
(2) Willmer, P. Pollination and floral ecology. (Princeton University Press, 2011).
(3) Comba, L. et al. Garden Flowers: Insect Visits and the Floral Reward of Horticulturally-modified Variants. Ann. Bot. 83, 73–86 (1999).
(4) Khachatryan, H. et al. Visual Attention to Eco-Labels Predicts Consumer Preferences for Pollinator Friendly Plants. Sustainability 9, 1743 (2017).
(5) Schultz, C. et al. Citizen Science Monitoring Demonstrates Dramatic Declines of Monarch Butterflies in Western North America. Biol. Conserv. 214, 343–346 (2017).
(6) Crone, E. et al. Resilience or Catastrophe? A Possible State Change for Monarch Butterflies in the West. Ecology Letters 24, 1533-1538 (2021).
(2) Willmer, P. Pollination and floral ecology. (Princeton University Press, 2011).
(3) Comba, L. et al. Garden Flowers: Insect Visits and the Floral Reward of Horticulturally-modified Variants. Ann. Bot. 83, 73–86 (1999).
(4) Khachatryan, H. et al. Visual Attention to Eco-Labels Predicts Consumer Preferences for Pollinator Friendly Plants. Sustainability 9, 1743 (2017).
(5) Schultz, C. et al. Citizen Science Monitoring Demonstrates Dramatic Declines of Monarch Butterflies in Western North America. Biol. Conserv. 214, 343–346 (2017).
(6) Crone, E. et al. Resilience or Catastrophe? A Possible State Change for Monarch Butterflies in the West. Ecology Letters 24, 1533-1538 (2021).