AVERY ROE
RESEARCH
Plant-pollinator interactions across a temporal gradient in polyculture systems
Dr. Rachel Mallinger | Wild Pollinator Ecology and Conservation Lab
University of Florida, Department of Entomology and Nematology
My research focuses on constructing plant-pollinator networks in the UF's Horticultural Science Student Teaching Garden throughout the Fall and Spring growing seasons. I aim to document non-managed pollinators' role in diverse agricultural systems, including how they interact with honey bees, if they demonstrate floral constancy between plants, and whether patterns of specialization and generalism exist between species. As different crops bloom between seasons, I will also document changes in interactions, complexity, and nestedness within the network.
This project is based on systematic surveying of the teaching garden. I complete 1.5-hour transect walks twice a week to quantify plant-pollinator interactions, recording which pollinators visit which plants and collecting a representative individual of each insect species I observe for identification.
These findings are visualized in a network of interactions, including the relationships between plants and pollinators and their frequency. Using R, I am able to obtain metrics for the network, including nestedness, complexity, and degree of shift between discrete time intervals.
Upon completing this research, I aim to draw conclusions about which pollinator species provide invaluable pollination services to food-producing plants in the garden system and their value as supplemental pollinators to managed honey bees. With this information, I will present an introduction to bee diversity to the garden staff and propose best management practices to foster healthy wild pollinator communities at UF.
I have completed one season of field observations and will be continuing to work on the project throughout the fall and spring.
