Dissertation Enhancement in Japan: Pollinator Loss in an Isolated Population of Primula Seiboldii: Analysis and Intervention

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9415227 Thomson This dissertation enhancement award supports three research visits in Japan over a three- year period for Neal Williams, a graduate student at the State University of New York at Stonybrook, who works under the direction of Professor James Thomson, Department of Ecology and Evolution. This is a collaborative project with Professor Izumi Washitani, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Tsukuba. Attempts to conserve rare plants often involve the establishment of small natural reserves surrounded by inimical habitat. In principle, such plants may risk reproductive failure due to the decline of pollinators. However, there have been few if any thorough studies, and management plans for plants seldom consider pollinator management. This project is a collaboration between a Japanese botanist and American bee ecologists to investigate such a situation in a wild native primrose, Primula seiboldii. This plant experiences seed-set failure in an urban reserve north of Tokyo, and a variety of evidence suggests that this is because native bumble bees have disappeared from the area. The project is expected to solve a particular problem and also to draw the attention of conservationists to such problems and their solubility. It is hoped that this project will be come a demonstration project for native bee recovery. Exploiting this special opportunity is important to improving conservation plans worldwide and for emphasizing the interdependence of species in nature. ***