Dissertation Research: Plant chemical defenses and nectar traits mediating floral competition

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Plant-insect interactions have long been studied due to their ecological and economic importance. However, little is known about how flowers avoid being damaged, despite their importance for plant reproduction. Flowers interact with mutualists, such as beneficial pollinators, but also with antagonists that damage flowers or reduce plant reproduction. When multiple insects use flowers concurrently, there is the potential for competition. Such flower-insect interactions can be mediated by floral traits, including chemical defenses and nectar rewards, but the role of these traits is largely unknown. The goal of this research is to determine how floral chemical defenses and nectar rewards mediate mutualist and antagonist insect interactions with flowers. To do this, the researcher will perform two experiments: (1) develop a model of how mutualist and antagonist insects, floral defenses, and nectar rewards interact with each other and affect plant reproduction; (2) manipulate pollinators and antagonists to determine how they affect each other, interact with floral defenses and rewards, and influence plant reproduction. This research will comprehensively examine interactions between floral competitors, floral defensive and attractive traits, and effects on plant reproduction. Understanding insect interactions with flowers can be imperative for agriculture and conservation. Pollinators are estimated to provide $100 billion USD in services each year, and insects that damage flowers can devastate crops, vector diseases, cause invasions, or act as biological control agents. Understanding how floral competitors interact with one another and their host plants is critical for managing crop yield and species diversity. Additionally, this research has and will continue to provide many opportunities for mentoring undergraduates, including students from under-represented minorities. The results from this work will provide protocols for chemical defense analysis in an ecological model system. The researcher will also communicate results widely by publishing in peer reviewed journals and presenting at national conferences