Dissertation Research: The effect of cognitive disturbance on functionally-relevant plastic behavioral responses

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Ecosystems provide an invaluable suite of services to people, including cleaning air and water, cycling nutrients, preventing floods, and pollinating crops. A recent finding from the science of ecology is that more of these "ecosystem services" are provided in areas that contain many species of plants and animals than in areas that contain fewer; biodiversity has practical benefits. Studies of this relationship between species diversity and ecosystem services have focused on how physical differences between species are important in determining the services provided by a community (a group of species living in the same area). Recent studies, however, suggest that changes in animal behavior can also promote ecosystem services. Thus, it is important to understand how behaviors will be affected by environmental change, including chemical pollutants. This study will examine how pesticides affect bee behaviors important for plant pollination, including behaviors that depend on the number of species in a community. If pesticides disrupt the relationship between biodiversity and pollination services, they could have negative consequences for both native plant reproduction and the productivity of agricultural systems. This study will examine the effect of sub-lethal neonicotinoid pesticide exposure on pollination-relevant bee foraging behaviors in both single and multiple species contexts. The behavior of pesticide-treated and control bees will be compared in laboratory experiments that use artificial flowers with computer-controlled nectar replenishment. Bee foraging behavior will be measured using RFID technology, which allows for exact tracking of bee movements. The researchers will measure pollination-relevant behaviors, including visitation rates, floral fidelity (temporary specialization on a particular flower type), and flower visitation evenness (the degree to which all flower species receive pollination services). It is hypothesized that pesticide exposure will affect bee species differently, altering competitive outcomes and modulating behaviorally-mediated biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships.