DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The effects of climate-driven phenological shifts on plant-pollinator interactions and reproductive success

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Reproduction in most flowering plants, including one-third of crops, is aided through pollination by bees. The nearly 4000 species of bees native to the USA may become more important pollinators of crops as honey bee populations continue to decline. As climate-warming continues, there is concern that plant and bee species are shifting the timing of their activities unequally, causing a mismatch in the time of activity. If plants flower when bees are not active, reproduction could fail. This project will investigate how shifts in the timing of important activities will affect how plants and bees interact, and the consequences for plant reproduction. Results will help to understand how climate change will affect wild plant and crop reproduction, with implications for biodiversity and global food production. The scientific workforce will be strengthened through support for the education and training of a doctoral student and participation of an undergraduate from an underrepresented group. Climate-warming has altered the amount of phenological overlap between coevolved plant and pollinator species. Using forb and solitary bee species native to Montana, forb-bee community composition will be manipulated within enclosed mesocosms. Bee emergence and plant blooming times will be controlled by strategic overwintering and greenhouse management. Blooming forbs and emerging bees will be assigned to mesh-sided mesocosms following a factorial design based on phenologies. The effects of altered phenological overlap on forb-bee interaction patterns and forb reproductive success will be assessed by conducting bee visitation observations at each mesocosm and determining the number and mass of seeds produced for each plant species. Empirical evidence generated by this study will help pinpoint plant and pollinator species most vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change, as well as inform conservation actions.