Kathryn Busby, Ph.D.
Dr. Mary Kathryn Busby (“Kathryn”) is a Wildlife Biologist with the Southwest Biological Science Center in Tucson, AZ.
Kathryn studies plant-pollinator interactions and how they relate to the abiotic environment. She has previously worked on bees and moths native to the deserts of the U.S. Southwest, with a focus on climate change outcomes. She is especially interested in how changing conditions impact insect and plant success and the nature of their interactions, and in effective science communication and data visualization.
Science and Products
'Eastern' Joshua trees and their sole pollinators, 'eastern' Yucca moths
Did you know that moths can be pollinators? Even more amazing is that Joshua trees, the scraggly icons of the Mojave Desert, require a single moth species to ensure fertile seed production. The association between the Joshua tree and its pollinating moth is a rare example of an obligate mutualism, which means that the species are entirely dependent upon each other. Joshua trees depend on the moth...
Science and Products
'Eastern' Joshua trees and their sole pollinators, 'eastern' Yucca moths
Did you know that moths can be pollinators? Even more amazing is that Joshua trees, the scraggly icons of the Mojave Desert, require a single moth species to ensure fertile seed production. The association between the Joshua tree and its pollinating moth is a rare example of an obligate mutualism, which means that the species are entirely dependent upon each other. Joshua trees depend on the moth...