Future of Species Range Shift: Do warm-adapted plants provide better benefits to pollinators under climate change?
Pollinators are essential for biodiversity and agricultural production, which underlies the sense of urgency to protect declining populations and support their range shifts under climate change. A large proportion of pollinator conservation efforts are based on planting ‘pollinator friendly’ flowering plants. However, these efforts have largely overlooked climate-smart initiatives that account for projected changes to average and extreme temperatures. Given ongoing changes to the climate, incorporating these initiatives into pollinator conservation is paramount for increasing the effectiveness of conservation and restoration efforts undertaken by local and national governments and non-profit organizations, as well as private industry and individual landowners.
This project will evaluate the adaptive suitability for the northeastern U.S. of three plant species that have a broad geographic distribution, are commonly sold as ornamentals, and are important resources for a broad suite of native pollinators. Specifically, it will explore whether plants of the same species from southern regions can better support local pollinators under projected climate change conditions. Plants will be exposed to heat-wave conditions in plant growth chambers prior to bloom. The effect of region of origin and heat-wave exposure will be assessed in experimental arenas that include a colony of the common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens; a native and ecologically important species). Impacts on the reproductive success of both the plant and the pollinators, as well as impacts on the next generation of the plants will then be evaluated. The results from the research will provide concrete recommendations for climate-smart planting that provides resources for pollinators to establish in the Northeast as the climate warms. The work will be conducted in collaboration with the Ecological Health Network, which has developed an extensive network of nurseries that can effectively source and grow seeds from numerous regions, enabling conservation and restoration recommendations to scale.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 688d0540d4be02086276c557)
Pollinators are essential for biodiversity and agricultural production, which underlies the sense of urgency to protect declining populations and support their range shifts under climate change. A large proportion of pollinator conservation efforts are based on planting ‘pollinator friendly’ flowering plants. However, these efforts have largely overlooked climate-smart initiatives that account for projected changes to average and extreme temperatures. Given ongoing changes to the climate, incorporating these initiatives into pollinator conservation is paramount for increasing the effectiveness of conservation and restoration efforts undertaken by local and national governments and non-profit organizations, as well as private industry and individual landowners.
This project will evaluate the adaptive suitability for the northeastern U.S. of three plant species that have a broad geographic distribution, are commonly sold as ornamentals, and are important resources for a broad suite of native pollinators. Specifically, it will explore whether plants of the same species from southern regions can better support local pollinators under projected climate change conditions. Plants will be exposed to heat-wave conditions in plant growth chambers prior to bloom. The effect of region of origin and heat-wave exposure will be assessed in experimental arenas that include a colony of the common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens; a native and ecologically important species). Impacts on the reproductive success of both the plant and the pollinators, as well as impacts on the next generation of the plants will then be evaluated. The results from the research will provide concrete recommendations for climate-smart planting that provides resources for pollinators to establish in the Northeast as the climate warms. The work will be conducted in collaboration with the Ecological Health Network, which has developed an extensive network of nurseries that can effectively source and grow seeds from numerous regions, enabling conservation and restoration recommendations to scale.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 688d0540d4be02086276c557)