Anne Leonard: Climate change, floral nutrition, and pollinator health
Title
Climate change, floral nutrition, and pollinator health
Mentor
Department
Biosketch
Anne Leonard, Ph.D., studied animal behavior and pollination ecology at UC Davis, the University of Arizona, and UMass Amherst before joining the Department of Biology in 2012. Her research group studies the nutritional and cognitive basis of plant-pollinator interactions. Research has involved asking how bees learn and remember floral colors and scents, and uncovering how the nutritional value of nectar and pollen structures interactions between bees and plants. Lab members have also focused on understanding how anthropogenic stressors such as pesticides and climate change can affect bee behavior and health. To address these questions the group uses a combination of lab- and field approaches, and seeks out opportunities to share their research via public talks, K-12 outreach, and media interviews.
Project overview
Bees are economically important pollinators who are facing many current threats. This project focuses on climate warming, and more specifically asks how heat waves may interact with bee nutrition and floral chemistry to impact performance. We ask:
- whether and how heat waves may alter bees’ nutritional needs (e.g. their relative intake of proteins, lipids, and phytochemicals) and
- whether the chemistry of certain plants’ nectar and pollen can ameliorate or exacerbate bees’ physiological responses to heat stress.
Our experimental subjects are captive bumble bee workers, which we can house in the laboratory under different diet and temperature regimens. We can then compare different aspects of performance (e.g. learning and memory assays, activity levels, physiological markers and longevity) to untangle the effects of dietary factors under baseline vs. elevated temperatures.
General skillsets the PREP student would gain are running behavioral trials, mixing solutions, dissecting insects, managing data, and reading journal articles. While the student would contribute to the overall running of a lab-based experiment, we may be able to tailor some of their work to areas they are particularly interested in (e.g. dissections vs. behavioral assays). Past undergraduate mentees have been interested in diverse topics (e.g. physiology, biochemistry, animal behavior and cognition, plant ecology, entomology, conservation biology), so if possible, we would attempt to fit the PREP student into an element of the larger project that aligns with their interests/career goals.
Skills required: Excellent communication and organizational skills (e.g. willingness to ask questions when confused, or speak up when there is a problem, and carefully follow a protocol) are required. Technical aspects of the project will be learned during the semester. Learning outcomes: After this experience, students will: Be familiar with the basics of bee biology, including anatomy, social organization, natural history, and conservation. Be familiar with the general structure and culture of a research lab in integrative biology, including exchanging feedback with the whole lab at lab meetings, and multi-level mentoring involving a Ph.D. or postdoctoral researcher. Understand why data management and research ethics are critical to good science. Build research expertise in a focal area of their choosing (e.g. insect physiology, animal behavior, pollination biology).
Pack Research Experience Program information and application