Browsing by Subject "Pollinators"
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Item Data for divergent responses of butterflies and bees to burning and grazing management in tallgrass prairies, 2016-2017(2022-12-12) Leone, Julia B; Pennarola, Nora P; Larson, Jennifer L; Oberhauser, Karen; Larson, Diane L; leone050@umn.edu; Leone, Julia BWe studied the impacts of fire and grazing management on butterfly and bee abundance and species richness in tallgrass prairies. This dataset consists of data collected at 10 burned and 10 grazed Minnesota remnant prairies during the summers of 2016 and 2017. We measured insect data (butterfly and bee species richness and abundance), vegetation data (plant species richness, forb frequency, native and invasive graminoid frequency), site characteristics (proportion of sand in the soils, percent of prairie within 1.5 km of each site, site area), and management characteristics (management type (burned or grazed), cattle stocking rate, time since last fire, number of years each site was managed) at sites owned and managed by the Minnesota DNR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, and private landowners. These data are associated with Leone et al. (2022). Divergent responses of butterflies and bees to burning and grazing management in tallgrass prairies. Ecology and Evolution. 12(12) e9532. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9532. In association with this paper, we hope these data will assist land managers and conservationists in protecting and managing native grasslands and contribute to our understanding of bee and butterfly responses to fire and grazing management practices.Item Episode 10 Pollinators and IPM Part 2: Beneficial Insect Habitat with Karin Jokela: What's Killing My Kale?(2018-08-10) Klodd, Annie; Hoidal, Natalie; Jokela, KarinIn our August episode on pollinator and beneficial insect conservation as part of IPM, we talk with Extension educator and native bee expert Elaine Evans, and Xerces society conservation planner Karin Jokela. We'll discuss some background on how pollinators and beneficial insects are faring in our current agricultural systems, how farmers can implement beneficial habitat, and some tips for managing pests without harming beneficial insects.Item Episode 11 Pollinators and IPM Part 3: Pesticides and Pollinators with Karin Jokela: What's Killing My Kale?(2018-08-10) Klodd, Annie; Hoidal, Natalie; Jokela, KarinIn our August episode on pollinator and beneficial insect conservation as part of IPM, we talk with Extension educator and native bee expert Elaine Evans, and Xerces society conservation planner Karin Jokela. We'll discuss some background on how pollinators and beneficial insects are faring in our current agricultural systems, how farmers can implement beneficial habitat, and some tips for managing pests without harming beneficial insects.Item Episode 9 Pollinators and IPM Part 1: Elaine Evans, Native Bee Expert: What's Killing My Kale?(2018-08-10) Klodd, Annie; Hoidal, Natalie; Evans, ElaineIn our August episode on pollinator and beneficial insect conservation as part of IPM, we talk with Extension educator and native bee expert Elaine Evans, and Xerces society conservation planner Karin Jokela. We'll discuss some background on how pollinators and beneficial insects are faring in our current agricultural systems, how farmers can implement beneficial habitat, and some tips for managing pests without harming beneficial insects.Item Floral Enrichment of Turf Lawns to Benefit Pollinating Insects(2016-05) Lane, IanTurf lawns are a common landscape modification in many anthropogenic habitats, and often the largest contributor to “green space” in urban landscapes. Despite the ubiquitous nature of lawns their function is largely subjective, based on the aesthetic values of its owner. This flexibility offers unique opportunities to develop cultural practices and planting strategies to meet alternative goals that land managers may have, such as habitat enhancement for pollinating insects. Within this thesis I explore a range of establishment and management techniques of various turf and forb species, with the goal of providing recommendations to lawn managers for maximizing bloom of bee friendly flowers. The results from these studies are a significant first step in the creation and management of flowering lawns, and will provide a basis for future work as the value of flowering lawns to bees continues to grow.Item FLOWERS FOR POLLINATORS STUDY 2015-2018: RESULTS / Annual flowers that attract pollinators(2019) Weisenhorn, Julie E.Annual flowers have been a long-time favorite plant for gardens of all kinds. They provide instant color and interest, and are relatively easy to grow. They are also an important part of early season sales for the gardening industry. Annual flowers comprise $1.46 billion of floriculture crops sold in the United States1. The following annual flowers were the most attractive in our 4-year study (2015-2018) of 30+ varieties. Anyone who likes annual flowers and wants to attract pollinators should add these flowers in your garden, containers and raised beds!Item Pollinators for Food: Planting pollinator attractive annuals with peppers to improve harvest(2019-07-20) Weisenhorn, Julie E.; Klodd, Annie; Fritz, Vince; Oelhert, Gary; Meyer, MaryIt is well-known that many food crops require insect pollination to produce fruit, but what about self-pollinated crops? Would planting bee-attractive flowers near the crops make a difference in the quality and quantity of pepper production? Based on results from Flowers for Pollinators (F4P), a 4-year study that demonstrated annual flowers attract bees and other insect pollinators, Pollinators for Food (P4F) explores whether planting pollinator-attractive annual flowers might improve production and quality of self-fertile crops when planted nearby.Item Understanding and engineering the molecular regulation of nectar production in field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense).(2020-09) Thomas, JasonAnthropogenic climate change and the growing world population are putting pressure on our agroecosystems. Sustainable farming efforts are needed when intensive agriculture systems are fallow and prone to erosion and nutrient leaching. We can mitigate these issues while increasing farmer income by planting field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense). Pennycress forms penny shaped pods containing oil-rich seeds with diverse uses from jet fuel to cooking oil. As an overwintering cover crop, pennycress grows from fall to late spring, avoiding land-use competition with summer annual cash crops. Pennycress provides an ecosystem service to pollinator populations, which are needed for fruit and vegetable production. Pollinators are suffering due partially to losses of habitat and floral resources. Fortunately, pennycress flowers provide nectar as a floral resource when most agricultural landscapes are barren. Additionally, pollinator visitation increases pennycress seed yield. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to understand the genetics behind nectar production and develop pennycress plants with altered floral traits. Microscopy was performed on pennycress flowers to characterize the structure of the nectar-producing glands called nectaries. Additionally, pennycress nectary transcriptomes were determined using transcriptomic sequencing which led to the identification of genes and metabolic pathways. In both cases, the strong similarity in nectar production was confirmed between pennycress and Arabidopsis thaliana, a model plant and close pennycress relative. Because of the close relationship, it was possible to characterize Arabidopsis genes that can later be used to find orthologs in pennycress. The Arabidopsis gene At5g60760 annotated as ‘a P-LOOP containing nucleoside triphosphate hydrolases superfamily protein’ (hereafter AT5G60760) is a putative inositol kinase highly expressed in nectaries. Through assaying mutant AT5G60760 gene expression and nectar production, it was determined that AT5G60760 negatively regulates nectar production. By using findings from nectary genetics, such as the function of AT5G60760 and the pennycress nectary transcriptome, 13 genes were mutated using CRISPR/Cas9 to alter traits relating to pollinator attraction in field pennycress. We have identified two homozygous mutant lines and conducted phenotyping. The auxin response factor 8 (arf8) mutant flowers and petals are larger and produce more nectar than wild type. The cell wall invertase 4 (cwinv4) mutants do not produce nectar and have greatly reduced invertase activity in nectaries. In the future, these plants can be grown in field settings to test pollinator attraction, assay pollinator health, and measure pennycress seed yield.Item Wildflower plantings in commercial agroecosystems: The effects on pollinators, predators, herbivores, and floral communities(2020-08) Middleton, EricBeneficial insect populations and the services they provide are in decline, largely due to agricultural land use and practices. Establishing perennial floral plantings in the unused margins of crop fields can help conserve beneficial pollinators and predators. Floral plantings also have the potential to promote biological control services in commercial agroecosystems. To assess how floral plantings impact pollinator conservation and biological control of crop pests, we studied floral plantings established adjacent to conventionally managed commercial potato fields. We measured 1) Floral communities in field margins, 2) Pollinators and arthropod predators, 3) Biological control of the main pest of potatoes in the region, Colorado potato beetle (CPB), and 4) Detrimental arthropod herbivores. 1. Field margins with floral plantings led to significantly increased floral cover and richness compared to unmanaged field margins. This effect was consistent across the majority of the growing season. Floral margins also had a greater proportion of perennial and native flowers. 2. To determine how floral plantings impacted the conservation of beneficial insects, we sampled pollinators and arthropod predators both in the margins of potato fields and within potato crops themselves. Floral plantings significantly increased the abundance of pollinators within floral margins compared to unmanaged margins, and the effect increased with increasing floral cover within margins. The overall abundance of arthropod predators was also increased in floral plantings, although it was unrelated to floral cover. Within adjacent potato crops, the presence of floral plantings in field margins had no effect on the abundance of pollinators or predators. 3. Colorado potato beetle egg masses were placed within field margins and at the edge of potato crops to directly assess predation rates. While floral plantings increased the abundance of CPB predators, they did not significantly increase the rate of predation of sentinel CPB egg masses within field margins. Within nearby potato crops, predator abundance and predation rates on CPB eggs were unaffected by the presence of flowers. However, orthopteran abundance was positively associated with predation of CPB eggs, and orthopterans were observed consuming sentinel CPB eggs. Orthopterans could prove to be an unexamined predator of CPB. Colorado potato beetle numbers in potato crops were not impacted by floral plantings. Preliminary data from our study indicate floral margins may provide improved overwintering opportunities for CPB, and further investigation is needed. 4. Floral plantings did not result in a greater abundance of herbivores within field margins or within nearby potato fields. Floral plantings did alter the community composition of herbivores, with floral margins attracting more orthopterans, and control margins attracting more herbivorous hemipterans. Our results show floral plantings increase the abundance of beneficial insects in field margins, but do not increase abundance in nearby crops. Biological control of CPB was unaffected. Floral plantings improved floral communities, and did not promote herbivores or CPB in potato crops, although further study on their potential as overwintering sites for CPB is needed. Establishing floral plantings on a large scale in commercial agroecosystems can help conserve both pollinators and predators, but may not increase ecosystem services.