Applications of iNaturalist to an Interaction Between Petal-Cutting Bees (Family: Megachilidae) and Farewell-to-Spring (Clarkia amoena)
Start Date
4-4-2023 4:00 PM
End Date
4-4-2023 6:00 PM
Abstract
Farewell-to-spring (Clarkia amoena) is an attractive annual forb native to the Pacific Northwest. Recent research has found it to be a top plant for native pollinators, which contributes to its popularity in gardens and restoration sites across the region. Though the most commonly available native seed is C. amoena lindleyi, Oregon and Washington are home to five subspecies of C. amoena. The species has taken off in ornamental markets as well, leading to the widespread planting of C. amoena cultivars, which are largely derived from the extirpated subspecies whitneyi. Research has yet to explore whether pollinators are partial to specific C. amoena subspecies or cultivars. Here, we will use the community science database, iNaturalist, to examine C. amoena and its variants and their relationship with petal-harvesting bees (Anthophila: Megachilidae). This study will examine this non-trophic relationship in addition to commenting on the potential of iNaturalist as a data source to study a morphologically complex plant that exists in environments ranging from remote natural areas to urban gardens. We hypothesize that iNaturalist will not yield a significant dataset of identified subspecies to perform comparative analyses of bee petal-harvests. However, we speculate that a sufficient dataset with which to compare cultivars and native type C. amoena will be produced, and that petal-harvesting bees will prefer native type C. amoena over cultivar types due to coevolutionary relationships between native plants and bees. We will have results to share at the 2023 UERC Symposium.
Subjects
Conservation biology, Habitat restoration, Plant ecology
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/40472
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Applications of iNaturalist to an Interaction Between Petal-Cutting Bees (Family: Megachilidae) and Farewell-to-Spring (Clarkia amoena)
Farewell-to-spring (Clarkia amoena) is an attractive annual forb native to the Pacific Northwest. Recent research has found it to be a top plant for native pollinators, which contributes to its popularity in gardens and restoration sites across the region. Though the most commonly available native seed is C. amoena lindleyi, Oregon and Washington are home to five subspecies of C. amoena. The species has taken off in ornamental markets as well, leading to the widespread planting of C. amoena cultivars, which are largely derived from the extirpated subspecies whitneyi. Research has yet to explore whether pollinators are partial to specific C. amoena subspecies or cultivars. Here, we will use the community science database, iNaturalist, to examine C. amoena and its variants and their relationship with petal-harvesting bees (Anthophila: Megachilidae). This study will examine this non-trophic relationship in addition to commenting on the potential of iNaturalist as a data source to study a morphologically complex plant that exists in environments ranging from remote natural areas to urban gardens. We hypothesize that iNaturalist will not yield a significant dataset of identified subspecies to perform comparative analyses of bee petal-harvests. However, we speculate that a sufficient dataset with which to compare cultivars and native type C. amoena will be produced, and that petal-harvesting bees will prefer native type C. amoena over cultivar types due to coevolutionary relationships between native plants and bees. We will have results to share at the 2023 UERC Symposium.