A Citizen Scientist’s Guide To Native Pollination System Conservation (And Why It Matters) -

Over the past two decades, human activity has significantly degraded the integrity of plant-pollinator or ‘pollination’ systems, with many of our historically abundant native flowering plant and pollinator species now locally extinct and others soon to follow if we do not take immediate conservation action. The loss of species from plant-pollinator systems poses a significant threat to natural ecosystem function and service due to the fundamental role that ‘pollination products’ play in supporting wildlife diversity across trophic levels. Yet, the factors driving pollination system degradation remain unclear, impeding the development of effective conservation strategies. In this talk, Robert Gegear will discuss how ecological data collected through his Beecology Citizen Science Project is being used to gain insight into the causes of species loss from long-tongued bee and butterfly pollination systems. Rob will also highlight the ‘eco-technology’ that has been developed to aid Beecologists in the collection of species interaction data, including the launch of a new version of the web app with automated butterfly and plant ID functions powered by iNaturalist in Spring 2022. His talk will conclude with an overview of how citizen scientists have been using Beecology data to significantly advance native biodiversity restoration efforts over the past 3 years.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Robert J. Gegear is a Professor in the Department of Biology at UMass Dartmouth. He received his PhD from Western University in Canada and was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto (Canada) and in the Department of Neurobiology at UMASS Medical School. His research integrates concepts and methodologies from evolutionary ecology, psychology, neurobiology, molecular biology, and computer science to gain insight into the functioning and conservation of plant-pollinator systems. In 2018, he was given the Regional Impact Award by the Native Plant Trust (formerly New England Wildflower Society) for his Beecology Citizen Science Project, which aims to accelerate biodiversity conservation efforts

Photo credit: Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program

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