Award details

Behavioural ecology of pollinators

Reference	BBS/E/C/00004179
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Juliet Osborne
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	Rothamsted Research
Department	Rothamsted Research Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	1,145,929
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/1999
End date	31/03/2008
Duration	108 months

Abstract

Insect pollinators provide an essential ecosystem service in arable farmland, facilitating seed and fruit production of insect-pollinated crops and wild plants. The aims of this project are to protect and promote a) crop and wild flower pollination, and b) bee populations. It investigates pollinator behaviour, their interactions with plants and the consequences for plant pollination at different spatial scales. Bees depend on uncultivated areas in arable farmland for successional forage and/or nest sites and these must be close enough to each other for bees to travel between them. Novel techniques, such as tracking with harmonic radar, are being used to determine foraging ranges, orientation mechanisms and forage preferences. The role of floral and pollen odour in the attraction of pollinators to flowers are being studied. Bee pollination of non-cultivated plants, and interactions with wildlife feeding on the fruit produced are also being studied.The foraging ranges of bees, the spatio-temporal dynamics of foraging behaviour and their pollen-carrying capacity have consequences for gene flow between plant populations. Bee-mediated gene flow is being investigated using two model systems: oilseed rape and white clover. These provide genetic markers which allow the source of pollen effective in ovule fertilisation to be determined. On the landscape scale, bee-mediated gene flow is being modelled and quantified to predict the risk of cross-pollination between crops. The effects of landscape context, e.g.habitat fragmentation and linear features on the spatio-temporal foraging patterns of bees and implications for pollination and gene flow, are also being investigated. Specific objectives: 1 To determine the spatial dynamics of pollinators in arable farmland. 2 To model the spatial dynamics of bee-mediated gene flow within and between plant populations. 3 To elucidate the role of pollen odour and quality cues in pollen recognition by pollinators

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Agri-food (AF)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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