In the 2012 President's Budget Request, the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is terminated. As a result, all resources, databases, tools, and applications within this web site will be removed on January 15, 2012. For more information, please refer to the NBII Program Termination page.
The guides are broken down by genus, with each having an information page followed by a page of illustrations and a distribution map. Each guide can be downloaded as a PowerPoint presentation (presentations hosted by NBII with permission from the author).
USGS Research on Pollinators
As the data and technology arm of the Biological Resources Discipline of the US Geological Survey, the NBII supports development of technology and infrastructure for the effective collection, management, and dissemination of data on pollinators and other biological entities and issues. In addition to hosting and maintaining this web site, developed in cooperation with the Ecological Society of America, here we list summaries of scientific research conducted by USGS scientists that concerns pollinator species and their habitats.
Gender identification of white-winged doves.
Researchers are using molecular technology to validate a technique for identifying white-winged dove (
Zenaida asiatica
) gender in the field. Gender identification of white-winged doves is important in helping to determine population characteristics, especially in areas that allow hunting.
Lead contact
: Sara Oyler-McCance, USGS Fort Collins Science Center.
Pollination Webs to Guide Management of Rare and Invasive Species in a Changing Climate.
Badlands National Park (BNP) is home to nine plant species considered rare in South Dakota, as well as several invasive exotic plants, many of which vie for pollinator services with the rare species. The purpose of research proposed by Dr.'s Diane Larson (Research Wildlife Biologist, USGS
Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center) and Sam Droege (USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center) is to document the interaction webs that link rare and invasive plants with pollinators and, consequently, with each other. Understanding these linkages will guide management of both the rare and invasive species. The list of species associated with the webs and ancillary trapping will provide a baseline assessment of the pollinator fauna at BNP which can be expanded upon and reassessed over time and in response to climatic changes.
Lead contact
: Diane Larson (USGS
Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center)
Karner Blue Butterfly (
Lycaeides melissa samuelis)
Research
. Beginning in the early 1990's, Dr. Ralph Grundel (Ecologist, USGS Great Lakes Science Center) has carried out extensive research in the Indiana Dunes on the habitat use patterns of adult Karner blue butterflies, the demography of wild lupine (
Lupinus perennis L.
) - the specific host plant of the Karner blue butterfly, and on developing effective protocols for monitoring Karner blue butterfly populations. Significant findings and publications that resulted from this and related research by Dr. Grundel are published or referenced online by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and in Dr. Grundel's U.S. Geological Survey staff profile. The Karner blue butterfly was Federally listed as an endangered species in 1992.
Effects of invasive plant species on pollinator service and reproduction in native plants at Acadia National Park.
The effects of invasive plant species on pollinator behavior were investigated by comparing pollinator visitation to co-flowering native and invasive species with visitation to native species growing alone. Objectives were to determine: 1) the influence, if any, of each invasive on pollinator visitation to a co-flowering native species, 2) factors that might affect visitation, 3) invasive pollen transfer to native plants, and 4) whether invasives influence native plant reproduction (fruit set). A field guide for identification of native bumble bees has been produced to help Park Natural Resource personnel monitor the status of native bee populations in Acadia, along with other educational materials that were aimed at educating Park visitors.
Lead contacts
: C. J. Stubbs, F. Drummond, and H. Ginsberg, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.
USGS Developing Statistical Tools To Study Pollinator Interactions with Plants
From 10-13 December 2009, USGS statistician Bob Dorazio (SESC) is participating in a meeting of the Binary Matrices Working Group at the University of Tennessee. Sponsored by the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), the meeting will focus on developing a statistical framework that can help overcome the current statistical constraints and challenges of analyzing pollinator networks. Dorazio's research will address methods for overcoming the shortcomings of current statistical tools, which do not account for the ecological traits of pollinators. For example, the timing of the pollinator visit must occur while a plant is in bloom (a challenge in statistically defining the probability of pollination events) and consider highly complex pollinator networks and food webs. Analysis ideally should also factor in genetics of pollinators, which tend to evolve over short time periods in conjunction with local plants, and account for the specific sampling procedures that are being used to gather data. (Bob Dorazio, 352-392-3081, bob_dorazio@usgs.gov)
Spotlight on Dr. Diane Larson: Research Focus on Pollination Ecology
In 2006, Dr. Larson and colleagues published the results of a study on the effects of the invasive plant, leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula), on pollination of native plants. Results showed when leafy spurge was present there were fewer visits by sweat bees (Halictidae) to native plants; stigmas of native flowers were covered with more leafy spurge pollen and less conspecific pollen (pollen from the same species) than those further from leafy spurge infestations; and some indication that seed set is negatively affected by the presence of leafy spurge pollen.
References: Insect visitation and pollen deposition in an invaded prairie plant community, D. L. Larson, R. A. Royer, and M. R. Royer, Biological Conservation, 2006, vol. 130, pp. 148-159; Invasive Plants and Pollinator Interactions[PDF], Diane L. Larson, Endangered Species Bulletin, Fall 2008, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 46-49
The NBII Program is administered by the Biological Informatics Program of the U.S. Geological Survey
