Asking the pikas politely…
Flowering plants emit hundreds of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) through their leaves and flowers that give them characteristic scents. Those compounds can be attractive to pollinators or deter herbivores, and contribute to processes of reproductive isolation and speciation. However, how the emission of these volatiles might vary in response to changing environmental conditions, and whether this plasticity is adaptive, remains poorly understood. The overall amount or composition of scent blends could change with temperature, potentially altering communication cues and consequently levels of pollination or herbivory. This project uses artificial warming chambers to manipulate the temperature of plants in the field, to examine how plant volatile organic compounds known to be important for pollinator visitation respond to increased temperature, using a well-established plant system that is already experiencing a changing growing season.