Microclimate thermocouple monitoring (Boraginaceae)

Knowledge graph centered on Microclimate thermocouple monitoring (Boraginaceae) with 66 nodes and 129 connections. Top connected: Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Two-form Bumble Bee, Bumble Bees, Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee, Buff-tailed Bumble Bee.

Method synopsis

Fine-scale temperature measurement using thermocouples positioned at stigma level within flowers to test whether different style morphs experience different thermal environments. Paired design comparing long and short styles on same plant.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 1 paper using this protocol.

Procedure as described in the canonical source

Steps below were extracted from the paper that introduces this protocol — Seasonal change in a pollinator community and the maintenance of style length variation in Mertensia fusiformis (Boraginaceae) (2011), Annals of Botany. Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Measure style temperatures using thermocouples
   Used thermocouples to measure temperatures close to stigmas of long- and short-styled plants. Thermocouple was looped around end of style of 'long' flower to obtain temperatures close to stigma, and second thermocouple inserted into 'short' flower to measure temperatures within corolla tube where stigma of short-styled plant would be situated.
   Quantities: 15 plants used at three different sites, 2-4 plants per night for overnight temperature recordingDuration: Overnight temperatures recorded every 10 min between 1900 h and 0900 h over five nightsConditions: Clear nights required for temperature measurements
   Equipment: OM-CP-QuadTemp (Omega Engineering Inc., Stamford, CT, USA) thermocouples, data-loggers

Typical Equipment

• OM-CP-QuadTemp (Omega Engineering Inc., Stamford, CT, USA) thermocouples
• data-loggers

Output Measurements

• stigma-level temperatures
• thermal differences between morphs

Papers Using This Protocol (1)

Species Studied With This Protocol

Places Where Used