Asking the pikas politely…
Climate change has led to increasingly warm temperatures, which has caused the earlier snowmelt. This has caused shifts in timing of some plants' growing season and flowering, as well as pollinator emergence. On the other hand, Various pollinators respond to cues such as soil temperature which does not necessarily change at the same rate as snowmelt does under climate change. As pollinators and plants often respond to these different cues for spring emergence, this can lead to a phenological mismatch.This could disrupt relationships between plants and pollinators, potentially leading to changes in pollen deposition. Pollen deposition is critical for plant reproduction. If a flower does not receive the necessary pollen then it is possible the plant will not be able to produce as many seeds. To investigate how early snowmelt affects pollen deposition in wildflowers, I will be studying the species Claytonia lanceolata, Delphinium nuttallianum, and Geum triflorum. These specific species of wildflowers use snowmelt as a cue for their phenology in early spring and are insect pollinated. I will collect stigmas from these species within experimentally-created early snowmelt plots and control plots. The stigmas will then be dyed and plated for pollen grain counting. This research is important because it will allow for a greater understanding of the effect of climate change-induced early snowmelt on plant-pollinator relationships.
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