UCI - Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center

20 Mar, 01 PM - 21 Apr, 01 PM

1. Monitor the flowering behavior (phenology) of ocotillo through the spring flowering season (initial flowering to fruit dehiscence) at four study sites. 2. Identify flower visitors (potential pollinators, nectar and pollen thieves, etc. – primarily hummingbirds, orioles, and bees) and quantify their visit rates. 3. Measure nectar and pollen standing crops, as an indirect measure of visit rate. 4. Examine flowers for evidence (cuts, rips, slits) of visits by carpenter bees, orioles, verdins, etc. 5. Measure (geographically variable) flower characteristics relevant to pollination (corolla length and width, exsertion of anthers and stigmas). 6. Conduct weekly “natural versus supplemental” pollination experiments to evaluate effectiveness of pollinators. “Natural” treatment involves tracking and marking flowers that were open to pollinator visits during a certain period, and determining the proportion setting fruit, and counting seeds per fruit. “Supplemental” treatment involves applying outcross pollen (from one or more near neighbor plants) to flowers open at the same time as “natural”, on different inflorescences on the same plant, and tracking their fruit and seed set. If “supplemental” flowers have significantly higher fruit and seed set than “natural” flowers, one can (with caveats) conclude that pollinator service was “inadequate”. If the two treatments do not differ (and fruit and seed set fall within normal bounds), then pollinator service was likely “good”, i.e., as good as the plant was capable of that season. 7. Try to locate sets of 20 plants, at 5 sites, that I marked in 1987-88. In a 5-day visit in April 2022 (April 6-10) I was unsuccessful, but more time is required. If and where successful, I will determine the number of plants alive, dead, and not located at each plot, and calculate the survival rate (as I did with plants in Big Bend National Park, Texas: P.E. Scott 2021, Journal of Arid Environments 193, p. 1-9: “Long-term survival and flowering of ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) in Texas: a 33-year perspective”.

Visit #77264 @UCI - Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center

Approved

Under Project # 49699 | Research

Pollination ecology and demography of Ocotillo

faculty - Indiana State University

Reservation Members(s)

Peter Scott Mar 20 - Apr 21, 2023 (33 days)
Diana Hews Mar 20 - Apr 21, 2023 (33 days)

Reserve Resources(s) | Create Invoice

Efficiency Room-Additional Users 1 Mar 20 - Apr 21, 2023
Efficiency Unit 1 Mar 20 - Apr 21, 2023
Dorm Beds 1 Apr 14 - 15, 2023