Current Research Projects
The wildflower biochar project
2022-2027
2022-2027
- Biochar, primarily a product of pyrolysis of plant material, has been utilized as a soil amendment for agricultural crops as well as some ornamentals.
- We are investigating how biochar amended soils influence wildflower growth, health, and bloom intensity and how these factors influence the attractiveness of the wildflower plantings to pollinators.
- We have spent this past year prepping our sites, and we will be ready to plant a high diversity wildflower seed mix this November!
Evaluating the best management practices for wildflower establishment
2022-2025
2022-2025
- When farmers plant wildflower plots primarily for supporting beneficial insects such as pollinators, each often implements different management strategies such as a fall mowing, fall light disking, burning etc...
- This project funded by the USDA is investigating the best management practices for wildflower establishment in the southeastern United States so that we can make scientifically backed recommendations for wildflower meadow establishment and maintenance.
- This project is being led by master's student Zach Beneduci
Effects of soil conservation management on native bees and wasps in the Southeast United States
2020-2022
2020-2022
- This project funded by the USDA investigates how different tillage practices commonly implemented by farmers influences ground-nesting bees and wasps in Alabama.
- This project is being led by master's student Anthony Cuminale
Femelschlag; Does forest gap size influence pollinator abundance and diversity within the Pisgah National Forest?
2022-2023
2022-2023
- A collaborative project with the USDA Southern Research Station, we are assessing how forest gap size (for oak regeneration) influences pollinating insects within the Pisgah National Forest.
- We completed the first year of trapping and are looking forward to a second year of field work.
Past Research Projects
Stratified insect sampling within forested ecosystems
2021-2022
2021-2022
- I conducted stratified insect sampling within Tuskegee National Forest to investigate how native bees utilize different strata within the hardwood forest.
- I collaborated with researchers from the USDA on a joint project across multiple states.
Powerline Corridors and Pollinating Insects 2018- Current
- Sponsored by Duke Energy and Alabama Power, we examined the several vegetation management practices within powerline corridors to determine their effects on pollinating insects' abundance and diversity.
- We utilized sweep netting, vane traps, and pan traps to capture insects within the powerline corridors throughout the growing season.
Evaluating the Pollination Requirements of Golden Kiwifruit - Actinidia chinensis var. chinensis 2019 - 2020
Experiment 1
- I conducted insect exclusion and sweep netting surveys on two female kiwifruit cultivars (Actinidia chinensis var. chinensis) to determine their pollination requirements in central Alabama.
- I monitored two commonly managed bee species (Apis mellifera and Bombus impatiens) to determine their contribution to the pollination of kiwifruit through pollen assays.
- I assessed the health of managed Bombus impatiens colonies within and outside of a kiwifruit orchard in central Alabama to determine how Bombus impatiens colonies perform within a kiwifruit orchard.
Assessing the Attractiveness of Native Wildflowers to Native Pollinators 2018-2019
- I planted several wildflower plots throughout central Alabama to investigate the attractiveness of several dozen native wildflower species commonly recommended by the USDA-NRCS to native bees and other pollinator groups including Coleopterans, Dipterans, Hymenopterans, and Lepidopterans.
- This research will allow the USDA-NRCS to make scientifically backed recommendations for landowners to create pollinator habitat for native pollinators.
Assessing the Pollination Requirements of Native Wildflowers 2018-2019
- I conducted insect exclusion experiments and sweep netting surveys to determine the pollination requirements of approximately a dozen native wildflowers commonly recommended to plant by the USDA-NRCS.
- Flowers of each species were either bagged or unbagged, allowed to bloom, and seeds were then counted and weighted after they had senesced.
- This research will give us more information on the pollination requirements of each wildflower species, and how they persist in the environment year after year.
Evaluating the Effects of Urbanization on Native Bee Populations within the Coastal Dune Environments of Florida
2016-2017
- I assessed the effects of urbanization has on native bee populations that utilize the coastal dune environments of Florida.
- I captured bees with the use of pan traps or "bee bowls" within protected lands and urbanized sites while working on my Master's degree at the University of Florida.
Evaluating the Introduction and Establishment of Dielis dorsata within Florida
2016-2017
- Through monitoring surveys I detected the presence and establishment of a non-native Scoliid wasp in Florida.
Evaluating the Pollination Biology of Parasitic Beechdrops (Epifagus virginiana)
2013
- While completing my B.S. degree at High Point University, NC, I developed a monitoring program to describe the pollination biology of Epifagus virginiana, a plant parasitic on American Beech Tree roots.
- I determined that this plant was most likely pollinated by the ant Prenolepis imparis.