[Pollinator] Volunteer pollinator monitoring - Spring Beauties in Eastern US

[Steven B Hilburger]

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Alison Parker <spring.beauty.pollinators at gmail.com>
To: vnps-pot at yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thu, March 3, 2011 10:58:44 AM
Subject: [vnps-pot] Volunteer pollinator monitoring

 
Hello,

Apologies for cross-listing!

This spring, I am enlisting the help of interested volunteers to observe 
local pollinators of spring beauty (Claytonia virginica and Claytonia 
caroliniana). I thought you all might be interested in observing and 
learning about the pollinators of these native plants!

This project aims to document changing pollinator populations - by 
monitoring the insects that visit spring beauty throughout the eastern US, 
we can determine how pollinator communities change depending on the year, 
the location, and the season.  This information will help us better 
understand the biology of native pollinators, as well as help us determine 
the best way to evaluate their value for native plant reproduction. At the 
same time, you will learn more about the native bees and flies visiting 
our early spring flora, and spend some time outdoors during the lovely 
spring weather. 
 
To help, you need to be able to get to a patch of our study plants, 
Claytonia virginica and Claytonia caroliniana, which are easily found 
throughout the Eastern US and southeastern Ontario. We?ll help you learn 
to distinguish the plants and pollinators, and assist you with questions 
along the way. We ask for about 2 hours of observations over the course of 
three weeks, all during sunny weather. As you observe, you?ll fill out 
data sheets (which we will provide), which you will then mail or email to 
us along with any comments or concerns.
 
For more information, visit http://springbeauties.wordpress.com. To 
volunteer, please email  spring.beauty.pollinators at gmail.com with your 
name and location. We'll get in touch with you soon with more information!
 
Thank you very much,
Alison Parker


-- 
Alison Parker
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Toronto

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