1. Understanding the breadth and complexity of changes in phenology is limited by the availability of long-term historical data sets with broad geographic range.2. We compare a recently discovered historical data set of plant phenology observations collected across the state of New York (1826-1872) to contemporary volunteer-contributed observations (2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017) to evaluate changes in plant phenology between time periods. These multi-site, multi-taxa phenology data matched with temperature data uniquely extend historical observations back in time prior to the major atmospheric effects of the Industrial Revolution. 3. The majority of the 36 trees, shrubs and forbs that comprised our analysable data set flowered and leafed out earlier in contemporary years than in the early to mid-19th century. This shift is associated with a warming trend in mean January-to-April temperatures, with flowering and leafing advancing on average 3 days/°C earlier. On average, plants flowered 10.5 days earlier and leafed out 19 days earlier in the contemporary period. Urban areas exhibit more advanced phenology than their rural counterparts overall, and insect-pollinated trees show more advanced phenology than wind-pollinated trees and seasonality and growth form explain significant variation in flowering phenology. The greatest rates of temperature sensitivity and change between time periods for flowering are seen in early-season species, particularly trees. Changes in the timing of leaf out are the most advanced for trees and shrubs in urban areas. 4. Synthesis. Citizen science observations across two centuries reveal a dramatic, climate-driven shift to earlier leaf out and flowering. The magnitude of advancement varies across settings, species and functional groups, and illustrates how long-term monitoring and citizen science efforts are invaluable for ecological forecasting and discovery.
People in urban and rural areas are planting habitat patches for pollinators in response to growing public awareness of the risks of pollinator declines; yet research rarely has been undertaken to inform the composition of such patches. Determining which key functional plant traits to prioritize and how plant–pollinator interaction dynamics operate in these small‐scale, fragmented patches is critical to ensuring the efficacy of pollinator restoration efforts across landscapes. We established small‐scale (2.5 m diameter) experimental patches and manipulated plant diversity and resource level (nectar) to determine the effects on pollinator abundance, pollinator diversity, and plant–pollinator facilitation–competition dynamics. Our results showed that in small‐scale habitat, plant diversity and resource availability significantly affected the abundance and diversity of pollinating insects. Specifically, the treatments that contained high‐resource plant species increased pollinator abundance and diversity the most. Plant diversity increased pollinator diversity and abundance only in the absence of high‐resource plants. Pollination facilitation was observed in high‐resource treatments, but varied among plant species. Competition for pollinators was observed in high‐diversity treatments but did not affect seed set for high‐resource plants in any of the treatments. Our results suggest that managers or landowners planting small‐scale pollinator habitat should prioritize including species with high nectar production, and secondarily, a diverse mix of species if space and resources allow. The protocols we used to monitor pollinators can be used by community science observers with limited training, expanding the potential for assessment of future pollinator habitat restoration projects. Shared research identifying features critical to effective restoration will help conserve plant–pollinator mutualisms across landscapes.
Environmental problems are growing at a pace and scale that traditional research methods alone can no longer tackle. Innovative research models that utilize contributory, participatory and crowdsourcing methods are rapidly emerging to fill this gap. For these participatory efforts to be effective and sustainable, however, closer attention must be paid to key components that can promote coordinated action and sustainability. Through the lens of public participation in plant-pollinator conservation, I have, with rigorous social-ecological inquiry, offered three foundational assessment areas that can provide scientific support to this nascent field: accuracy, ecological significance and scalability. In the first study (Chapter 2), I explored a common concern about citizen science-that a lack of foundational knowledge, or familiarity with following scientific protocols could lead to inaccurate data collection. I evaluated the accuracy of plant phenology observations collected by citizen scientist volunteers following protocols designed by the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN). Phenology observations made by volunteers receiving several hours of formal training were compared to those collected independently by a professional ecologist. Approximately 11,000 observations were recorded by 28 volunteers over the course of one field season. Volunteers consistently identified phenophases correctly (91% overall and 70% during transitions) for the 19 species observed. Accuracy varied significantly by phenophase and species (p<0.0001). Volunteers who submitted fewer observations over the period of study did not exhibit a higher error rate than those who submitted more total observations, suggesting that volunteers with limited training and experience can provide reliable observations when following explicit, standardized protocols. Overall, these findings demonstrate the This work would not have been possible without the contributions of many. Though I write some sections of this work in first person singular by tradition, all efforts described here included support and assistance from my personal and professional communities. Special thanks to my advisor Catherine de Rivera, my past and present committee members Todd Rosenstiel, Mitch Cruzan, Max Nielsen-Pincus, Alan Yeakley, Janis Dickinson, and lab-mates in the de Rivera lab for their support and guidance. Thank you to the administrative staff of Portland State University for all of their workmost of it unseen-facilitating the academic process from start to finish. Thanks to the National Science Foundation for funding during my first two years of graduate study.
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