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Effects of frost on wildflowers: an unexpected consequence of climate change--image 20 of 22

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A Mormon fritillary butterfly (Speyeria mormonia) visiting flowers of the fleabane daisy (Erigeron speciosus), an important and preferred nectar resource. Flower buds of E. speciosus are frost-sensitive. Egg production of female S. mormonia butterflies is limited by the amount of nectar they can collect (which is unusual for butterflies). Therefore, spring frosts that kill E. speciosus flowers impair reproduction in the fritillary butterfly.

The work on butterfly populations was done by Dr. Carol Boggs from Stanford University. She had not published the results of her 9-year study because she couldn't figure out why the butterfly populations were so variable. She happened to mention the study, and the fact that the butterflies relied heavily on E. speciosus flowers, to David Inouye, who replied that he had long-term data on the flowers. The resulting collaboration resulted in a publication that links the impact of climate change on the plants to the population biology of the butterflies.

One benefit of working at a field station is that unexpected collaborations can arise, as did this one involving the butterfly and flower datasets.
Temporal and geographic description July, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Colorado
Format
Resource Group A slide show about the effects of frost on Colorado wildflowers at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory.
Resource Group Link http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=AdvancedSearch&Q=Y&FK=%22Effects+of+f...
Special Collection
Primary or BEN resource type
Secondary resource type
Discipline Specific Core Concepts
Life science discipline (subject)
Keywords Speyeria mormonia, Mormon Fritillary, butterfly, Erigeron speciosus, fleabane daisy, pollinator
Key taxa Speyeria mormonia, butterfly, Erigeron speciosus, fleabane daisy
Audience
Intended End User Role
Language
Educational Language
Pedagogical Use Category
Pedagogical Use Description The slide show could be used as part of a lecture on the consequences of climate change, or the ecology of the Rocky Mountains.
Uniqueness A common wildflower and pollinator in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
Aggregation Level
Structure
Full Name of Primary Author David W. Inouye
Primary Author Controlled Name
Primary Author Affiliation Dept. of Biology
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-4415
Primary Author email inouye@umd.edu
Secondary Author Email(s) inouye@umd.edu
Added By Id
  • dwinouye
Submitter Name David Inouye
Submitter Email inouye@umd.edu
Rights Free use with attribution. Contact photographer if you want a higher-resolution version. And contact author if you'd like a single file with all the slides so you don't have to download them one at a time (this capability may be added to EcoEd in the future).
License
Publisher
Review type
Drought and Water Ecosystem Services Collection Off
Conservation Targets Under Global Change Collection On
Big Data Collection Off
Editors Choice No
Resource Status
Date Of Record Submission 2011-12-01
I Agree to EcoEdDL's Copyright Policy & Terms of Use No
Date Of Record Release 2012-02-28 09:32:13
Last Modified By Id
  • tmourad
Date Last Modified 2014-05-28 13:57:58
Release Flag Published

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