Presentation Title
Climate and land-use change effect on bees and pollination services in coffee farms
Abstract
I propose to study the effects of climate and land-use change on the ecological processes that benefit both biodiversity and agriculture. Specifically, I aim to better understand how pollination services respond to changing environmental and landscape conditions in coffee systems. In the tropics, increasing temperatures are likely to reduce suitable areas for coffee production and alter the distribution of its pollinators. Loss of pollination services can threaten food security and the livelihoods of farmers. To better understand these social-ecological systems, I will integrate field experiments and ecological modeling to quantify the roles of pollinator communities in agricultural systems and how these communities respond to global change. I will conduct the following field experiments in an elevational gradient as a proxy for different climate change scenarios as well as in a forest cover gradient as a proxy for land-use change scenarios. First, I will examine how bee communities change with different environmental conditions during coffee blooms. Then, I will quantify the impact of changes in pollination services on the quantity and quality of the coffee produced. The proposed research will generate new insights into the ecological and evolutionary dynamics that shape working landscapes and will promote effective strategies for climate change adaptation and sustainable agriculture.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Taylor Ricketts
Status
Graduate
Student College
Rubenstein School of Environmental and Natural Resources
Program/Major
Ecological Agriculture
Primary Research Category
Biological Sciences
Climate and land-use change effect on bees and pollination services in coffee farms
I propose to study the effects of climate and land-use change on the ecological processes that benefit both biodiversity and agriculture. Specifically, I aim to better understand how pollination services respond to changing environmental and landscape conditions in coffee systems. In the tropics, increasing temperatures are likely to reduce suitable areas for coffee production and alter the distribution of its pollinators. Loss of pollination services can threaten food security and the livelihoods of farmers. To better understand these social-ecological systems, I will integrate field experiments and ecological modeling to quantify the roles of pollinator communities in agricultural systems and how these communities respond to global change. I will conduct the following field experiments in an elevational gradient as a proxy for different climate change scenarios as well as in a forest cover gradient as a proxy for land-use change scenarios. First, I will examine how bee communities change with different environmental conditions during coffee blooms. Then, I will quantify the impact of changes in pollination services on the quantity and quality of the coffee produced. The proposed research will generate new insights into the ecological and evolutionary dynamics that shape working landscapes and will promote effective strategies for climate change adaptation and sustainable agriculture.