BotanyValerie Martin
2020 The Garden Club of America Summer Scholarship in Field Botany
Ecology of Cross-kingdom Interactions between Plants, Pollinators, and the Diverse Microbiota that Inhabit Flowers
Valerie Martin is a masters student in biology and ecology at Utah State University. She studies the role of nectar-inhabiting microorganisms in pollination mutualisms at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory to investigate the impacts of illegitimate visitation on the floral microbiome of Corydalis caseana subsp. brandegii (Fumariaceae), their consequences for floral phenotype, and the nectar-foraging decisions of white shouldered bumblebees (Bombus appositus), the primary floral visitor of this plant species. This species is notoriously robbed by another bumblebee, Bombus occidentalis, raising the question of the role of nectar microbiota in affecting floral larceny. Insights gained from this research will contribute to the rapidly growing body of knowledge on cross-kingdom interactions between plants, pollinators, and microbiota, which may have consequences for plant fitness.
The Garden Club of America Summer Scholarship in Field Botany
To support students' field studies and offer an opportunity to gain knowledge and experience beyond the regular course of study.
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