Our lab focuses on animal-plant interactions in the context of global change.
As global stressors such as a changing climate and land use change continue to threaten species and communities, it is critical to explore novel solutions to mitigate these impacts. We seek to understand how human managed lands and landscapes can be managed for biodiversity and ecosystem services, specifically for bird and bee mediated services, such as pollination, pest control and seed dispersal.
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More than three-quarters of the world’s crops depend on pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. These animals provide essential ecosystem services and play a crucial role in the production of many fruits and vegetables. But a changing climate, pesticide use, and habitat loss or degradation threaten pollinator communities, although the full impact of these threats is not well understood. For example, warming temperatures could force pollinator species to shift their ranges to higher elevations, which could impact agricultural production, or it could be that a changing climate will cause these species to disappear altogether.
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Agroforestry
One way to mitigate the effects of climate change is by planting “agroforests”—or forests that grow in pastures around or among crops—that could benefit pollinator communities. As part of this expedition, the participants will work with local communities to plant trees to create agroforests, which could not only help pollinator communities, but could provide livelihoods for low-income families in the region
collect and observe bees
Hike up the mountain to set out bee traps. You will then return to the sites to collect the pollinators to be sorted and observed back in the lab.
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plant trees
Create a tree nursery. Plant trees in pastures to begin the process of reforestation.
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plant squash
Observe and count pollinator visits to these and nearby plants at the different stations where they are set up.
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a great VARIETY of pollinators
There is a lot of work that needs to be done to understand how pollinators and pollination services are connected. Citizen scientists can help monitor pollinator populations over time as the environment and the climate change by collecting and photographing pollinators. The research requires many eyes in the field at sampling locations across different altitudes to collect enough long term data to understand if pollinators are moving upwards in response to warming temperatures and reduced cloud cover. Pollinator and pollination services recovery can also be monitored by citizen scientists in restoration plots of pollinator friendly agroforests to test this strategy for restoring pollination services. Citizen scientists can also play a critical role in helping to plant and maintain the plant species that will be used to test the restoration strategy.
san luis, monteverde, costa rica
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San Luis is a very steep valley right below Monteverde (Costa Rican cloud forest known for its incredible biodiversity and endemism) that makes it the perfect place to study elevational differences. The roads that run up to Monteverde works as natural transacts that climb up the mountain and each one is spaced approximately 1 kilometer apart, making it perfect to create replicates, focusing on the elevational differences, apart from other factors such as flowering plants, trees and the weather. This part of the country is known for the breathtaking view of the Nicoyan Gulf of the Pacific Ocean.
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DR. Valerie peters, PH.D.
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Assistant Professor of Biology
Department of Biological Sciences, Eastern Kentucky University Dr. Valerie Peters is working in tropical forests and coastal communities in Costa Rica to study pollinator populations and the services they provide to help protect them from the effects of climate change and habitat loss.
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