LTREB Renewal: Phenological responsiveness of plants and bees: consequences for species, interactions, community composition and biomass

The time of year when plants and animals are active can affect their ability to survive and reproduce. It is well known that environmental conditions such as temperature, rain or snow, can change the timing (or “phenology”) of these important events, but species don’t always change their timing in the same way. Little is known about how these differences in response to environmental conditions will influence species success. Additionally, it’s unknown if phenological changes in bees and plants may affect their timing of interaction and seasonal overlap. Answers to these kinds of questions are important for predicting how plants and animals will change in the future, and for managing the crop plants and pollinators that we depend on for food. The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Phenology Project maintains the world’s longest detailed record of the timing of plant and insect activity. These records, together with measurements of plant biomass, will be used to understand how changes in the timing of flowering and bee activity affect plant and bee success. The project also teaches elementary and high school science teachers and college students about science, advises land managers, and provides science talks for children and adults. The project has detailed measurements of abiotic conditions (daily) and the timing of flowering (three times per week) for all plant species in 36 permanent plots in high mountain meadows in Colorado for up to 51 years, as well as the abundance of all bee species (every other week) in nearby meadows for 16 years. Going forward, this project will continue those measurements and measure the relative abundance of all plant species and productivity of the plant community. With these data, the project is addressing three important questions: (1) Does the phenological responsiveness of plant or bee species explain differences in species' abundances, annual variation in abundance, or resilience after extreme weather events? (2) How does the phenological responsiveness of the plants used by each bee guild influence bee communities? (3) Are the traits of plants in a local community related to community-level responses to climate such as changes in species richness, or ecosystem responses such as productivity? The project will continue to provide its long-term datasets (already used by research groups across the US and abroad) to the scientific community. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.