Description:

Guest Speaker Dr. Heather Briggs,

Causes and Consequences of Pollinator Foraging Behavior

The central theme of my research is to understand how environmental context—both biotic and abiotic—impacts the patterns and outcomes of an organism’s interactions with other species. Specifically, I am focused on understanding how behavioral variation arises, and to what extent that variation impacts biotic interactions within a community context. I work in plant–pollinator systems, allowing me to consider the importance of context-dependent interactions from both the plant and pollinator perspectives. The frequency and pattern of pollinator visits can have a direct impact on plant reproductive success through the movement of pollen. It is through these foraging movements that pollinator behavior is closely tied to floral divergence and speciation. While the role of pollinator behavior has long been recognized as an important factor driving the evolution of plant traits, we know little about mechanisms behind these pollinator behaviors. Using intensive field manipulations, greenhouse behavioral trials, and long-term observational data, my research explores the ecological and evolutionary feedbacks between pollinator behavior and plant traits.