An investigation of the effects of water and nitrogen additions on sagebrush growth rates. An investigation of abiotic factors, such as date of snowmelt and nitrogen or water limitations, that influence plant species diversity in subalpine meadows. Dr. Rebecca Irwin, University of California - Davis Ecologists and evolutionary biologists are fundamentally interested in how the interactions among organisms influence their abundance and design. In particular, classical studies in pollination ecology have viewed plant reproductive success and the evolution of floral traits solely as a function of a plant's attractiveness to its pollinators. However, pollinators are not the only floral visitors attracted to plants.
Nectar robbers steal nectar through holes bitten in the base of flowers often without pollinating.
Due to a general paucity of information and lack of experimental studies, the importance to nectar robbing to plants and their mutualistic pollinators remains a mystery. Our research focuses on trophic interactions between species. At RMBL, these systems include montane meadows and to a lesser extent aquatic ecosystems. The organisms studied include above-ground insects, plants and vertebrates. We try to understand what food webs look like and how they vary across landscapes.