Abstract Detail

Ecology

Ballou, Steven Mike [1], Ramsey, Adam Joseph [1], Mandel, Jennifer R. [2].

The Effect of the Presence of the Invasive Daucus carota on the Pollination of the Native Sericocarpus asteroides.

Research on invasive and non-native plant systems has investigated whether pollination ecology of native species is affected by the presence of non-native species, and the results have been mixed. In the United States, Daucus carota, more commonly known as Queen Anne’s Lace, is a pervasive, non-native plant that is often considered invasive. The species is most prevalent in disturbed areas. In Nantucket, Massachusetts, D. carota is ubiquitous throughout the island but is highly present in disturbed areas growing among natives, one of which is Sericocarpus asteroides or the Toothed, White-Topped Aster. The inflorescence of these two plants are similar in appearance especially from above and past studies have noted that the presence of D. carota increases pollinator activity and diversity, however, the direct effects of D. carota presence on S. asteroides pollination is unknown. This prompted us to study these effects on pollination by asking: how does D. carota affect pollen found on the native species S. asteroides? Based on the previous observations, we hypothesize that the presence of D. carota will increase the presence of heterospecific pollen on S. asteroides inflorescences. In July of 2016, 15 heads from 23 populations of S. asteroides were collected at varying distances from D. carota. All of the stigmas from each collected head within a population were placed on a single slide. Total pollen on each slide was counted and distinguished to family level to determine the percentage of heterospecific pollination within a population. We performed a linear regression to see if there is a relationship between distance to D. carota and the percent heterospecific pollen.

1 - University of Memphis, Department of Biological Sciences, 3700 Walker Ave, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA
2 - University Of Memphis, 3744 Walker Ave, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA

Keywords:
Daucus
Seriocarpus
pollination
heterospecific
non-native.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: P, Ecology
Location: Exhibit Hall/Omni Hotel
Date: Monday, June 26th, 2017
Time: 5:30 PM This poster will be presented at 5:30 pm. The Poster Session runs from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Posters with odd poster numbers are presented at 5:30 pm, and posters with even poster numbers are presented at 6:15 pm.
Number: PEC019
Abstract ID:444
Candidate for Awards:Ecological Section Best Graduate Student Poster