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Tyler Franzen Internship Powerpoint
- 1. S Exploring Pollinator Interactions in Flagstaff, Arizona By: Tyler Franzen Mentor: Clare Aslan
- 2. Goals S Better identify pollinators in an ecosystem S Better determine species nativity (Exotic, Native or Unknown) S To build species interaction webs from our observations in the field and from our research S Learn more about different native and exotic pollinators and how they fit in to our ecosystem in Flagstaff, AZ
- 3. What I Did S Researched nativity of various pollinators S Researched insects and the plants they pollinate S Determined origin of species S Expanded personal knowledge of plants and insects S The Arboretum in Flagstaff S Flowering plants attract many pollinators S Many are exotic (e.g. European Honey Bee) S Studied and recorded plant/pollinator interactions
- 4. Example of My Work • Island is off the coast of Madagascar • Shows various species and their identified nativity. • Study was conducted to identify and describe new species in the area. Ile aux Aigrettes (Aigrette Island) Pollinator Genus Species Nativity Phelsuma ornata Native, specifically mentioned as being native to Mauritius Phalantha phalantha Probably native: Native to coastal regions along Indian Ocean Stratiomydae sp. Unknown, but genus is found worldwide Xylocopa fenestrata Native, specifically mentioned as being native to Mauritius Megachile sp. Unknown, but genius is found worldwide Protaetia aurichalcea Native, specifically mentioned as being native to Mauritius Leptotes pirithous Probably native: Native to much of Africa Borbo borbonica Native, specifically mentioned as being native to Mauritius Apis mellifera Exotic: Native to Europe Musca domestica Unknown, worldwide distribution (housefly) Syrphid sp. Unknown, but genius is found worldwide Lucilia sp. Unknown, but genius is found worldwide Ornidia obesa Exotic, one website said ALL species are native to the New World
- 5. The Arboretum at Flagstaff The Arboretum, Flagstaff
- 6. Methods for Data Collection S Randomly selected a specific plant S 10 min. increments / 3 sessions per plant S Observations S Duration of stay S # of flowers interacted with S Type of species visiting plant S Current temperature and weather conditions S Cloud cover … etc. S Researched nativity of pollinators S Created interaction webs Pollinator interaction web from Southern California location
- 7. The Arboretum at Flagstaff The Arboretum, Flagstaff
- 8. What I Took Away From the Internship S Knowledge of pollinators and the plants they pollinate in Flagstaff, AZ S Many hours of both research and fieldwork S Experience collecting and analyzing data both individually and as a team S Better observational skills/techniques in regards to data collection in the field S A better basic knowledge regarding the origin of various plants and pollinators around the world
- 9. Future Work S I hope my work with Clare Aslan regarding pollinators in Flagstaff will further my career allowing me to meet my future goals. S Eventually I want to be a researcher studying invasive species and their affects on the environments they invade. S This internship gave me the experience, skills and passion to continue working with invasive species into the future.
- 10. Acknowledgments S The Arboretum at Flagstaff S Let us use their facility and gardens for free S Very accommodating to our schedules and needs S Clare Aslan S Great mentor S Made the experience fun and informative QUESTIONS?
Editor's Notes
- My name is Tyler Franzen and I did my internship on exotic pollinators in Flagstaff, Arizona under the supervision of Clare Aslan, with the help of two other interns, Maddy Kane & Colin Blaney.
- From the beginning of my internship I had several goals. The first of which was to better identify pollinators in foreign ecosystems, another was determine a species nativity, for example if it was exotic, native or we just didn’t know. Other goals included building species interaction webs from our observations in the field and our research combined. However, my main goal was to learn about how both native and exotic pollinators fit into our ecosystem here in Flagstaff.
- My internship consisted of two different parts. The first part was conducting research from home using my computer to determine the nativity of literally thousands of species within various ecosystems in many different countries. The research portion of my internship was focused on determining the origin of various species with the additional intent of expanding my personal knowledge of flowering plants and the insects that pollinate them. The second portion of my internship was conducted at The Arboretum just outside of Flagstaff. At the arboretum we observed dozens of different flowering plant species along with a vast variety of pollinators. We spent many hours studying and recording plant/pollinator interactions and found that many of the species observed were indeed exotic to the area. We observed different species of bees, butterflies, regular flies, beetles, dragonflies, surfid flies and even certain birds that pollinate such as various types hummingbirds.
- Here is one of the many species nativity sheets I worked on, each sheet had anywhere between a few hundred to over a thousand different species. Clare would send us excel sheets with the Genus and Species of the insects and flowering plants and I would then have to research online whether each species was native to the specified area or not. Identifying each species took anywhere between just a minute or two to over half an hour depending on what information I could find on its origin. This particular nativity sheet focused on the Ill aux Aigrettes or otherwise knows as Aigrette Island which is a small island off the coast of Madagascar. A study was conducted there to identify and describe new species that have not been discovered yet. The above nativity sheet is just a small snippet of the entire sheet but the whole thing would not nearly fit on one slide. Each nativity sheet also included counts on interactions between the pollinators and flowering plants as well as other observational data collected by the scientists conducting the research. One problem that I encountered was that when the researchers were recording species observations in these different locations sometimes they were not able to identify the insect down to the exact species, and only the genus. When this was the case it made it much more difficult to identify nativity accurately and alot of the time I had to note the genus distribution rather than species distribution. As I’m sure you can imagine, sometimes it was just impossible to determine a species origin so I either wrote down that the nativity was unknown or what my best guess was for its nativity based on my findings. (Explain nativity sheet)
- Once the research portion of my internship was concluded we then conducted the rest of the internship at the arboretum in flagstaff where we observed and recorded pollinator interactions in the area surrounding our city. Clare, the other two interns and myself met up at the arboretum everyday for a week and collected data on various pollinator interactions. The first picture is just of the entrance sign for the arboretum. And the second picture shows a field of flowers with the mountains in the background. As you can see there are many different species of flowers that could be studied.
- Data collection at the arboretum consisted of randomly selecting a specific species of plant and intently watching that plant for three 10 min increments. While watching the plant we had to record the duration a pollinator stayed on the plant, the number of flowers each pollinator visited, the temperature and current weather conditions, cloud cover, tree cover and the time of day. I found it was somewhat difficult at times to try and write down all the information we were gathering while also having to still be looking at the plant to make sure nothing new was happening. There were quite a few occasions where more than one insect was interacting with the plant at the same time. This presented a difficulty in trying to watch both insects to see how many different flowers they each visited and how long they stayed at each flower all while trying to write down what I was observing. Once the observations of one plant were done we moved onto a different species and repeated the three 10 min sessions. Each day we recorded data on anywhere between 10-15 plants each. Something worth noting was that if we could not easily identify the pollinator we would then attempt to catch it with a net and temporarily put it in a jar until we could take several clear pictures of it with our cameras to more easily identify the species. After we finished our observations we would go back home and try to identify the various species we observed using the pictures we took. After all the pollinators were identified Clare would then create interaction webs using a program on her computer. (Explain interaction web)
- In the front of the picture on the left you can see yellow dandelions which are exotic to flagstaff and further back you can see Mountain Iris which is native to northern Arizona and is commonly found in mountain meadows. The picture on the right shows several more species of plants, some of which are exotic, most however are native.
- Even though at times trying to determine a species nativity was very time consuming and repetitive I really thought it gave me a better knowledge of various pollinators and the plants they pollinate. The internship also helped me log hours of both research and fieldwork which will later help me show experience studying invasive species. I received experience collecting data both individually and as a team as well as better observational skills and techniques that can be used in the future. Finally, I received basic knowledge regarding the origin of various species not only in flagstaff but ecosystems around the world.
- I hope my work with Clare Aslan regarding pollinators in Flagstaff will further my career allowing me to meet my future goals. This internship, along with my ENV440 – Conservation Biology class where we took several field trips working with the highly invasive and destructive Cheat grass has helped me figure out exactly what I want to do in the future. This internship gave me the experience, skills and passion to continue working with invasive and exotic species into the future.
- Id like to thank The Arboretum at Flagstaff for letting us use their facilities and gardens for free and for being extremely accommodating to all our schedules and needs. Id also like to thank Clare Aslan for being such a great mentor and for making the internship both fun and informative. Questions?