NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2017: Ecology and biomechanics of insect-plant interactions in wind

Burnett Nicholas P, Albany CA

Investigators

Abstract

This is an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology, under the program Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellow, Nicholas Burnett, is conducting research and receiving training that is increasing the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The fellow is being mentored by Stacey Combes at the University of California-Davis. The fellow's research investigates how wind can affect the interactions between plants and insects. Wind is a common occurrence for plants in many habitats, and many insects are subjected to the movements of those plants in wind, including insect that are important pollinators of plants or pests that destroy agricultural crops. However, little is known about how plant motion in wind affects insects. Conversely, little is known about how insects can affect plant motion in wind. The fellow is conducting experiments in laboratories and in nature to measure how insect behavior, ecology, and flight performance are affected by plant motion in wind, and how insects, by feeding on plants, can affect plant motion in wind. Understanding these aspects of plant-insect interactions in wind can help scientists predict how both plants and insects will be affected by wind, including future changes in the intensity or frequency of wind storms. The fellow is evaluating the effects of wind on plant-insect interactions with the following experimental approaches: (1) measuring how an agriculturally important pollinator flies in natural plant canopies that are moving under the force of wind, (2) measuring how plant movement in wind is affected by herbivory, pollination, and fruit development, and (3) measuring how a moving plant canopy in wind affects the ability of a flying predator to detect, track, and capture flying prey (herbivores). The fellow is receiving interdisciplinary training in a study system that draws on concepts from physics, engineering, ecology, and entomology. To increase participation of under-represented groups in biology, the fellow is working with established undergraduate research programs at the University of California-Davis, and is recruiting students from under-represented groups to take part in the research. Additionally, the fellow is organizing and hosting technical workshops to teach interdisciplinary skills to students from under-represented groups in biology. These hands-on experiences build the confidence of the students and benefit their study of biology. Lastly, the fellow is implementing a peer mentoring system for postdoctoral researchers from under-represented groups at a national conference to improve those researchers' professional and emotional experiences as biologists, thereby improving the retention of scientists from under-represented groups in biology.