Understanding Huckleberry Pollination With Research Designed for Student Participaton

Salish Kootenai College, Pablo MT

Investigators

Abstract

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's indigenous students. Expanding the research capacity at these institutions expands the opportunities for students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be locally relevant, and encourages a faculty community to look beyond the traditional classroom for intellectual and professional growth. This project, entitled "Understanding Pollination With Research Designed for Student participation (UPWRDS)," aligns directly with that goal, and moreover may prove to be a model for similar engagement at other small community colleges. The project objectives are to provide an opportunity for SKC faculty and students to conduct original and community relevant research that contributes to scientific knowledge, benefits education, and leverages support for continuing research opportunities. UPWRDS specifically addresses the following: 1) Does the exclusion of pollinators significantly influence huckleberry productivity on the Flathead Reservation?; and 2) Which organisms are the primary probable pollinators of huckleberry plants on the Reservation compared to the overall active pollinator community? The work will be pursued through pollinator exclosure experiments, direct netting of pollinators observed visiting huckleberry flowers, time-constrained net sweeps, berry productivity counts, and berry seed counts. Time-lapse cellular cameras will be employed to track huckleberry phenology to assist researchers in determining the timing for data collection during flowering and peak berry ripeness.