Rachel Vannette: 'Bees in the Tahoe Basin: Pollination Ecology and Conservation'
Community ecologist Rachel Vannette, associate professor and vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology--and a newly selected Chancellor’s Fellow--will discuss “Bees in the Tahoe Basin: Pollination Ecology and Conservation” at a Thursday, April 25th seminar hosted by the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (UC Davis TERC).
The lecture will take place at 6 p.m. in the Sunnyside Restaurant and Lodge, 1850 West Lake Boulevard, located just south of Tahoe City.
“Bees are important pollinators worldwide and in the ecosystems surrounding Lake Tahoe,” a TERC spokesperson said. “Learn about the basic biology and life history of bees, including social and solitary bees. Discover some of the common bees of the Tahoe Basin and the adaptations these bees utilize to live in this climate. Recent research highlights the local flowering plants that are commonly used by native bees and describes bee nesting requirements, offering practical suggestions for supporting pollinators in your own backyard. Changing management and climate in the Tahoe basin may also influence bee-flower interactions. Learn the latest emerging research on how wildfire and other management practices influence bee communities and their effects on plants.”
Admission is $10 and free for students with a student ID. Appetizers and a no-host bar will be available from 5 to 6 p.m. For more information, telephone (775) 881-7560 or email tercinfo@ucdavis.edu or register at https://tinyurl.com/5axbxkfv.
In its mission statement, UC Davis TERC relates that it is “dedicated to interdisciplinary research and education to advance the knowledge of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and their interactions within natural and developed Earth systems, and to communicate science-informed solutions worldwide.”
Earlier this year, Vannette was one of 13 faculty members selected as a Chancellor's Fellow, a five-year title. The honor includes $25,000 in unrestricted funds for research or other scholarly activities.
An international leader in microbial ecology, Vannette studies interactions between plants, insects and microbes. Her research projects focus on the chemical and microbial ecology of plant-pollinator interactions and how microbes influence plant defense and resistance against insect pests.
Vannette, who has just finished a sabbatical and will be returning to the UC Davis campus at the end of the spring quarter, says that "Much of the work in my lab focuses on how microorganisms affect plant defense against herbivores and plant attraction to pollinators. For example, we are interested in understanding the microbial drivers of soil health, which can influence plant attractiveness to herbivores and the plant’s ability to tolerate or defend against damage by herbivores."
"In addition, we are working to examine how microorganisms modify flower attractiveness to pollinators," she says. "This may have relevance in agricultural systems to improve plant and pollinator health.All plants are colonized by microorganisms that influence plant traits and interactions with other species, including insects that consume or pollinate plants. I am interested in the basic and applied aspects of microbial contributions to the interaction between plants and insects. I also use these systems to answer basic ecological questions, such as what mechanisms influence plant biodiversity and trait evolution."
Community ecologist and professor Louie Yang is serving as the interim vice chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology. Chair of the department is professor Joanna Chiu, a molecular geneticist and physiologist.