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Abstract

Arctic and alpine ecosystems have been found to be highly susceptible to changes caused by shifts in global climate trends. For this reason, it is important to study both the plants and the pollinators within these vulnerable ecosystems in order to best hypothesize how their mutualistic relationships may be affected by predicted, future climates. My study focuses on exploring the natural history and reproductive strategies of Pedicularis groenlandica (little elephanthead or elephantella). P. groenlandica relies on an evolved behavior in its pollinators whereby they buzz-pollinate the flowers. This dependency on such a specific behavior makes P. groenlandica a particularly interesting alpine plant to study. Through various pollination treatments, I found that pollen may be limiting to the seedset of these flowers. Flowers that I hand-pollinated with extra pollen tended to have slightly heavier seeds than those which were naturally pollinated by bees alone. I used microphones to record the acoustics of bumblebee flight buzzes in order to see how the number of buzzes within a patch of flowers related to the seedset of those flowers. When controlled for factors of visibility (such as the number of inflorescences within the patch), the number of recorded buzzes predicted the average seed weight of the flowers within that patch. Combined with past studies on P. groenlandica, my findings indicate the importance of bumblebees, and their evolved buzz-pollination behaviors, to populations of this species.

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