Pollinators
Insect pollinators are vital to both natural and agricultural systems. Although the European honeybee is the most commonly managed pollinator in U.S. agricultural systems, wild bee species contribute to crop pollination as well. Native, wild bees are highly diverse, occur in many habitats, and are active throughout the growing season under a diversity of conditions. They also provide a pollination service to growers that is free of charge. The intensification of agricultural practices, herbicide and pesticide use, and the simplification of our landscapes have made life more difficult for honeybees and native pollinators. We have yet to fully understand how much native bees bolster crop yields in Wisconsin, or how certain management practices help or hurt their populations. To better understand these questions we partner with Wisconsin apple and cranberry growers, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Lab blog and news for pollinators…
Undergraduate student Celeste Huff completes fall research on bumble bee floral networks
This fall, the Gratton Lab hosted UW-Madison sophomore Celeste Huff for a Zoology 152 independent project. She chose to investigate the floral preferences of local bumble bees in early fall, asking whether different bumble bee species associate with different suites ...
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New brochure on wild bees in Wisconsin apple orchards
Recently, lab technician Olivia Bernauer and post-doc Hannah Gaines Day put together a brochure about the wild bee pollinators found in Wisconsin apple orchards which was handed out to apple growers at the 2017 Field Day at one of our ...
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Talking Science: 2017 conferences thus far
The Gratton lab has been busy these past couple of months presenting research at regional and national meetings. Here are examples of our 2017 research presentations ranging from bee behavioral responses in apple orchards to nitrogen effects on freshwater algal ...
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Dr. Claudio Gratton Receives Vilas Associate Award
Doctor Claudio Gratton received this year's Vilas Associate Award from the Univeristy of Wisconsin-Madison. This is a highly competitive award that grants funding to university professors for specific projects. Claudio's winning project proposal, titled "Do exotic plant-insect mutualisms affect native bumble bees? ...
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Wild about Bees: Kiley Friedrich on Native Pollinators & Their Interactions with Plant Communities
Bees are among the most frequently studied animals, and yet there remains a vast amount of knowledge to be gained about these important pollinators. In this exclusive interview, Kiley Friedrich from the Gratton Lab and Agroecology Master’s program at UW-Madison ...
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Pollinator Management for Apple Growers
Over the past decade, honey bees in the United States have experienced unprecedented declines. Scientists believe that these bee losses are caused by a variety of factors including pesticide exposure, loss of floral resources in the landscape due to intensification ...
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Field Season 2016 is underway!
The Gratton lab is back in the field working on projects already this year! Post-doc Hannah's project on Apple pollination is underway, and crews have been out at orchards across southern Wisconsin counting flowers, bees, and enjoying the beautiful sites! ...
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Gratton lab presents research at WI Ecology
Jeremy Hemberger, Savannah Bartel, and Anna Cates (Jackson lab) presented their research at WI Ecology's 19th Annual Spring Symposium. This symposium was organized by the graduate students of WI Ecology and consisted of graduate student speakers and poster presentations. The ...
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Wisconsin Pollinator Protection is released
Hard work by lab post-doc Christina Locke has paid off - the State of Wisconsin Pollinator Protection is complete! This collaborative effort, spearheaded by DATCP and the Gratton lab (Christina and Claudio), suggests best practices for managing for pollinators across ...
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What do we know about neonicotinoids and pollinator health?
Post by Christina Locke and Claudio GrattonWe are often asked about neonicotinoid pesticides, or "neonics", and their effects on bees. Neonics are the most widely used insecticides globally, and are in the news a lot these days due to concerns ...
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Farming on the Margins
Kiley and Jade are headed off to Virginia for the summer! In partnership with GLBRC, Pheasants Forever, and FDC Enterprises, they are examining how different types of pollinator strips planted along margins of switchgrass fields (e.g., high floral diversity (like ...
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6 Misconceptions about Saving Bees
A nice article from our labmate Kaitlin Stack Whitney in the American Scientist about some common misconceptions people have about pollinator health, declines, and conservation. http://www.americanscientist.org/blog/pub/6-misconceptions-about-saving-the-bees ...
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Pollinator Planning in Wisconsin
There is good reason to be concerned about reports of worldwide pollinator decline. We owe gratitude to flower-loving birds, bats and bees every time we give a bouquet to a loved one, take a sip of orange juice, or put ...
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Citizen Science with Pollinators!
The Wisconsin chapter of the Society of Conservation Biology is organizing a citizen science program examining wild bees in the Lakeshore Nature preserve of the UW campus. The project will begin with a kickoff event June 14th at the Arboretum, ...
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2015 Field Season Preview
As summer approaches, here's a preview of the our fieldwork projects... Pollinators in bioenergy landscapes: This project is trying to understand the impact pollinator conservation strips around switchgrass plantings have on native pollinator communities. Fieldwork will be conducted at study sites ...
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