Presenters: Megan Fenton
Authors: Megan Fenton, Jacob Henrie, Spencer Livermore, Clinton Whipple
Faculty Advisor: Clinton Whipple
Institution: Brigham Young University
The phrase, “survival of the fittest,” may be the most common phrase associated with evolution and natural selection; however, this phrase ignores the complexity that many species are intrinsically linked and dependent on other species. Interactions between different organisms influence their overall fitness and reproductive success which shapes their evolution. For example, pollinators are key to the reproductive success of flowering plants. The purpose of a flower is to attract and reward pollinators, which then disperse their pollen. A pattern emerges when comparing flowers to their pollinators; for instance, hummingbirds are typically attracted to and pollinate red flowers, while insects typically prefer blue or yellow flowers. These floral traits that are associated with certain pollinators are known as pollination syndromes. North American Penstemonflowers are a model system for species interaction and evolution because they have a flower morphology that spans the spectrum of attracting bees, hummingbirds, or both. Our purpose is to identify where Penstemon sepalulus, a Utah native flower, falls on this spectrum and if its pollination syndrome matches its expected pollinators. We measured various pollination syndromes (nectar concentration and floral dimensions) and collected pollinators from three different sites in Utah county to gain greater insight into plant-pollinator interactions.According to our results, we have found that P. sepalulus exhibits a generalist pollination syndrome and attracts various pollinator types. The main insectpollinators that we captured include Megachilidea (mason bees), Masarinae (pollen wasps), and Apidae (bumblebees). Additionally, we observed other pollinator types like Pieris rapae (cabbage butterfly) and Selasphorus platycercus (broad-tailed hummingbird). Overall, the observed floral visitors match the pollination syndrome exhibited by P. sepalulus.