Protect Pollinators, Support Agriculture, Sustain Ecosystem Services
Instructor information
Jarrod Fowler
Office Hours: Wednesdays 1:00-3:00 PM
Agricultural Learning Center
911 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MAInformation
Time and location
Autumn 2015
Mondays 1:25-3:45 PM
Fernald Hall H1 or Agricultural Learning Center
Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MARequired readings
- Mader, E., & Xerces Society. (2011). Attracting native pollinators: Protecting North America's bees and butterflies: The Xerces Society guide. North Adams, MA: Storey Pub.
- Mader, E., M. Spivak, E. Evans, & Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service. (2010). Managing alternative pollinators: A handbook for beekeepers, growers, and conservationists. Beltsville, MD: Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
Supplementary readings
- Fowler, J. (2015). Native shrubs and trees for pollinator conservation in New England. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
- Fowler, J. (2015). Sustainable pollinator habitats. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
- Fowler, J. (In preparation). Plants for conservation biological control in New England. Available online. Accessed 1-Apr 2015.
- Fowler, J. (In preparation). Pollinator seed bombs. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
- United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. (2009). Pollinator biology and habitat: New England pollinator handbook. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
- United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. (2012). Flower-rich foraging habitats for pollinators, Massachusetts Pollinator Activity Sheet. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 20154.
- United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. (2012). Pollinator habitat enhancement plan, Practice activity code (146) (No.). Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
- United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. (2014). Pollinator-Friendly Plants for the Northeast United States. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
- Vaughan, M., Mader, E., Guisse, J., Goldenetz-Dollar, J., & Borders, B. (2012). Conservation cover (327) for pollinators, New England installation guide and job sheet. Manuscript in preparation. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Portland, OR. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
- Ward, K., Cariveau, D., May, E., Roswell, M., Vaughan, M., Williams, N., Winfree, R., Isaacs, R., & Gill, K. (2014). Streamlined Bee Monitoring Protocol for Assessing Pollinator Habitat. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Portland, OR. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
- Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, The (2014). Farming with native beneficial insects: Ecological pest control solutions. North Adams, MA: Storey Pub.
- Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, The. (2014). Pollinator habitat assessment form and guide. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
Students are encouraged to share relevant readings.Recommended materials
Aerial insect net, binoculars, boots or closed-toe shoes, clipboard, field guides, gloves, hat, pants, pencils/pens and pad, raincoat, snack, stopwatch, sunscreen, thermometer, water, ...Description
Recently documented declines in pollinator populations threaten local and regional sustainability. Pollinator declines can be peacefully combatted through promoting pollinator habitats that provide abundant and diverse resources. Pollinator habitats can be created and enhanced with sustainable horticultural practices, thereby promoting resilient environmental, social, and economic systems.STOCKSCH 397PB will provide students with knowledge and skills pertaining to pollinator conservation, encourage interest in and application of pollinator conservation practices, and support development and use of acquired knowledge and skills for agro-ecological sustainability. Topics include comprehension of pollinator conservation, design, installation, and maintenance of pollinator habitat, and identification and monitoring of native pollinators. Students will collaboratively develop applied projects and gain practical knowledge through a hybrid field-trip, lecture, and workshop classroom setting.
Goals
By the end of the semester, students will be able to:
- Comprehend pollinator biology and ecology, including threats to and values of crop pollination
- Monitor and identify pollinator populations
- Use pollinator conservation practices to design, install, and maintain habitats
Requirements
- Attending classes
- Reading all assigned materials and participating in discussions
- Completing quizzes and collaborative class projects
Grades
Performance will be assessed relative to class projects, quizzes, and attendance.Assessment and evaluation
- Projects: 60%
- Quizzes: 20%
- Attendance: 20%
Late submissions
Late projects and quizzes will not be accepted unless special arrangements are made in advance.Course calendar
Weeks 01-13: Location; Topic; Quiz; Project
- 08-Sept: FH; Intro
- 14-Sept: ALC; Pollinator habitat assessment
- 21-Sept: ALC; Pollinator habitat monitoring; Quiz 1
- 28-Sept: ALC; Pollinator habitat design and preparation; Quiz 2
- 05-Oct: FH; Quiz 3; Project I
- 12-Oct: FH; Pollination biology and ecology; Quiz 4
- 19-Oct: ALC; Pollinator identification I
- 26-Oct: FH; Pollinator identification II; Quiz 5
- 02-Nov: ALC; Pollinator habitat installation and maintenance; Quiz 6
- 09-Nov: FH; Quiz 7; Project II
- 16-Nov: FH; Pollinator status and valuation; Quiz 8
- 23-Nov: FH; Quiz 9; Project III
- 30-Nov: FH; Outro; Quiz 10
References
- ...
- Altieri, M. A. (1994). Biodiversity and pest management in agroecosystems. New York: Food Products Press.
- Altieri, M. A., Nicholls, C. I., & Fritz, M. (2005). Manage insects on your farm: A guide to ecological strategies. Beltsville, MD: Sustainable Agriculture Network.
- Ascher, J. S. & Pickering, J. (2015). Discover Life bee species guide and world checklist (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila). Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
- Barbosa, P. (1998). Conservation biological control. San Diego: Academic Press.
- Beck, T. (2013). Principles of ecological landscape design. Washington: Island Press.
- Blaauw, B. R., & Isaacs, R. (2012). Larger wildflower plantings increase natural enemy density, diversity, and biological control of sentinel prey, without increasing herbivore density. Ecological Entomology, 37, 5, 386-394.
- Blaauw, B. R., & Isaacs, R. (2014). Flower plantings increase wild bee abundance and the pollination services provided to a pollination-dependent crop. Journal of Applied Ecology, 51, 4, 890-898.
- Blaauw, B. R., & Isaacs, R. (2014). Larger patches of diverse floral resources increase insect pollinator density, diversity, and their pollination of native wildflowers. Basic and Applied Ecology, 15, 701-711.
- Breed, G. A., Crone, E. E., & Stichter, S. (2013). Climate-driven changes in northeastern US butterfly communities. Nature Climate Change, 3, 2, 142-145.
- Cameron, S. A., Lozier, J. D., Strange, J. P., Koch, J. B., Cordes, N., Solter, L. F., & Griswold, T. L. (2011). Patterns of widespread decline in North American bumble bees. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108, 2, 662-7.
- Colla, S., Richardson, L., Williams, P. (2011). Bumble Bees of the eastern United States. USDA Forest Service and the Pollinator Partnership. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
- Costanza, R., & International Society for Ecological Economics. (1997). An introduction to ecological economics. Boca Raton, Fla: St. Lucie Press.
- Cranshaw, W. (2004). Garden insects of North America: The ultimate guide to backyard bugs. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Dawson, B., Mabon, G., and Bumblebee Conservation Trust. (2010). Bee walks: Monitoring handbook for volunteers. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
- De Vries, B. J. M. (2012). Sustainability Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Droege, S. (2015). The very handy manual: How to catch and identify bees and manage a collection. Available online. Accessed 1-May 2015.
- Fiedler, A. K., Landis, D. A., & Wratten, S. D. (2008). Maximizing ecosystem services from conservation biological control: The role of habitat management. Biological Control, 45, 2, 254-271.
- Flint, M. L., Dreistadt, S. H., Clark, J. K., & University of California Integrated Pest Management Program. (1998). Natural enemies handbook: The illustrated guide to biological pest control. Oakland, Calif: UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Sciences.
- Garibaldi, L. A., Steffan-Dewenter, I., Winfree, R., Aizen, M. A., Bommarco, R., Cunningham, S. A., Kremen, C., ... Klein, A. M. (2013). Wild pollinators enhance fruit set of crops regardless of honey bee abundance. Science (new York, N.y.), 339, 6127, 1608-11.
- Garibaldi, L. A., Carvalheiro, L. G., Leonhardt, S. D., Aizen, M. A., Blaauw, B. R., Isaacs, R., Kuhlmann, M., Kleijn, D., Klein, A. M., Kremen, C., Morandin, L., Scheper, J., and Winfree, R. (2014). From research to action: Enhancing crop yield through wild pollinators. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 12, 439-447.
- Gibbs, J. (2011). Revision of the metallic Lasioglossum (Dialictus) of eastern North America (Hymenoptera: Halictidae:Halictini). Auckland, N.Z: Magnolia Press.
- Gibbs, J., Danforth, B. N., Packer, L., & Dumesh, S. (2013). Revision and reclassification of Lasioglossum (Evylaeus), L. (Hemihalictus) and L. (Sphecodogastra) in eastern North America (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Halictidae). Zootaxa, 3672, 1, 1-117.
- Gurr, G., Read, D. M. Y., Snyder, W. E., & Wratten, S. D. (2012). Biodiversity and pests: Key issues for sustainable management. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons.
- Gurr, G., Wratten, S. D., & Altieri, M. A. (2004). Ecological engineering for pest management: Advances in habitat manipulation for arthropods. Ithaca, N.Y: Comstock Pub. Associates.
- Haaland, C., Naisbit, R., & Bersier, L. X. (2011). Sown wildflower strips for insect conservation: A review. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 4, 1, 60-80.
- Hatfield, R., Jepsen, S., Mader, M., Hoffman Black, S., & Shepherd, M. (2012). Conserving bumble bees: Guidelines for creating and managing habitat for America's declining pollinators. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
- Holm, H. (2014). Pollinators of native plants: Attract, observe and identify pollinators and beneficial insects with native plants. Minnetonka, MN: Pollination Press.
- Isaacs, R., Tuell, J., Fiedler, A., Gardiner, M., & Landis, D. (2009). Maximizing arthropod-mediated ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes: The role of native plants. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 7, 4, 196-203.
- Kagan, S. (2011). Art and sustainability: Connecting patterns for a culture of complexity. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag.
- Kennedy, C.M. et al. (2013). A global quantitative synthesis of local and landscape effects on wild bee pollinators in agroecosystems. Ecology Letters 16: 584-599.
- Kogan, M., & Jepson, P. C. (2007). Perspectives in ecological theory and integrated pest management. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Koul, O., Cuperus, G. W., & C.A.B. International. (2007). Ecologically based integrated pest management. Wallingford: CABI.
- Kremen, C., & M'Gonigle, L. K. (2015). Small-scale restoration in intensive agricultural landscapes supports more specialized and less mobile pollinator species. Journal of Applied Ecology doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12418.
- Lovell, J. H. (1926). Honey plants of North America. Medina, O: A.I. Root Co.
- Mitchell, T. B. (1960). Bees of the Eastern United States. Raleigh: North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
- McGinley, R. J. (1986). Studies of Halictinae (Apoidea:Halictidae). Washington, D.C: Smithsonian Institution Press.
- Morandin, L. A., & Kremen, C. (2013). Hedgerow restoration promotes pollinator populations and exports native bees to adjacent fields. Ecological Applications : a Publication of the Ecological Society of America, 23, 4, 829-39.
- Nicolescu, B. (Ed.) (2008). Transdisciplinarity - Theory and Practice. Cresskill, NJ, Hampton Press.
- Norris, R. F., Caswell-Chen, E. P., & Kogan, M. (2003). Concepts in integrated pest management. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall.
- Parolin, P., Bresch, C., Bout, A., Ruiz, G., Poncet, C., Desneux, N. (2012). Testing banker plants for predator installation. Acta Horticulturae 927:211-217.
- Parolin, P., Bresch, C., Brun, R., Bout, A., Boll, R., Desneux, N., Poncet, C. (2012). Secondary plants used in biological control: A review. International Journal of Pest Management 58:91-100.
- Parolin, P., Bresch, C., Poncet, C., Desneux, N. (2012). Functional characteristics of secondary plants for increased pest management. International Journal of Pest Management 58:369-377.
- Parolin, P., Bresch, C., Poncet, C., & Desneux, N. (2014). Introducing the term 'Biocontrol Plants' for integrated pest management. Scientia Agricola, 71(1), 77-80.
- Pedigo, L. P., & Rice, M. E. (2009). Entomology and pest management. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall.
- Pickett, C. H., & Bugg, R. L. (1998). Enhancing biological control: Habitat management to promote natural enemies of agricultural pests. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Polgar, C. A., Primack, R. B., Williams, E. H., Stichter, S., & Hitchcock, C. (2013). Climate effects on the flight period of Lycaenid butterflies in Massachusetts. Biological Conservation, 160, 25-31.
- Radcliffe, E. B., Hutchison, W. D., & Cancelado, R. E. (2009). Integrated pest management: Concepts, tactics, strategies and case studies. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Roth, S. (2001). Attracting butterflies & hummingbirds to your backyard: Watch your garden come alive with beauty on the wing. Emmaus, PA: Rodale.
- Samways, M. J. (1994). Insect conservation biology. London: Chapman & Hall.
- Samways, M. J. (2005). Insect diversity conservation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Tallamy, D. W. (2007). Bringing nature home: How native plants sustain wildlife in our gardens. Portland, OR: Timber Press.
- Tuell, J. K., Fiedler, A. K., Landis, D., & Isaacs, R. (2008). Visitation by wild and managed bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) to eastern U.S. native plants for use in conservation programs. Environmental Entomology, 37, 3, 707-718.
- Van Driesche, R., & Bellows, T. S. (1996). Biological control. New York: Chapman & Hall.
- Van Driesche, R., Hoddle, M., & Center, T. D. (2008). Control of pests and weeds by natural enemies: An introduction to biological control. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub.
- Vaughan, M., Ferruzzi, G., Bagdon, J., Hesketh, E., & Biddinger, D.(2014). Agronomy Technical Note No. 9: Preventing or Mitigating Potential Negative Impacts of Pesticides on Pollinators Using Integrated Pest Management and Other Conservation Practices. Unites States Department of Agriculture. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
- Wagner, D. L., Metzler, K. J., Leicht-Young, S. A., & Motzkin, G. (2014). Vegetation composition along a New England transmission line corridor and its implications for other trophic levels. Forest Ecology and Management, 327, 231-239.
- Wallen, R. (2012). Ecological art: A call for visionary intervention in a time of crisis. Leonardo 45, 3, 234-242.
- Wäckers, F.L., Van Rijn, P.C.J., Bruin, J., eds. (2005). Plant-provided food for carnivorous insects: A protective mutualism and its applications. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Weintraub, L. (2012). To life!: Eco art in pursuit of a sustainable planet. Berkeley : University of California Press.
- Williams, P., Thorp, R., Richardson, L., & Colla, S. (2014). Bumble bees of North America: An identification guide. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.
- Winfree, R. (2010). The conservation and restoration of wild bees. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1195, 1, 169-197.
- Wratten, S.D., Gillespie, M., Decourtye, A., Mader, E., & Desneux, N. (2012). Pollinator habitat enhancement: Benefits to other ecosystem services. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 159:112-122.
- Wratten, S., Sandhu, H., Cullen, R., & Costanza, R. (2013). Ecosystem services in agricultural and urban landscapes. Chicester: Wiley.
- Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, The. (2015). Pollinator conservation resources. Available online. Accessed 20-Mar 2015.
- ...