Rachel E. Mallinger
A5022911840- Plant and animal studies
- Insect and Pesticide Research
- Plant Parasitism and Resistance
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Insect-Plant Interactions and Control
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
- Animal and Plant Science Education
- Horticultural and Viticultural Research
- Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies
- Plant Reproductive Biology
- Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Lichen and fungal ecology
- Flowering Plant Growth and Cultivation
- Insect Pheromone Research and Control
- Urban Green Space and Health
- Leaf Properties and Growth Measurement
- Weed Control and Herbicide Applications
- Organic Food and Agriculture
- Plant Physiology and Cultivation Studies
- Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Nematode management and characterization studies
- Plant Surface Properties and Treatments
- Berry genetics and cultivation research
- Diverse Educational Innovations Studies
University of Florida
2018-2025
Agricultural Research Service
2015-2022
Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center
2017-2018
United States Department of Agriculture
2018
University of Wisconsin–Madison
2011-2017
Michigan State University
2005
Human land use threatens global biodiversity and compromises multiple ecosystem functions critical to food production. Whether crop yield-related services can be maintained by a few dominant species or rely on high richness remains unclear. Using database from 89 studies (with 1475 locations), we partition the relative importance of richness, abundance, dominance for pollination; biological pest control; final yields in context ongoing land-use change. Pollinator enemy directly supported...
Summary Native, wild bees are important pollinators for both crop and plants. With concerns over the availability cost of managed honeybees, attention has turned to native, as pollinators. However, ability provide sufficient pollination may depend on their populations at local scales. Therefore, farm scale, we examined contribution honeybees apples assessed relative importance bee abundance vs. species richness. Over three growing seasons, apple fruit set, richness were measured orchards in...
Methyl salicylate, an herbivore-induced plant volatile, has been shown to attract natural enemies and affect herbivore behavior. In this study, methyl salicylate was examined for its attractiveness of the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae), direct effects on aphid population growth rates. lures were deployed in plots within organic [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] fields. Sticky card traps adjacent 1.5 m from lure measured relative abundance enemies, populations monitored...
Abstract Plant–pollinator interactions are mediated by floral signals and the quantity quality of rewards. Biotic abiotic disturbances can influence plant reproductive success through both direct effects on performance indirect pollinator attraction. In this study, we examined drought buckwheat ( Fagopyrum esculentum Moensch), a globally cultivated that is prone to stress, dependent insect pollinators for reproduction, increasingly utilized in on‐farm conservation. Between drought‐stressed...
ABSTRACT Land use change threatens global biodiversity and compromises ecosystem functions, including pollination food production. Reduced taxonomic α‐diversity is often reported under land change, yet the impacts could be different at larger spatial scales (i.e., γ‐diversity), either due to reduced β‐diversity amplifying diversity loss or increased dampening loss. Additionally, studies focus on diversity, while other important components, phylogenetic can exhibit differential responses....
Abstract Pollinators make foraging decisions based on numerous floral traits, including nectar and pollen rewards, associated visual olfactory cues. For insect‐pollinated crops, identifying breeding for attractive traits may increase yields. In this study, we examined trait variation within cultivated sunflowers its effects bee behaviours. Over 2 years, planted different sunflower inbred lines, male‐fertile male‐sterile measured volume, sugar concentration composition, corolla length. During...
Floral nectar and other rewards facilitate crop pollination, in so doing, increase the amount breadth of food available for humans. Though pollinator abundance diversity (particularly bees) have declined over past several decades, a concomitant reliance on pollinators presents challenge to production. Development varieties with specific or nectar-related traits attract retain pollinating insects is an appealing strategy help address needs agriculture reasons. First, many crops which been...
ABSTRACT Human land use threatens global biodiversity and compromises multiple ecosystem functions critical to food production. Whether crop yield-related services can be maintained by few abundant species or rely on high richness remains unclear. Using a database from 89 systems, we partition the relative importance of abundance for pollination, biological pest control final yields in context on-going land-use change. Pollinator enemy directly supported independent abundance. Up 50%...
Abstract Highbush blueberry production has expanded worldwide in recent decades. To safeguard future yields, it is essential to understand if insect pollination limiting current and which insects contribute different regions. We present a systematic review including set of meta‐analyses on insect‐mediated highbush blueberry. summarize the geographic distribution research, abundance pollinator taxa their relative contributions. Using raw data from 21 studies, totalling 496 site replicates, we...
Pollinator-dependent crops rely on the activity of managed and wild pollinators. While farm management surrounding landscape can influence pollinator contributions, contributions may be primarily driven by their stocking densities, though this is not well studied across crops. We selected 20 southern highbush blueberry farms along two independent gradients honey bee Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) density (~1-11 hives/acre) bumble Bombus impatiens Cresson (0 - 3 colonies/acre)...
Abstract Seventy five percent of the world's food crops benefit from insect pollination. Hence, there has been increased interest in how global change drivers impact this critical ecosystem service. Because standardized data on crop pollination are rarely available, we limited our capacity to understand variation benefits yield, as well anticipate changes service, develop predictions, and inform management actions. Here, present CropPol, a dynamic, open, database It contains measurements...
Highbush blueberry ( Vaccinium spp.) is a globally important fruit crop that depends on insect-mediated pollination to produce quality and commercially viable yields. Pollination success in complex impacted by multiple interacting factors including flower density, bee diversity abundance, weather conditions. Other factors, floral traits, economics also contribute at the farm level but are less well understood. As production continues expand globally, decision-aid technologies needed optimize...
The benefits of insect pollination to crop yields depend on genetic and environmental factors including plant self-fertility, pollinator visitation rates, efficacy. While many crops benefit from pollination, such variation in across both cultivars growing regions is not well documented. In this study, three states the northern Great Plains, United States, 2016 2017, we evaluated pollinator-mediated yield increases for 10 varieties confection sunflowers, Helianthus annuus L. (Asterales:...
Changes in climate can alter the phenology of organisms, potentially decoupling partners within mutualisms. Previous studies have shown that plant and pollinator phenologies are shifting over time, but these shifts primarily been documented for generalists small geographic regions, specific climatic cues regulating not well understood. We examined phenological a specialist its host species 117-year study period using digitized data set more than 4000 unique collection records. assessed how...
Abstract Honey bees ( Apis mellifera L.) are important agricultural pollinators, and there is increasing demand for forage habitat managed colonies. However, also evidence that pasturing honey bee colonies within natural landscapes may negatively affect wild through resource competition. To assess competition between bees, we conducted repeated, short‐term deployments of Florida forests coinciding with seasonal wildflower bloom, compared foraging without present over multiple seasons. We...
Honeybees are of economic importance not only for honey production, but also crop pollination, which amounts to USD 20 billion per year in the United States. However, number honeybee colonies has declined more than 40% during last few decades. Although this decline is attributed a combination factors (parasites, diseases, pesticides, and nutrition), unlike other factors, effect nutrition on health well documented. In study, we assessed differential expression seven genes linked under three...