- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Professor Louie Yang's monarch and milkweed research at the University of California, Davis, is quite celebrated.
Yang, a community ecologist and professor in the Department of Entomology and Nematology, is involved in monarch conservation science and planning, in collaboration with the Western Monarch Conservation Science Group, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation, Monarch Joint Venture, Environment Defense Fund, and the National Monarch Summit in D.C.
- Science Friday, National Public Radio, interviewed him in February 2022 about his monarch-milkweed research. (Listen to the archived interview.)
- He was one of 12 invited scientists nationwide who delivered a presentation during the two-day Monarch Butterfly Summit, held in June 2022 at the Capitol, Washington D.C. He has presented invited seminars at Purdue University and the University of Nevada.
Another feat: Yang launched the Monitoring Milkweed-Monarch Interactions for Learning and Conservation (MMMILC) project in 2013 for students in the environmental science program at Davis Senior High School or those associated with the Center for Land-Based Learning's Green Corps program. He taught more than 150 high school-aged participants. Their tasks: monitoring milkweed-monarch interactions in a project funded by the National Science Foundation. He organized and led a 135-member team, and supported them all as co-authors of the paper, “Different Factors Limit Early- and Late-Season Windows of Opportunity for Monarch Development,” published in July 2022 in the journal Ecology and Evolution. The 107 co-authors included high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, and community members.
But did you know that Professor Yang excels at teaching and mentoring?
Described as “a phenomenal teacher, mentor and an incredibly strong advocate for students,” Yang is the newly announced recipient of the UC Davis Academic Senate's 2024 Distinguished Teaching Award, Undergraduate Student category.
And so well-deserved.
“I have watched him engage, inspire, and challenge his students, fostering creative and critical thinking like no one else I've ever seen,” Joanna Chiu, professor and chair of the department, wrote in her nomination letter. “We deeply appreciate and admire his innovative and inclusive teaching, his exemplary work ethic, his welcoming demeanor, his dedication to his students, and his nationally recognized ecology expertise. Louie has received many well-deserved teaching and mentoring awards for his teaching contributions on and off campus.”
Professor Yang is one of the three co-founders and co-directors (along with Professor Chiu and UC Davis distinguished professor Jay Rosenheim) of the campuswide, one-of-a-kind Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology (RSPIB), launched in 2011 to help students learn cutting-edge research through close mentoring relationships with faculty.
Yang, who holds a bachelor's degree in ecology and evolution (1999) from Cornell University, and a doctorate in population biology (2006) from UC Davis, joined the UC Davis faculty in 2009. UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal, then chair of the entomology department, remembers recruiting and hiring him, on the recommendation of community ecologist Richard "Rick" Karban.
In 2012, as an assistant professor, Yang was selected a Hellman Fellow and then received a 2013-2018 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Award. In 2015, he won a Chancellor's Teaching Fellow Award and the Atwood Colloquium Rising Star Award in Ecology, University of Toronto. Currently he chairs the Entomology Graduate Program and also serves as interim vice chair while community ecologist and associate professor Rachel Vannette is on sabbatical.
Since 2009, Yang has taught more than 600 undergraduates and more than 90 graduate students in his formal classes. His courses include Insect Ecology, Community Ecology, Experimental Ecology and Evolution in the Field, He has taught two National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) grant writing workshops, and the Population Biology Graduate Group core course for three years.
Professor Rosenheim, recipient of the 2011 Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award, Undergraduate Level, has observed Yang's innovative teaching. “His class sessions were impeccably organized, his presentations deeply insightful, and the discussions highly engaging," he wrote. "Louie alternated lectures with class sessions in which large blocks of time were devoted to structured debates. For the debates, Louie drew names at random and assembled two 3-person teams of students, one arguing the 'pro' side of the issue, the other arguing the 'con' side. After an initial period when positions were presented and rebuttals given, the whole class was invited to join in the discussion. What was truly remarkable was the high level of participation that Louie is able to elicit, both during the debates and during his lectures. Louie inspires the confidence of his students, and they reciprocate with their willingness to take risks during class by contributing, even when discussing topics that are new to them. This is not an easy thing to accomplish; Louie's ability to gain such strong student participation is perhaps the strongest evidence of Louie's talent in connecting with students. I was so impressed with the success of Louie's methods that I decided to incorporate structured debates into one of my own classes as well."
In unsolicited comments in Rate My Professors, his students wrote:
- “One of the best instructors at UC Davis. Class on insects was very interesting…He is super cool, and lectures are never boring.”
- “Louie honestly might be my favorite professor on campus. He is cool and smart and engaged with his students…”
- “Really one of the most intelligent people I've met in college. It's apparent just talking to him, which I'd highly recommend.”
- “I loved this seminar, Ecology Outdoors! I learned so much from Louie, and he's really good at encouraging creativity and experimentation. He's a very hard worker and plans the class well.”
- “Really cool guy, made the class interesting. gave a lot of real-life example, so students can relate the subject to real world.”
A tip of the insect net to Professor Louie Yang!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
In a congratulatory letter to him, Jean-Pierre Delplanque, vice provost and dean of Graduate Studies, wrote: "Your program selected you for this award due to your excellent service to your graduate program, as well as your positive impact on graduate students and your colleagues. We thank you for your investment in advising and mentoring graduate students and contribution to their success."
The nomination letter included: "What sets Louie apart are these three qualities: (1) He is honest to the unique needs and interests of each student. He knows that the diversity of ideas and perspectives fuels scientific progress. He respects each student's unique perspective and interests He gives his students opportunities to view themselves as intellectual colleagues and contributors. (2) He facilitates intellectual independence in his drive to help students transition from being consumers of knowledge to becoming producers of knowledge. (3) He learns from his students. He knows that mentorship is a two-way street."
Another excerpt from the nomination letter: "It is unusual and truly special, to find a mentor that perfectly balances generous, unwavering support with a deep appreciation for his students' independence. His supportive advising style, almost paradoxically, allows his students to develop a high degree of independence and self-motivation."
Professor Yang is one of seven faculty members from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences singled out for the award. The other recipients are:
- Cort Anastasio, Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry
- Brian Bailey, Horticulture and Agronomy
- Katrina Jessoe, Agricultural & Resource Economics
- Heather Knych, Pharmacology and Toxicology
- Alessandro Ossola, Environmental Policy and Management
- Caroline Slupsky, Nutritional Biology
The 2023 award recipients also include 14 from the College of Letters and Sciences; 5 from the College of Biological Sciences, 6 from the College of Engineering, and one from the School of Medicine. (See news story)
Yang, who received his bachelor's degree in ecology and evolution from Cornell University in 1999, and his doctorate in population biology from UC Davis in 2006, joined the UC Davis faculty in 2009.
He co-directs and mentors students in the Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology (RSPIB), a campuswide program that he and Professors Jay Rosenheim (now a UC Davis distinguished professor) and Joanna Chiu (now chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology) co-founded in 2011 to help students learn cutting-edge research through close mentoring relationships with faculty. The program crosses numerous biological fields, including population biology; behavior and ecology; biodiversity and evolutionary ecology; agroecology; genetics and molecular biology; biochemistry and physiology; entomology; and cell biology. The goal: to provide academically strong and highly motivated undergraduates with a multi-year research experience that cultivates skills that will prepare them for a career in biological research.
Professor Yang is the second recipient of the campuswide award from the Department of Entomology and Nematology. Last year Rosenheim, who specializes in insect ecology, received the honor.
Highly honored for his advising and mentoring, Yang earlier received the 2023 Distinction in Student Mentoring Award from the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America (PBESA), which encompasses 11 Western states, parts of Canada and Mexico, and U.S. territories. He was praised for "being a strong advocate for his students and fostering creative and critical thinking." His other honors include the 2017 Eleanor and Harry Walker Academic Advising Award from CA&ES. In 2018, he received the regional (Pacific Region 9, California, Nevada and Hawaii) Outstanding Faculty Academic Advisor from NACADA, also known as the Global Community for Academic Advising, and then went on to win NACADA's international award for the Outstanding Faculty Academic Advising Award.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
"Louie is known for being a strong advocate for his students and fostering creative and critical thinking," wrote nominator Steve Nadler, professor and chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. "Whether they be undergraduates, graduates, high school students or members of the community, he engages and challenges students in his lectures, in the lab, and in the field. He attends to the unique needs and interests of each student, respecting their perspectives and ideas. He epitomizes what makes a great professor and advisor: his command of the subject matter, his ability to stimulate discussions and involvement, and his kindly concern for their education, welfare, and success."
The award will be presented at PBESA's annual meeting, set April 2-5, in Seattle. PBESA encompasses 11 Western states, plus parts of Mexico and Canada and U.S. territories.
Yang, who received his bachelor's degree in ecology and evolution from Cornell University in 1999, and his doctorate in population biology from UC Davis in 2006, joined the UC Davis faculty in 2009. Since then, he has mentored an estimated 300 persons, including three PhD students who have graduated from his lab; his current five students; 20 undergraduates associated with his lab; students in three UC Davis graduate groups, Entomology, Graduate Group in Ecology, and Population Biology (40), and 140 community members (nearly all high school students), in the Monitoring Milkweed-Monarch Interactions for Learning and Conservation (MMMILC) project.
In providing her support, Helene Dillard, dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES), wrote: "Professor Yang is an enthusiastic advisor/mentor, he has a strong commitment to student diversity, and he is dedicated to helping students achieve their academic and career goals. He has developed (or co-developed) innovative programs that provide guided mentoring experiences that encourage students to explore their individual skills and interests. These programs and Professor Yang's guidance provide critical pathways for recruiting and retaining undergraduate students in STEM fields. Professor Yang has made valuable contributions to student success in our college and campus-wide and we are proud to strongly support his nomination for the PBESA Distinction in Student Mentoring Award."
Professor Yang has welcomed and mentored students from UC Davis and from around the country with the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program and the UC Davis-Howard University Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Ecology and Evolution Graduate Admissions Pathways (EEGAP) program.
He co-directs and mentors students in the Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology (RSPIB), a campuswide program that he and Professors Jay Rosenheim and Joanna Chiu co-founded in 2011 to help students learn cutting-edge research through close mentoring relationships with faculty. The program crosses numerous biological fields, including population biology; behavior and ecology; biodiversity and evolutionary ecology; agroecology; genetics and molecular biology; biochemistry and physiology; entomology; and cell biology. The goal: to provide academically strong and highly motivated undergraduates with a multi-year research experience that cultivates skills that will prepare them for a career in biological research.
Rosenheim, a UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology, praised Yang's innovative teaching. "Some years ago, as part of my department's standard program of mentoring pre-tenure faculty, I had the privilege of visiting Louie's ENT105 course to observe his teaching methods. His class sessions were impeccably organized, his presentations deeply insightful, and the discussions highly engaging. Louie alternated lectures with class sessions in which large blocks of time were devoted to structured debates. For the debates, Louie drew names at random and assembled two 3-person teams of students, one arguing the 'pro' side of the issue, the other arguing the 'con' side. After an initial period when positions were presented and rebuttals given, the whole class was invited to join in the discussion. What was truly remarkable was the high level of participation that Louie is able to elicit, both during the debates and during his lectures. Louie inspires the confidence of his students, and they reciprocate with their willingness take risks during class by contributing, even when discussing topics that are new to them.This is not an easy thing to accomplish; Louie's ability to gain such strong student participation is perhaps the strongest evidence of Louie's talent in connecting with students.I was so impressed with the success of Louie's methods that I decided to incorporate structured debates into one of my own classes as well."
Professor Yang primarily teaches Insect Ecology and Field Ecology. Since joining the UC Davis faculty, he has taught some 665 students. Unsolicited comments on Rate My Professors all show him as “awesome.” Wrote one student: “Professor Yang is enthusiastic, engaging, and overall, one of the best professors I have had. I got the feeling that he wanted to connect with us as ecologists and future scientists, not just as students. He was great at 'show, not tell' and used videos, demonstrations, and discussions to great effect.”
Yang believes that “science progresses by confronting our assumptions, ideas, and hypotheses with data. This dynamic process of confrontation requires a powerful combination of logic and objectivity that is widely recognized as the domain of science. However, the raw material of scientific creativity—the fundamental wellspring for the scientific process—depends on variability in the way people think about how the world works. This diversity of human perspectives allows the scientific community to ask new questions, imagine new solutions to problems, and reconsider entrenched assumptions—all of which accelerate scientific progress. New ideas are the engine of science and that is why I encourage diversity in science.”
In his research, Yang is involved in monarch conservation science and planning in collaboration with the Western Monarch Conservation Science Group, US FWS, the Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation, Monarch Joint Venture, Environment Defense Fund, the Monarch Summit in DC. Yang was interviewed about his monarch-milkweed research on Science Friday, National Public Radio, in February 2022.
He launched the Monitoring Milkweed-Monarch Interactions for Learning and Conservation (MMMILC) project in 2013 for high school students in the environmental science program at Davis Senior High School or those associated with the Center for Land-Based Learning's Green Corps program. Their tasks: monitoring milkweed-monarch interactions in a project funded by the National Science Foundation. Yang organized and led a 135-member team, all co-authors of the paper, “Different Factors Limit Early- and Late-Season Windows of Opportunity for Monarch Development,” published in July 2022 in the journal Ecology and Evolution. The 107 co-authors included high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, and community members. (See News Story)
Other student-involved publications include:
- A Meta-Analysis of Single Visit Pollination Effectiveness Comparing Honeybees and Other Floral Visitors, American Journal of Botany, November 2021
- The Complexity of Global Change and its Effects on Insects, Insect Science 2021
- Species-Specific, Age-Varying Plant Traits Affect Herbivore Growth and Survival, Ecology 2020
- Artificial Light Increases Local Predator Abundance, Predation Rates, and Herbivory, Environmental Entomology, Sept. 26, 2019
In mentoring, Yang follows several goals:
- To be honest to the unique needs and interests of each student. He aims to assess the advising needs of each student individually, recognizing that these needs can change quickly. He listens and watches, tries not to make too many assumptions, and reminds himself to expect the unexpected. “Science is a human endeavor, and the same diversity of ideas and perspectives that fuels scientific progress means that each scientist needs different advising to succeed." In many cases he has found that the primary task of mentorship is helping students “identify the questions that they want to ask. I seek to respect each student's unique perspective and interests, and to believe what they said.”
- To facilitate intellectual independence. His aim is to help students transition from being consumers of knowledge to becoming producers of knowledge. “This transition requires giving students the intellectual freedom to learn from their own decisions. I am to maintain appropriate humility when I provide advice; when working at the limits of available knowledge, I believe that we usually recognize the best decisions only in hindsight, and the best outcomes often result from a willingness to capitalize on unexpected events. “As a research advisor, I am committed to the long-term success of each student but encourage students to exercise their intellectual courage and curiosity, even at the risk of short-term failures. We develop as scientists by making our own mistakes, and using those mistakes to improve our judgment. I remind myself to allow enough gaps in my advising to allow students to learn first from their interactions with nature.”
- To learn from his students. “I believe that mentorship should be a two-way street, and I expect my students to develop the knowledge and confidence to teach me things that I don't know. As scientists, we are motivated by learning new things, and this is a model of advising that is intellectually engaging and sustainable over the long term. More important, it gives my students the opportunity to become experts and teachers, and to view themselves as intellectual colleagues and contributors.
The nomination packet for the Distinction in Student Mentoring Award included two group letters: one from current students and the other from alumni. Doctoral candidate Elizabeth Postema wrote in part: "I have been one of Louie's students since 2018, and could not have dreamed of a better mentor-mentee relationship. It is unusual, and truly special, to find a mentor that perfectly balances generous, unwavering support with a deep appreciation for his students' independence. Over the years, I have become convinced that Louie is able to warp spacetime; he appears to have more hours in the day than the average human. Regardless of how many projects he's taken on, essays he has to grade, or recommendation letters he's promised to write, he seems to always have an extra hour just to 'shoot the breeze' or think about new experiments. I can be assured of his quick reply to nearly any question, concern, or brainstorm; his turnaround on feedback is blindingly fast (e.g., detailed comments on 20+ pages of writing within a day or two); and I know I can poke my head into his office for advice at any point, even when he's in the middle of something important. This level of support has been remarkably consistent throughout my academic career--from my first year as a PhD student (when I was his only student) to now. His supportive advising style, almost paradoxically, allows his students to develop a high degree of independence and self-motivation."
RSPIB scholar Gwen Erdosh described him as an “incredible scientist, educator, and role model…He has always been there for all of his students, providing all the support we need to flourish as scientists. The most important lesson he has taught me is to always keep pushing forward with an experiment, and always be open to new ideas if one idea fails. He teaches us to see failure as an opportunity for improvement, and always think outside the box. He encourages students to pursue grad school and do their own research in his lab. He takes the time to meet with his students one-on-one to talk through experiments, ideas, and questions. He gives us opportunities to work with his graduate students and gain experience in the field. He is one of the best professors at UC Davis, by far, and it is a delight to be a member of his lab. I am grateful for all that Louie has done for me and the other students in his lab and classes.”
Alumna Meredith Cenzer, now a member of the University of Chicago faculty, wrote: "As an advisor, Louie is supportive, accessible, and engaged in helping his advisees meet their goals. He is responsive and committed to improving himself as a mentor of students at all levels. He fosters independent intellectual development in his advisees and was indispensable to my own growth as a scientist.”
Wrote alumna Shahla Farzan, a science podcast editor with American Public Media: “He supported me throughout my PhD, challenging me to think critically about the ways in which my research answered broader ecological questions. Later, when I decided to pursue a career in science journalism, he was enthusiastic and encouraging. Louie has nurtured and supported countless undergraduate and graduate students over the course of his career and I have no doubt he will continue to be a positive force in the field for many years to come."
Highly honored by his peers and students, Yang received the 2017 Eleanor and Harry Walker Academic Advising Award from CA&ES. In 2018, he received the regional (Pacific Region 9, California, Nevada and Hawaii) Outstanding Faculty Academic Advisor from NACADA, also known as the Global Community for Academic Advising, and then went on to win NACADA's international award for the Outstanding Faculty Academic Advising Award.
Yang writes on his website: "As a lab, we work to maintain an open, supportive and encouraging environment to do good science. We are open to multiple research areas and approaches, and encourage students and postdocs to develop their own innovative ideas and creative questions along the way. Our lab values straightforward communication, intellectual independence, determined problem-solving, constructive persistence, helpfulness, integrity, humility and humor. Although we aim to maintain a small lab group, we always welcome inquiries from prospective graduate students, postdocs and undergraduates. If you are interested in joining the lab, please send an email to Louie H. Yang at lhyang@ucdavis.edu."
The complete list of 2023 PBESA winners is posted here. The archived list of mentoring award recipients dates back to 2012 and includes UC Davis forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey, who won in 2020 and UC Davis distinguished professor Jay Rosenheim, the 2018 recipient.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
“Our newest fellows represent the very best of UC Davis and I congratulate them,” Chancellor Gary S. May said in announcing the new fellows in a UC Davis news release. “The knowledge, expertise and excellence these faculty demonstrate across a range of disciplines positively impacts our university's mission of research, teaching and public service.”
Eleven of the 13 are associate professors and two are professors. Vannette is the only Chancellor's Fellow selected in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Of the 13, five represent the College of Letters and Science.
"An international leader in microbial ecology, she studies interactions between plants, insects and microbes," according to the news release. "Her research projects focus on the chemical an microbial ecology of plant-pollinator interactions and how microbes influence plant defense and resistance against insect pests. For example her research found that microbial species on plants contribute to floral scent and influence the attractiveness of nectar to pollinators."
"It is no exaggeration to say that Dr. Vannette is a rising star in the biological and agricultural sciences at UC Davis," said Helene Dillard, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
The 2022-23 Chancellor's Fellows:
Marcela Cuellar, associate professor, School of Education
Melanie Gareau, associate professor, Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine
J. Sebastian Gomez-Diaz, associate professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
Rana Jaleel, associate professor, Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies, College of Letters and Science
Wilsaan Joiner, professor, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, College of Biological Sciences
Xiaodong Li, associate professor, Department of Statistics, College of Letters and Science
David Olson, associate professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Letters and Science
Caitlin Patler, associate professor, Department of Sociology, College of Letters and Science
Jessica Bissett Perea, associate professor, Department of Native American Studies, College of Letters and Science
Zubair Shafiq, associate professor, Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering
Karen Shapiro, associate professor, Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine
Aaron Tang, professor, School of Law
Rachel Vannette, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Vannette, who holds a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology (2011) from the University of Michigan, was selected a UC Davis Hellman Fellow in 2018.
"All plants are colonized by microorganisms that influence plant traits and interactions with other species, including insects that consume or pollinate plants," she says. "I am interested in the basic and applied aspects of microbial contributions to the interaction between plants and insects. I also use these systems to answer basic ecological questions, such as what mechanisms influence plant biodiversity and trait evolution."
The Vannette lab is a team of entomologists, microbiologists, chemical ecologists, and community ecologists trying to understand how microbial communities affect plants and insects.
“Much of the work in my lab focuses on how microorganisms affect plant defense against herbivores and plant attraction to pollinators,” Vannette related. “For example, we are interested in understanding the microbial drivers of soil health, which can influence plant attractiveness to herbivores and the plant's ability to tolerate or defend against damage by herbivores. In addition, we are working to examine how microorganisms modify flower attractiveness to pollinators. This may have relevance in agricultural systems to improve plant and pollinator health.”
Her recent research grants include two from the National Science Federation (NSF). One is a five-year Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award, titled “Nectar Chemistry and Ecological and Evolutionary Tradeoffs in Plant Adaptation to Microbes and Pollinators.” The other is a three-year collaborative grant, “The Brood Cell Microbiome of Solitary Bees: Origin, Diversity, Function, and Vulnerability.”
"UC Davis has named 191 faculty members as Chancellor's Fellows over the program's 23-year history, with philanthropic support from the UC Davis Annual Fund, Davis Chancellor's Club and the UC Davis Parents Fund," according to the UC Davis news story.
The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology earlier celebrated two Chancellor's Fellows:
2019: Molecular geneticist and physiologist Joanna Chiu, then associate professor and now professor and vice chair of the department
2015: Pollinator ecologist Neal Williams, then associate professor and now professor
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
“I am interested in understanding and predicting how microbial communities influence interactions between plants and insects,” she says. The Vannette lab “uses tools and concepts from microbial ecology, chemical ecology, and community ecology to better understand the ecology and evolution of interactions among plants, microbes and insects."
Now the UC Davis assistant professor has two more opportunities that will enable her to pursue her research: she recently received two National Science Federation (NSF) grants.
One is a five-year Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award, titled “Nectar Chemistry and Ecological and Evolutionary Tradeoffs in Plant Adaptation to Microbes and Pollinators.” NSF grants CAREER awards to early career faculty “who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization,” a NSF spokesman said.
The other is a three-year collaborative grant, “The Brood Cell Microbiome of Solitary Bees: Origin, Diversity, Function, and Vulnerability.”
Vannette serves as a co-principal investigator with professor Bryan Danforth, Cornell University; research entomologist Shawn Steffan of the USDA's Agricultural and Research Service, University of Wisconsin; and assistant professor Quinn McFrederick, UC Riverside.
“Plants interact with a variety of organisms. The flowers and the nectar plants produce are adapted to attract beneficial organisms like bees or hummingbirds. However, microbes like bacteria and fungi also inhabit flowers and can reduce plant reproduction. Plant traits can reduce microbial growth in nectar, but this may also reduce pollinator visitation. This project will investigate if plants that are pollinated by different organisms (e.g. birds vs bees vs flies) differ in their ability to reduce microbial growth and if nectar chemistry is associated with microbial growth. This project will examine if nectar traits can be used to breed plants to be more resistant to harmful microbes without reducing attraction to pollinators. Resistance to microbes is beneficial in agricultural contexts where floral pathogens can limit food production but crops still rely on pollination.
“This research will link variation in plant phenotype to microbial abundance and species composition, and microbial effects on plant-animal interactions,” she noted. “This project will use a tractable system: the microorganisms growing in floral nectar, which can influence floral visitors and plant reproduction. The underlying hypothesis tested is that plant traits can facilitate or reduce microbial growth, and the community context (e.g., presence of pollinators) influence ecological and evolutionary outcomes.”
Vannette will perform the research activities using 1) a community of co-flowering plant species and 2) genotypes within California fuchsia (Epilobium canum). “Experiments will characterize variation in microbial growth, nectar chemistry, and microbial effects on plant reproduction and floral visitor behavior and the interactions of these factors,” she related in her abstract. “ Experiments and analysis will reveal how variation in nectar chemistry is associated with microbial growth and species composition in nectar, and subsequent effects on plant-pollinator interactions including plant reproduction. Experiments across Epilobium genotypes will elucidate how microbes affect microevolution of floral traits in a community context.”
The project “will engage students from a large undergraduate class to participate in practitioner-motivated research projects,” she wrote. “Students from the Animal Biology major, including in the class ABI 50A will participate in outreach on pollinator-friendly plantings for horticultural and landscaping. The project will support students recruited from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds to participate in independent projects related to project objectives, including hosting students through the Evolution and Ecology Graduate Admissions Pathway (EEGAP), a UC-HCBU program." The program connects faculty and undergraduate scholars at both UC (University of California) and HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) campuses
Collaborative Grant
The collaborative grant will enable the researchers to do cutting-edge research as they investigate the diverse community of bacteria and yeasts in the pollen and nectar diet of bees.
“Bees are the single most important pollinators of flowering plants worldwide,” the co-investigators wrote in their abstract. “Over 85% of the 325,000 flowering plant species on earth depend on animals for pollination, and the vast majority of pollination is carried out by bees. Annually, bees are estimated to contribute $15 billion to US crop production and $170 billion to global crop production. High-value bee-pollinated crops include apple and other early spring tree fruits, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, squash and pumpkins, tomatoes, almonds, and many others. The economic viability of US agricultural production is dependent on stable and healthy wild and domesticated bee populations.”
“However, bee populations are threatened by a variety of factors, including habitat loss, pathogen spillover, invasive plants and animals, and pesticide use, which can disrupt the normal microbial symbionts essential for bee larval development (the ‘brood cell' microbiome),” they pointed out in their abstract. “This research project focuses on understanding what role microbes play in the larval nutrition in a wide variety of bee species. Previous research has documented a diverse community of bacteria and yeasts in the pollen and nectar diet of bees. As larvae consume these pollen/nectar provisions they are ingesting microbes, and our preliminary results indicate that these microbes form an essential component of the larval diet. This project has the potential to significantly modify how we view the 120 million-year-old partnership between bees and flowering plants, and will provide essential information for developing long-term bee conservation efforts. Project outreach efforts include educational activities on solitary bees for K-12 students and interactive demonstrations of bee-microbe-flower interactions for broad audiences.
The co-principal investigators said that the project will use cutting-edge methods to (1) document the microbial diversity in flowers and pollen provisions, (2) determine the nutritional role of microbes in larval development and health, and (3) understand how alterations in microbial community impact larval development.
To document microbial diversity in both host-plant flowers and pollen provisions, the research team will use amplicon sequencing and microbial metagenomics. These methods will document the microbial species present in pollen provisions as well as the metabolic activities these microbes perform during pollen maturation. Screening the pollen and nectar of host-plant species will provide key insights into the source of the brood cell microbiome. To determine the nutritional role of the microbial community the research team will use two methods from trophic ecology: compound specific isotope analysis and neutral lipid fatty acid analysis. These analyses will permit the research team to track the origin (floral or microbial) of amino acids and fatty acids in the larval diet of 15 focal bee species.
Finally, through manipulative laboratory experiments, the research team will determine how modifications of the microbial communities impact larval development. They hope by combining the results of these studies, the researchers will provide a comprehensive understanding of how bees and flowering plants interact via their shared microbial partners.
The collaborative project is funded jointly by the Systematics and Biodiversity Sciences Cluster (Division of Environmental Biology) and the Symbiosis, Defense and Self-recognition Program (Division of Integrative Organismal Systems).
Vannette, a Hellman Fellow, joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology in 2015 after serving as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University's biology department. As a Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow from 2011 to 2015, she examined the role of nectar chemistry in community assembly of yeasts and plant-pollinator interactions.
A native of Hudsonville, Mich., Vannette received her doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Michigan, in 2011. Her dissertation was entitled “Whose Phenotype Is It Anyway? The Complex Role of Species Interactions and Resource Availability in Determining the Expression of Plant Defense Phenotype and Community Consequences.”