- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Graduate student Katharina Ullmann of the Neal Williams lab is the host.
“Many recent studies have shown that enhancing floral resources in intensive agricultural landscapes promotes species richness of flower-visitor communities, but to date, it is not known whether such effects are transient, merely concentrating individuals from across the larger landscape at flower-rich patches,” M'Gonigle says in his abstract. “Long-term data series and use of occupancy models are particularly helpful in determining whether these richness patterns actually reflect true increases in occupancy, or not. Further, such models can also determine whether enhanced occupancy results from decreased extinction rates, increased colonization rates, or both, providing information that is useful for conservation planning. “
“To date, these models have not been applied to the study of pollinators and their response to restoration. Here we present the results from a long-term study chronicling how restoration and subsequent maturation of native plant hedgerows affects occupancy, persistence and colonization of bees and syrphid flies in the Central Valley of California. Using a hierarchical occupancy model, we show that restoration via the introduction of perennial flowering native shrubs promotes the between-season persistence, but not colonization, of both bees and syrphid flies. This increased occupancy has the long-term effect of leading to the assembly of more diverse communities. We also find that, for native bees, hedgerow restoration has a greater impact on floral resource specialists than generalists."
M'Gonigle received his bachelor of science degree in mathematics (honors with distinction) from the University of Victoria in 2005; his master's degree in zoology from the University of British Columbia in 2006, and his doctorate in zoology from the University of British Columbia in 2011.
The recipient of numerous awards, he won the Dan David Prize ($15,000 prize for doctoral work) in 2011 and was named the top teaching assistant in his department (based on student course evaluations encompassing 70 teaching assistants) in both 2008 and 2011. Considered an outstanding speaker, he won “best talk” awards from several scientific organizations.
His most recent publications include:
Frishkoff, L.O., Karp, D.S., M'Gonigle, L.K., Mendenhall, C.D., Zook, J., Kremen, C., Hadley, E.A., and Daily, G.C. Land Use Transforms the Tree of Life. In prep.
M'Gonigle, L.K., Ponisio, L.C., and Kremen, C. Habitat restoration promotes pollinator persistence in intensively managed agriculture. In prep.
Ball-Damerow, J.E., M'Gonigle, L.K., Resh, V.H. Landscape, climate, and habitat factors influencing assemblages of dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) in California and Nevada. Submitted.
Ball-Damerow, J.E., M'Gonigle, L.K., Resh, V.H. Changes in occurrence, richness, and biological traits of dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) in California and Nevada over the past century. Submitted.
M'Gonigle's seminar is scheduled to be video-recorded for later posting on UCTV.
(Editor's Note: See remainder of Spring Quarter Seminars, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology)