Of prairies and pollinators

Ensuring restored prairies offer a variety of resources to pollinators across the entirety of the growing season is critical for their success. This means making sure multiple flower species are providing nectar and pollen at any given time, all season long. Maggie Anderson, an Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior PhD candidate, conducts her research at a Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve site designed to mimic the kinds of land-use changes people have imposed on prairie landscapes since settlers began westward expansion. She’s studying the complex ways human activity, such as habitat fragmentation and habitat restoration, can affect the diversity of resources available to pollinators. Maggie hopes her research will inform prairie restoration techniques and boost pollinator biodiversity.