Engaging Citizen Scientists in Studies of Plant-Pollinator
Interactions in Forests on the Tug Hill, New York
Geoffrey R. Griffiths
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Final Report to the Edna Bailey Sussman Foundation, 2015
(Bumblebee visiting Virginia waterleaf)
Summary of Proposed Work
Citizen scientists are integral to ecological monitoring and can help understand how
changes in plant community structure may have affected pollinator assemblages.
Although honeybee declines have received the most attention, thousands of wild
bees and other insects responsible for pollinating crops and flowering plants are
declining globally. Most of the current forestland across New York State, including
regions of the Tughill, was previously used as farmland or pastureland. These “postagricultural” forests remain devoid of understory vascular plant diversity such as
Red and White Trillium (Trillium spp.), Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria),
Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides), and many other wildflowers that support
a wide diversity of insect pollinators (Fig. 1).
To facilitate the recovery of these forests, I have proposed my graduate work to
focus on development of restoration strategies such as planting and propagation
protocols to speed up the establishment of vascular plants (a process that would
take centuries without intervention). These protocols would be incomplete without
the citizen scientist network needed to take on such a challenging task and monitor
recovery over time.
The purpose of my summer internship with the Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust
(THTLT) was to develop educational programming, recruit and train the citizenscientists, and begin efforts to assess the current status of pollinators in postagricultural forests of New York. Working with the Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust is
an exciting opportunity, and while my internship was completed in 2015, I look
forward to building upon this progress over the next several years. The Tug Hill
Tomorrow Land Trust is an organization committed to protecting working farms,
forests, and wild places to preserve its rich natural and cultural history. With the
1
support of Linda Garrett, executive director, I worked to develop educational
programming for their members, recruit citizen scientists, and pilot efforts to
reintroduce native plants and attract pollinators.
Figure 1 Plant Assemblages in Secondary “Post-agricultural” Forest “Restoration Sites” (Top) in Primary
“Reference Sites” (Bottom) in Spring 2015
Many forest herb species such as Red Trillium (Trillium erectum), Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides),
Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), and even ferns such as Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)
are slow to recover once removed from a forest area. Several transects marked by pink flags were used to survey
current herbaceous species and re-vegetation (seed and rootstock addition) plots were then planted adjacent to
these locations along with soil disturbance control plots.
2
Results and Discussion of Work Completed
During my internship with the THTLT, I piloted programs, co-led field trips, and
introduced other activities related to the ultimate goal of developing engaging and
effective ways to draw attention to plant and pollinator conservation in New York
State. These activities included wildflower identification walks, an “Old Growth
hike,” and wildflower planting and monitoring trials.
Development of comprehensive plant lists and flowering times for an “Old-Growth”
forest area in Osceola Forest and the Joseph A. Blake Wildlife Sanctuary was
initiated in the 2015 field season. Several secondary “post-agricultural stands” were
identified for restoration at the wildlife sanctuary among other field sites. This land
trust-owned property offers opportunities to incorporate educational programming
in a central location and will be a focal point for future work. Seed sources of several
native species (e.g. Actaea spp., Asarum canadense, Caulophyllum thalictroides,
Tiarella cordifolia spp., Polygonatum spp., and Trillium spp.) were found in the
wildlife sanctuary and could continue to be used for future planting trials.
Early on, one of our goals shifted to include a kid’s program to incorporate an
important demographic that is often missed and could help attract families to future
events. We, therefore, developed the “Build-a-Bee!” program to teach children ages
7-12 about the importance of pollinators in the Tug Hill and beyond (Fig. 2). The
purpose of this program was to help kids learn the similarities between bees and
butterflies, identify the parts of an insect, and discuss what insects are and do
through craft-activities, search for pollinators, and visit to the Thompson Park Zoo’s
butterfly garden in Watertown, NY. Several lesson plans and resources were
designed, which will be shared with zoo staff to incorporate into their educational
initiatives. In the future, I plan to donate duplicate specimens from my summer
insect collection to the zoo once confirmations of identifications have been made.
Figure 2 “Build-A-Bee” Program Sponsored by the THTLT at the Thompson Park Zoo
Over 20 children ages 7-12 participated in the “Build-a-Program,” which was designed to teach kids about the
importance of pollinators and address misconceptions about bees and other insects. According to Zoo staff, “the
kids loved it and the parents were very impressed with their bee crafts at the end of the day and a lot of the kids
were explaining the different parts of the body to them during pick up.”
3
In 2015, field sites were established and initial monitoring of stand characters,
herbaceous species, and pollinators was conducted. A growing list of volunteers in
the THTLT and beyond has been established, and will aid in future planting and
pollinator monitoring activities in New York. At SUNY ESF, over 25 student
volunteers aided in seed preparation and planting trials and continue to remain
interested in helping out with restoration initiatives (Fig. 3).
In summary, over 330 seed-addition plots of White Baneberry (Actaea pachypoda),
Red Baneberry (Actaea rubra), Wild Leek (Allium tricoccum), and Blue cohosh
(Caulophyllum thalictroides), False Solomon’s Seal (Maianthemum racemosum), and
Red Trillium (Trillium erectum) were planted in 2015 and will be monitored for
establishment in future years. Close to 1000 wild bee specimens have been
identified to morphospecies—the majority of which are mining bees (Andrena spp.),
but which also included green sweat bees (i.e. Augochlora spp. and Augochlorella
spp.), small carpenter bees Ceratina spp., cuckoo bees (Nomada spp.) and other
sweat bees (Lasioglossum spp.). Spring forests were shown to support a wide
diversity of pollinator assemblages, but data analysis will help determine the degree
of differences in “reference” and “restoration sites” now that specimens have been
identified (Fig. 4). Several other propagation trials have been initiated and will
contribute to the creation of a continually improving plan to restore forests on the
Tug Hill and other areas of New York.
Fig. 3 Engagement of Citizen Scientists and Piloting Protocols with Undergraduate Students
The photographs include 1) volunteers planting (Top left), 2)leading a workshop and testing out use of an
identification guide (Top right), 3) summer field assistants (Bottom left), and 4) preparing seeds to plant after
collecting from wild populations with student volunteers (Bottom right).
4
Figure 4 Examples of Pollinators other than Honeybees
1) Green sweat bee (likely Augochlora pura) visiting common mullein, 2) a Beetle (Curculionidae) visiting
Jewelweed, 3) a flower-fly (likely Eristalis transversa from the family Syrphidae) photographed after just visiting
Blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis), and 4) a small carpenter bee (Ceratina calcarata) visiting White Trillium
(Trillium grandiflorum). Numerous Plant-Insect interactions were noted in 2015 and as my taxonomic
knowledge improves, there is great potential for many bees and other flower-visitors to be identified to genus
(and even species in some cases) through high-quality photographs, which may be a future direction to engage
citizen scientists.
Future Work
As my research continues, I will plant a wider range of species known to be support
wild bees and other pollinators in the secondary stands using different types of
propagules (i.e. seeds, juvenile plants, and flowering individuals). With the help of
citizen scientists, we will apply a scientific approach to understanding limiting
factors in the restoration process. Currently, propagation strategies are being
explored to increase chances of re-establishment success (Fig. 5). Finally, by
working with Linda Garrett, I hope to involve local school districts in restoration
and studies of plant-pollinator interactions at the Joseph A. Blake Wildlife Sanctuary.
5
Fig. 5 Radicle Production in Wild Leeks (Allium tricoccum) after warm stratification
Currently, I am examining ways to increase survival and speed up recruitment of native woodland wildflowers.
Breaking dormancy by stratifying seeds may allow us
reduce time by over a year to establish juvenile plants.
Acknowledgements
I am thankful Edna Bailey Sussman Foundation for their generosity, which made my
fieldwork possible, as well as Dr. Greg McGee and Dr. Melissa Fierke for their input
and guidance for my research. I am extremely grateful to Linda Garrett from the Tug
Hill Tomorrow Land Trust for agreeing to be the sponsor for my host organization.
Finally, I would like to thank Joshua Badding, Nick Benecke, Sandy Bonanno, Kara
Brunngraber, Terrance Cavanaugh, Allison Chartrand, Nancy Davidson, Vicy and
Steve Diehl, Zarha Dillon, Rick and Robin Kulibert, Fawn Heins, Robert McNamara,
Steve Mooney, Kelsey McLaughlin, Randy Nonenmacher, Laura Shaddack, Marybeth
Shillace, Zach Wakeman, and many of the other students and volunteers who helped
pilot citizen science protocols.
6