Theses and Dissertations

Advisor

Fortuin, Christine

Committee Member

Galeano, Esteban

Committee Member

Hill, JoVonn

Committee Member

Gandhi, Kamal

Committee Member

Weand, Matthew; Basu, Priya

Date of Degree

8-7-2025

Original embargo terms

Immediate Worldwide Access

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Forestry

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Forest Resources

Department

Department of Forestry

Abstract

Montane longleaf pine ecosystems are remarkably biodiverse and highly understudied. Like other longleaf pine ecosystems, montane longleaf pine forests have faced declines. These ecosystems have been undergoing restoration efforts to reestablish floral understories. Flourishing pollinator communities are essential to successful restoration efforts. This study seeks to understand the influence of site history and characteristics on native bee communities in restored montane longleaf pine ecosystems, and to establish a methodology for creating pollination networks in these ecosystems by using DNA metabarcoding to analyze bee-collected pollen. Our results showed that community composition varied based on month and site history. Site history impacted functional divergence of bee communities, especially regarding nesting habits, with higher proportions of litter nesting bees in sites which were prior mesophied forests compared to sites which were prior plantations. We outlined DNA collection and extraction procedures for pollination network creation and developed PCR primers for use on pollen samples.

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