Research

Late-spring frost events in the Colorado Rocky Mountains can drastically reduce floral availability, yet the response of plant-pollinator networks to these disturbances remains poorly understood. To quantify these impacts, we experimentally removed a dominant floral resource in a subalpine meadow and analyzed the subsequent restructuring of plant-pollinator interactions. 

PUBLICATION

Bain, J.A. et al. 2022. Removing flowers of a generalist plant changes pollinator visitation, composition, and interaction network structure. Ecosphere. 

While macronutrient availability is a major driver of species interactions, its specific role in structuring plant-pollinator networks is largely uncharacterized. Native bees rely entirely on floral pollen and nectar, yet interspecific variation in floral nutritional content—and the corresponding nutritional preferences of wild bees, particularly bumble bees—requires further investigation. To address these knowledge gaps, I combine multi-year observational data of bee-flower interaction networks with comprehensive macronutrient analyses of field-collected nectar and pollen. By quantifying both the available nutritional landscape and the specific foraging choices of wild bees, this research identifies the nutritional drivers of pollinator health and informs targeted conservation strategies to mitigate population declines.

Currently, I am investigating the spatial variation of nutrient landscapes and the flexibility of bumble bee nutritional niches in Oklahoma. 

PUBLICATIONS

Bain, J.A. et al. 2025. Nutrient niche dynamics among wild pollinators. Proceedings B.