The Magnolia Project
The Magnolia Project
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The evolution of floral signaling in flowering plants
The evolution of floral signaling in flowering plants
Why study Magnolias?
Why study Magnolias?
A tale as old as time
The genus Magnolia are known as 'living fossils'. This means they are an extant ancient lineage that diverged long ago (~100 MYA!). In fact, they are one of the oldest extant lineages of flowering plants.
Together with their insect pollinators that also diverged millions of year ago, and predating groups like bees and butterflies, this is one of the earliest extant pollination mutualisms in flowering plants!
Insect diversity
Its important to distinguish visitors from pollinators. Some insects just like to hang out, but don't really get the job done. One thing I'm investigating in Magnolia is what pollinators are visiting each species.
Here, you can glimpse the huge diversity of insect orders visiting Magnolias!
How do I study Magnolias?
How do I study Magnolias?
Floral signaling
I collect data from Magnolia flowers to determine what they are releasing and potentially targeting pollinators with. These cues include scent, temperature, humidity, CO2, color, and UV patterning.
Insect visitation and behaviour
I also collect insects visiting these flowers and record their behaviour, even in response to isolated signals or various combinations (full factorial design). I have also set up field experiments which exclude pollinators depending on time of day, to see if nocturnal pollinators are more successful than diurnal ones, and vice versa.
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