Field Experiments
How Flower Strips Can Improve Squash Pollination and Yields
My first field experiment focused on on-farm floral plantings can change pollination and translate into fruit set and crop yield. In this experiment, I planted flower strips in a randomized block design throughout 2 squash farms (Sam Accursio and Sons located in Homestead, Florida). I examined insect visitation to the flower blocks (Sweet Alyssum- Lobularia maritima, white variety and Buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum, variety Koku, two well-studied commonly used insectary plants to attract beneficial insects). I tracked squash plants at close, medium, and far distances from these flower blocks to see how proximity affected squash pollination, and measured zucchini production, weather, and fruit abortion rates. These results found squash plants near the flower strips, especially Buckwheat, produced significantly more zucchini. By pairing direct pollinator observations with final yield outcomes, this experiment links behavioral responses of pollinators to measurable changes in crop performance, providing a field-based perspective on how farm management affects pollination-dependent food production.
The farming collaborator for this project (Sam Accursio) has continued floral plantings in his fields, adding different mixtures and locations to improve spring time pollination of squash, when bees tend to prefer tropical fruit trees to his zucchini plants. He has continued to see improvements in his yields!
Experimental Warming of Squash Effects on Plants and Pollinators
My second field experiment examines how heat stress influences zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo) flowering and pollinator visitation under natural growing conditions. Using in-field temperature manipulations called Open Top Chambers (OTC'S), I measured how elevated temperatures affect flower production, male–female flower ratios, and pollinator activity throughout the flowering period. I conducted repeated pollinator observations to quantify visitor abundance, visitation rates, and species composition, allowing me to assess how warming alters real-time plant–pollinator interactions in an open agricultural setting.
These experiments were conducted on a conventional squash farm (Sam Accursio and Sons in Homestead, FL) and an Organic (French Farms, Redlands, Florida) to see how different landscapes may buffer heat stress on plants and pollinators. These results saw higher pollinator visitation and overall yields in the organic farm versus conventional, however no difference between plants inside the OTC's versus control.
Lab Experiment: How Heat Stress Affects Zucchini Squash and its Bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) Pollinators
Conducted with Kenneth Feeley at the University of Miami and the International Center for Tropical Botany
To isolate the direct physiological effects of heat stress, I conducted controlled growth-chamber experiments exposing zucchini plants and pollinators to experimentally elevated temperatures. These experiments allow me to separate temperature effects from other environmental variables present in the field. I measured flowering dynamics, nectar volume and sugar concentration, pollen traits, and plant structural responses under different warming scenarios.
In parallel, I conducted laboratory assays on pollinators to examine how heat exposure influences behavior and performance. These experiments include measurements of foraging activity, visitation patterns, and physiological stress responses, helping to clarify the mechanistic pathways through which temperature alters pollination processes. Together, these lab and growth-chamber experiments provide the mechanistic foundation that complements and strengthens my field-based findings.
