Aaron Anderson studied the association of bees with 23 wildflower species that are native to the Pacific Northwest. You can read his peer refereed publication or his Extension publication, Native Plant Picks for Bees.
Jen Hayes is studying pollinator visitation to Pacific Northwest native plants, and 2-3 of their cultivars. You can learn a bit more about her research, by watching her recent webinar.
Mallory Mead studied leafcutter bees' use of Clarkia amoena petals, including Clarkia cultivars and hybrids. You can read more about her research on this Garden Ecology Lab blog post. We are preparing her research for publication consideration.
Svea Bruslind studied how to simulate bee color vision of native plants and cultivars, using multi-spectral photography. You can read her Honor's Thesis, which details the methods she used to simulate bee color vision. We are preparing her research for publication consideration.
Garden Biodiversity
Nicole Bell studied the garden bees collected and identified in 28 studies, spanning 14 countries, to better understand if gardens selectively include or exclude bees with different ecological characteristics. You can read her peer refereed publication.
Gail Langellotto and Isabella Messer studied the bees of Portland-area gardens for 3 years. Collected bees were identified by Sarah Kornbluth, Gabriel Foote, and Lincoln Best, with final determinations made by Lincoln Best. Nicole Bell built an iNaturalist guide and companion natural history notes manual about these bees. The dataset is currently being prepared for publication consideration in a peer refereed journal.
Gwynne Mhuireach characterized the microbes found in Oregon garden soils. She also characterized the extent to which soil microbes transfer to gardeners' skin, during the act of gardening. You can read the peer refereed publication.
Nina Miller is studying the syrphid flies of gardens in Corvallis and Portland, Oregon. She will also be studying the biological control services of syrphids, against aphids.
Kailey Legier is studying the beetles that can be found in Corvallis, Oregon area gardens.
Garden Soils
Mykl Nelson studied the garden soils managed by 27 Oregon Master Gardener volunteers, to see if the characteristics of Master Gardener managed soils matched what is taught in Master Gardener training classes. He found that soils were characterized by excess fertility, particularly in raised beds versus in ground gardens. You can read his peer refereed publication for more information.
Urban Agriculture
Anna Perry is studying soil moisture and temperature fluctuations, in a 5th floor urban agriculture array in Portland, Oregon.
