35th Annual Student Research Conference
Tracking Herbivory and Fungal Infection in Plantago spp. Using iNaturalist
Katelyn E. Hopkins
Dr. Robert D. Sieg, Faculty Mentor
Our research seeks to investigate the effects of climate change on the phenology and community interactions of the cosmopolitan plant species Plantago lanceolata and Plantago rugelii. Specifically we are interested in how the timing of herbivory and fungal infection by powdery mildew across large latitudinal gradients may be associated with increasing temperatures due to climate change. We are able to ask questions at global spatial scales by pooling data from iNaturalist: a worldwide database containing observations of plants and animals in nature using photographs. Additionally, this study is backed by a community science project wherein students currently enrolled in BIOL 104 crowdsourced Plantago image analysis on the iNaturalist platform. This project also has pedagogical applications regarding student engagement in citizen science.
Keywords: climate change, plant phenology, fungal infection, citizen science, pedagogy
Topic(s):Biology
Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
Session: 2-2
Location: SUB Activities Room
Time: 3:00