Plant-Pollinator Interactions in Montane Meadows at Mount Rainier National Park: Assessing Butterfly Distributions, Phenological Relationships, and Climatic Responses

Project ID: P15AC00987

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Partner Institution: Western Washington University

Fiscal Year: 2015

Initial Funding: $10,000

Total Funding: $10,000

Project Type: Research

Project Disciplines: Biological

National Park: Mount Rainier National Park

Principal Investigator: McLaughlin, John

Agreement Technical Representative: Rochefort, Regina

Abstract: Climate change is expected to result in changes in plant-pollinator interactions, but the severity of these changes is not yet clearly understood. This project will address both spatial and temporal effects of climate change on plant-pollinator interactions by studying butterfly and plant phenology in alpine and subalpine environments of Mount Rainier National Park (MORA). Western Washington University and the National Park Service will collaborate on several project objectives, including conducting field work at multiple meadows at MORA to collect plant and butterfly data, constructing plant phenophase profiles for common forbs, constructing butterfly emergence curves for commonly detected species, developing a MORA subalpine meadow database, and evaluating relationships between butterfly distributions and MORA subalpine meadow characteristics, at local, meadow, and landscape scales. Expected products include a project report, Science Briefs, and at least one manuscript suitable for submittal to a peer-reviewed journal.