PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #37: Plant Ecology: Populations.
Wednesday, August 7. Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC
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Spring snowpack depth and summer temperature affect flowering phenology and abundance in Mertensia ciliata (Boraginaceae).
INOUYE, DAVID*,1,2, DODGE, GARY1,2, 1 University of Maryland, College Park, MD2 Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested Butte, CO
ABSTRACT- Mertensia ciliata (streamside, mountain, or alpine bluebell) is a long-lived perennial herbaceous plant species found in subalpine zones of the Rocky Mountains. Flowering typically begins in late June or early July and continues for about a month. Bumblebees are the most common flower visitors. We counted numbers of flowers and flowering stalks in ten 2x2m plots at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (2,900 m); data were collected every two days during the flowering period for 28 years since 1973. We used all possible model comparisons with 72 weather-based variables (precipitation and temperature) to determine the best models for predicting flower abundance and phenology. Snowpack depth on May 22 was the best single predictor of the onset of flowering (p<0.01, r2 = 0.67). Snowpack on April 30 was the best single predictor for flower production, (p<0.01, r2 = 0.58), however flower production was best explained by a two-variable model including July mean temperature and snowpack on April 30 (p< 0.01, r2 = 0.62). Stalk production was best explained in a two-variable model including June mean temperature and snowpack on May 15 (p<0.05, r2 = 0.36). Temperature and precipitation patterns are expected to change in the future as part of global climate change, and we predict this will result in changing patterns of timing and abundance of flowering by this species. This may have consequences for the plant's pollination biology and demography.
KEY WORDS: Mertensia ciliata, flowering phenology, flower production, climate change