March 20:

“Pollination: The Hidden Language of Flowers and the Importance of Pollinators”

Thursday, March 20, at 7 pm.

BrightRidge Auditorium

2600 Boones Creek Rd (Hwy 354), Johnson City

Pollinators have played a key role in the diversification and organization of the plant life that exists today. Pollination also provides a key ecosystem service that is responsible for approximately one third of all food production needed for human consumption. However, the full diversity and underlying complexity of plant-pollinator interactions remains unappreciated. In this presentation Dr. Arceo-Gomez will talk about the intricate complexity of the interactions between plants and pollinators, how diverse they are, how plants and insects communicate, and how these interactions have evolved and specialized. He will also emphasize the importance of these interactions for our own well-being, all while discussing fun natural history facts about pollination in natural and crop systems.

Gerardo Arceo-Gomez received his Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh and he is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at East Tennessee State University. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed scientific publications and has obtained competitive grants to fund his work, including from NSF. Gerardo’s work is focused in understanding the ecological and the evolutionary consequences of plant-pollinator interactions. Current research in his lab focuses on 1) evaluating causes and consequences of plant-pollinator interactions and 2) evaluating the effects of human disturbances on plant-pollinator interactions. His research covers broad topics in plant ecology, plant-animal interactions, conservation biology, community ecology, and pollination biology.