Jake Francis

New study with @maureenpage.bsky.social @jsfrancis.bsky.social et al finds that honeybee competition reduces the nutritional quality of wild bee pollen diets 🐝

But, including high-protein plant species in wildflower plantings can partially mitigate these negative effects 🧪🌍

doi.org/10.1111/1365...

Did you know social bees eat pollen directly at flowers while foraging? New pub in Apidologie - we investigate function of pollen eating on flowers, and potentially link it to quality assessment! Work w/ students & @annieleonard.bsky.social @jsfrancis.bsky.social

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

See you all there!

Oh no I wish you had been here - I would have loved to meet in person Weer you giving a seminar? I am right across the street in the FAU building!

As a newcomer to this ecosystem I can see how one could love it!

This image talks about the extension of the deadline for Botany 2024 early registration and abstract submission to April 5. The URL code goes to: http://botanyconference.org.

What gives us #PlantJoy? Giving you a few more days to get those abstracts in!

The Botany 2024 early-registration discount and abstract submission deadlines have BEEN EXTENDED to APRIL 5th!

www.botanyconference.org

Four more days to procrastinate now!

An inflorescence of Lupinus polyphyllus

My favorite of these is Lupinine (among other alkaloids) made by the Lupins from lysine!

The nitrogens are extra scary because they help it block the binding sites of neurotransmitters.

The flowers sure are pretty though!!!

Abstracts now due on Friday!

Boosting because we are still searching, abstracts are due Monday! 🪴🌾🌎🌼

monkshood flower with with glass tube collecting nectar

solitary bee with pollen in scopae

We are looking for early-career chemical ecology folks who want to participate in a symposium at botany. Hoping to have a vibrant and diverse representation of grad students, post-docs, and pre-tenure faculty.

Is this you, or someone you know? Have them reach out to me!

#botany #plant-sciences

An important note is that much of this was learned with the help of others on Bsky and not on Bsky (mentioned in the post). @draverbee.bsky.social, @annieleonard.bsky.social

A gloved hand holding a potentilla flower over a vial

My next blog posts on pollination ecology techniques is up. It covers some tips for pollen collection I learned during my dissertation, as well as some discussion of quantifying pollen rewards. I'd love to hear about others' experiences.

jacobsfrancis.com/pollen-colle...

🌾🪴🌎🌼 #pollination #botany

or - for example - the transpirational/metabolic cost of maintaining flowers might out weigh the signaling benefit in certain abiotic conditions.

I always wondered whether this strategy might be favored in certain ecosystems or when interacting with certain pollinators. For example the resolution of vertebrate eyes may be higher than bees for example, and so there may be less pressure to have a big visual display.

monkshood flower with with glass tube collecting nectar

solitary bee with pollen in scopae

We are looking for early-career chemical ecology folks who want to participate in a symposium at botany. Hoping to have a vibrant and diverse representation of grad students, post-docs, and pre-tenure faculty.

Is this you, or someone you know? Have them reach out to me!

#botany #plant-sciences

If I remember right there are herbivory differences among color morphs also?

I am hiring a post-bac lab coordinator - this person will be the first official member of the lab besides me and will have the opportunity to be a part of many upcoming research projects from their inception!

Job Ad here: fau.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/FAU/jo...

Aconitum flower with a small glass tube protruding from the flower

I recently got a question about sampling nectar, and was reminded of this quick blog post I did this summer about tips and tricks for new pollination ecologists. I will be working on more of these once 2 pressing MS are off my plate! jacobsfrancis.com/tips-on-samp...

🌾🌎🪴🌼

#botany #pollination

Leaf abaxial and adaxial surfaces differentially affect plant-fungal pathogen interactions bioRxiv - the preprint server for biology, operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a research and educational institution

📜 Leaf abaxial and adaxial surfaces differentially affect plant-fungal pathogen interactions

🧑‍🔬 Celine Caseys, @spicybotrytis.bsky.social, et al.

📔 @biorxiv-plants.bsky.social

🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

#️⃣ (Feeds) #PlantScience #PlantImmunity #PlantMetabolites #Botrytis

‘To kill a program’: Duke to close herbarium after over 100 years of operation The Duke Herbarium is the second-largest private university herbarium in the U.S. and is home to more than 825,000 plant specimens, including some specimens almost 200 years old. Universities across t...

Thanks to the Duke Student newspaper for an informative piece about the announcement that Duke is abandoning support for its Herbarium, one of the most important in the nation
www.dukechronicle.com/article/2024...

Targeted Viromes and Total Metagenomes Capture Distinct Components of Bee Gut Phage Communities bioRxiv - the preprint server for biology, operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a research and educational institution

Hey science friends! Ever wonder what the phage community of bumble bees look like? Or how to best sample host-associated phage communities? Check out our new preprint!

Turns out that the bumble bees we sampled hosted extraordinarily low diversity phage communities, relative to honey bees. 🐝🦠🧪

Couldn't handle having COVID and needing a haircut so went straight to the 1/16th buzz. We will see how my 17 moth old handles it as I have had hair since she was born!

A photo of the sun setting over the Sagehen Creek basin and a broad conifer forest.

Have you ever dreamed of running a field station, working with scientists, students, and artists? Check out our search for Reserve Director at the UC Berkeley Sagehen Creek Field Station, in the beautiful Tahoe/Truckee area of the Sierra Nevada! Closing date: 3/2/24. tinyurl.com/SagehenCreek

and so many cool symbioses!

Botany 2024 is gonna be a blast!

This is a photo of Botany 2024 Regional Botany Special Lecture speaker, Kaya DeerInWater. To learn more about Kaya, visit http://botanyconference.org/speaker-bios.html.

The Botany 2024–Resilience in a Changing World - Regional Botany Special Lecturer will be Kaya DeerInWater. Kaya is a member of the Citizen Band of Potawatomi, and is pursuing his Master's degree in Biocultural Restoration at SUNY-ESF in Syracuse, New York.

botanyconference.org/speaker-bios...

Back in California finishing up some lab work.

The good news is you don't immediately forget how to do wet-lab work when you start as a PI.

But, I feel like I should start doing DNA extractions once a month and track the decline in my ability to move small colorless liquids as time goes by.

I am now wondering whether it would be a blessing o a curse to have a sense of smell as good as some insects' olfaction.

In most cases it would be fine, but the bad could be really bad!

Do you think the smell is plant generated or microbe generated? I spent some time studying celastrus before becoming interested in pollination, but never smelled the flowers.