Plant-pollinator relationships of culturally significant food and medicine plants in the Great Lakes Region
Wild plant and pollinator populations have experienced declines globally in recent years. While species declines have often been examined for their impacts ecologically and economically, little is known about how species declines will impact humans culturally. All Indigenous cultures in North America use plant species for food and medicine. Plants considered important to a specific culture are known as cultural keystone species, meaning they are significant to cultural identity. With global declines in plant and pollinator species, this study aims to determine the role of wild pollinators to cultural keystone plant species. Availability of information on breeding systems and important pollinators is crucial information for management of plant species, especially if a plant species is experiencing population declines (e.g. at-risk, endangered). A literature review was conducted to determine what is known about the breeding systems of cultural keystone species in eastern North America. The results show 50% of the culturally significant plants lack any information regarding the breeding system. A plant-pollinator network was constructed based on observations in the field on the Three Sisters (corn, beans, squash) garden. The common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) and hoary squash bee (Xenoglossa pruinosa) were important pollinators in this system. A breeding experiment including diurnal and nocturnal video recording was conducted to determine the most frequent visitors of sacred Tobacco (Nicotiana rustica), and to determine the degree to which N. rustica relies on insect pollination. Lastly, a breeding experiment was conducted on common bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) in eastern Ontario, Canada to determine the plant's reliance on insect pollination. In conclusion, wild pollinators are important to the continued success of cultural keystone species, and therefore to the cultures that use these plants. Including multiple ways of knowing and practicing ethical ecology in the future is part of ensuring biocultural conservation.
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