Abstract: 

Climate change manifests itself in extreme events such as severe droughts, floods, and heat waves. Such events can severely impact plant reproductive success and fitness either by impairing floral physiological processes or disrupting plant-pollinator networks. Drought or reduced water availability has been a predominant concern in both cropland and natural tropical ecosystems. While negative impacts on yield have been shown, the array of mechanisms that are used to cope or respond to changing conditions is little known in animal-pollinated species. In this talk, I will discuss my plans to examine the impact of changing environment on floral traits and pollinator-mediated interactions using a combination of field, laboratory, and semi-natural experiments. 

About the Speaker:

Diana is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Dr. Shivani Krishna’s lab at the Department of Biology, Ashoka University. Her interests lie in ecology of plant-animal interactions and how it changes with the changing environment. Before joining Ashoka, she completed her B.Sc and Master’s degree in Botany from St. Teresa’s College, Ernakulam under Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala.