Imena Valdes
Biological Sciences
Florida International University
I grew up in both South and Central Florida, and relocated to Miami again to attend FIU. My research interests are in plant/animal interactions, ethnobotany, and agriculture in the tropics. I love everything tropical, especially plants and fruits! This summer my project is focusing on flowering phenology of three different populations of Asclepias syriaca where we'll be monitoring pollinator visitation and how that changes over the course of the season.
Local adaptation of flowering phenology in common milkweed (2017)
Ecology, Reproductive Biology
A concern regarding climate change is plant-pollinator mismatch, which is essentially mismatched timing between flowering and pollinator emergence that could cause a reduction in fitness in both plant and pollinator. Insect collection and pinning is an important method to monitor pollinator visitation, abundance, and diversity throughout the season.
Final Presentation/Poster
