Many fruits and vegetables we eat are the product of pollination services provided by insects. Yet, the extent to which different pollinators supply this service at different times and in different landscapes across many crops in Australia, is largely unknown.

This talk will focus on the current state of knowledge in a range of Australian food crops and discuss how fundamental knowledge of pollinator community ecology combined with grower collaboration and expertise, are essential components in understanding the dynamics of pollinator-dependent crop production.

Following the seminar will be light refreshments, and a panel session with Fenner academics.

About the speaker

Dr. Romina Rader is a Senior Lecturer in Community Ecology in the School of Environmental and Rural Science at the University of New England, Armidale Australia. Much of her current research is focused on pollination by wild and managed insects in a range of crops and natural systems.

She is currently working on research questions related to comparing pollinator effectiveness and how many visits by insects are required for plants to set fruit. She completed her PhD in 2011 on wild pollinator assemblages in a mass flowering crop and following that, postdocs at Rutgers University in the USA and Stockholm University in Sweden.

Panel discussion

• Dr. Romina Rader
• Dr. Saul Cunningham (ANU)
• Dr. Sarina Macfadyen (CSIRO and ACIAR)