Dr. Jim Rivers is a vertebrate ecologist and leader of the Forest Animal Ecology Lab at Oregon State University. With broad research interests that are focused in the fields of animal behavior and physiological ecology, his research program combines observational, experimental, and comparative approaches to test predictions from theory in empirical settings. He recently lead the Pollinators in Managed Forests workshop, which brought together speakers from Oregon State, Washington State, Montana State and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to address a variety of topics, including the influence of wildfire severity, salvage logging, herbicides and practical ways to augment blooms for native bees.
We’re talking today about how pollinator habitats and forests coexist and work with each other, the ways that bees thrive in forested areas, and how he and others in the field have begun researching the behavior of pollinators in forested areas.
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“I’ve been surprised we’ve had bee research at OSU for four or five decades now, but we haven’t had a lot of people looking in forests, and particularly in managed forests, and that’s where a lot of my research has been taking place.“ – Dr. Jim Rivers
Show Notes:
- Why forests are an important place for pollinators
- How surrounding landscapes could contribute to pollinator habitats
- How Jim is possibly creating jet fuel in his forest research
- What Jim samples to learn about forest bee populations
- What the effect of herbicides on pollinators could be
- Why Jim brought together stakeholders to talk about pollinators and managed forests
- The social shift that has occurred in the importance of pollinators
- Why Jim recommends getting a digital microscope
“There’s a lot more that we don’t know about bees in managed forests than what we do know.“ – Dr. Jim Rivers
Links Mentioned:
- Check out “Bees In Your Backyard”
- Connect with Dr. Jim Rivers through his website