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James Crants
Ph.D. student
B.A., Biology, Carleton College, Northfield, MN
U-M affiliation
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Contact information
University of Michigan
2078 Kraus Natural Science Building
830 North Univeristy
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048
Phone: 734) 604-9848
Fax: (734) 763-0544
Email: jcrants@umich.edu
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Fields of study
Facilitation interactions in pollination biology
Research interests
I study the pollination of insect-pollinated flowers that do not reward their pollinators. This is known as deceit pollination, and it has the predictable consequence that the flowers in question receive few insect visits and have little success producing seeds or fruits. Reproductive success is especially poor for deceit-pollinated plants that cannot produce seeds from self-pollination. I have been testing the hypothesis that pollination for mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum L.) is facilitated by wild geranium Geranium maculatum. Mayapple is a deceit-pollinated herb of eastern North American forests. Wild geranium flowers at the same time as mayapple, produces nectar, and attracts known pollinators of mayapple. I have also been examining the effects of forest edges on mayapple pollination. Given that forest edges tend to have a greater number and diversity of both flowers and pollinators, I predict that mayapple will have greater pollination success near forest edges than in the forest interior. .
Academic background
B.A., Biology, Carleton College, Northfield, MN. Three summers' experience as a field assistant for various ecologists in Wisconsin. Currently a fifth-year student in EEB.
Advisor
Beverly Rathcke
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