Ashley Padilla

A rising Senior, Biology Major at the College of Wooster originally from Chicago, IL.

Research Direction

For my Senior Independent Study, I am interested in quantifying pollinator efficiency of three main types of pollinators (BombusHalictid, and Megachile). I will be doing this using three methods measuring seed set, pollen deposition, and pollen removal. An efficient pollinator is one that removes a significant amount of pollen from a male phase flower, deposits a large amount of pollen into a female phase flower, and causes a high number of seeds to set. My research aims at finding which out of the three pollinator types is the most efficient at pollinating Campanula Americana (American Bellflower). By testing this, I hope to create a reference point for other studies focusing on increasing effectiveness and restoring current populations.