Dr. Jonathan Pattrick
I am interested in understanding how and why pollinators make choices about which flowers to visit, and how this affects the success and fitness of both sides of the plant-pollinator mutualism. In particular my research focusses on how the physical and chemical properties of nectar and pollen interact with bee foraging dynamics and energetics to shape their pollination behaviour. Although I mainly work with bees, I enjoy branching into research with other species when the opportunity arises.
Bee research often captures public attention and my work has been featured in national and international media. See below for links to a couple of interviews with me on my work and an imaginative reinterpretation of one of my papers as a children's story for NPR in the USA.