Rory Wisgerhof is a Graduate Student at Iowa State University studying plant pollinator dynamics in CP43 prairie strips and saturated buffers across Iowa. Growing up in Minnesota, Rory developed a great appreciation for wildlife and insects, eventually leading her to pursue her Entomology Masters at ISU.
What did you enjoy most about the outdoors and conservation growing up? Growing up in Minnesota, I was surrounded by nature and wildlife, and being in a family deeply involved in hunting and conservation meant I was raised to respect the natural world. As a child, I was always deeply enamored by nature–the insects, toads, and woodpeckers in my backyard being my favorites. My family encouraged me to continue exploring the world of natural resources, and I was able to spend my summers attending a camp run by a local nature center where I was able to learn about the worlds of Entomology, Ornithology, and Ecology.
Why did you choose Iowa State for Graduate School? Many of the faculty at my undergrad institution – Luther College – were alums of Iowa State, so when I received notice that Dr. Katherine Kral-O’Brien was looking for a graduate student, I already had some background information on the programs I was interested in. Alongside that, the Iowa State STRIPS team developed the CP43 conservation practice, something that I had been passively interested in for many years, but had never had the chance to properly explore.
What is the most useful thing that you’ve learned as a student? The most useful thing I’ve learned as a student is that your comfort zone is a gilded cage. Stepping out of your comfort zone can bring in a lot of uncertainty and even fear, but I’ve learned that there is truly no room for growth unless you step out and try new things. As a student, I’ve learned that even though stepping out of my comfort zone can be really difficult, it’s almost always been more than worth it.
Why did you choose Entomology as your focus of study? Growing up, I was always the girl who carried spiders outside and cried when someone stepped on a boxelder bug. I had always been interested in Entomology, but didn't realize until my sophomore year of college that it was truly something I could pursue and make a career out of. Luckily, my college academic advisor was an entomologist, and he encouraged me to pursue my passions–even helping me conduct my own bumblebee research in undergrad. Truthfully, Entomology makes me happy, and having it as my focus of study ensures that I stay excited about my work.
Why are you interested in pollinators in different conservation practices? When I first learned about prairie strips, I thought that they sounded like they could solve all of our conservation problems. When I found out that it wasn't quite as simple as that, I became interested in what factors actually increased or decreased pollinator presence in these practices, and if there really was a “better” way to go about conservation in agricultural landscapes.
What research are you conducting this summer? For the past three summers, I have been conducting pollinator surveys across fields in Iowa, looking specifically at plant-pollinator dynamics in CP43 prairie strips and saturated buffers. I collect data on the number of flowering species at each site, along with doing butterfly counts and collecting foraging bees and hoverflies. I will then identify all the collected pollinators to species and will be able to create a network of plant and pollinator interactions for both practices.
What are you excited to learn during your research? I am excited to learn more about pollinator species diversity in Iowa! There are so many interesting native bees that are overshadowed by honey bees and bumblebees, and so many hoverflies that go ignored altogether! Learning about these insects is a genuine passion of mine, and I’m so lucky that I get to spend my days learning about them.
How can Iowans help pollinators? Learn about them! There is so much more to pollinators than just honeybees and butterflies–which are both incredibly important in their own right. There are approximately 400-500 species of native bees, and over 100 species of hoverfly found in Iowa, each one filling a specific niche in the ecosystem. There are so many interesting and beneficial pollinators that most people have never heard of, and learning about how to support them on your farm or in your garden can have a huge impact on their survival–and the survival of the plants they pollinate!
Photos by Rory Wisgerhof