Plant Diversity and Pollination Networks in a Changing Arctic

PhD defence by Brandon Samuel Whitley

Assessment Committee

Associate Professor NAIA MORUETA-HOLME, GLOBE, University of Copenhagen (Chairperson)
Associate Professor and Curator of Vascular Plants Kristine Bakke Westergaard, NTNU University Museum, Norway
Professor of Arctic Ecology Niels Martin Schmidt, Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University

Supervisors

Professor Natasha Louise De Vere

Postdoc Elisabeth Biersma Elberling

Professor Tomas Roslin

Department

The Natural History Museum

Place

Building: Geological Museum, Room: Natural History Museum Denmark, GM auditorium, Øster Voldgade 5, 7, 1350 København

Email address to gain access to the thesis: brandonswhitley@gmail.com.
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Short description of the thesis

The Arctic is undergoing rapid, unprecedented change, threatening the balance of its ecosystems. At the heart of terrestrial Arctic ecosystems are flowering plants and their insect pollinators—foundational species whose interactions remain largely unknown. 
This thesis, Plant Diversity and Pollination Networks in a Changing Arctic, explores how these species connect and survive. Using Kalaallit Nunaat Greenland as a case study, the research first harmonises herbarium records to update our knowledge of the region's flora. It then leverages DNA analysis to create plant-pollinator networks across the whole of Kalaallit Nunaat Greenland. By revealing the hidden structure of these relationships, this work provides critical insights into how Arctic ecosystems function and how they might respond to a warming climate.