Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Dr. Reuber Antoniazzi, visiting professor of forest wildlife management, and SFA forestry doctoral student Tatiana Suarez Joaqui joined an impromptu cohort of more than 70 ecologists from across the globe to assemble a critical data set of pollinator and plant interactions in the safety of their own backyard during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.

The results of the project, initiated by Dr. Jeff Ollerton, a leading pollinator researcher based in Denmark and the United Kingdom, were recently published in the Journal of Pollination Ecology, and will aid researchers in better understanding the role private gardens play in conserving insect pollinators.

At the time of data collection, Antoniazzi and Suarez Joaqui lived in Xalapa, the capital city of Veracruz, Mexico.

“Researchers took data across the world in rural, suburban and urban areas,” Suarez Joaqui said. “We were located in an urban area, but we were in a place full of plants.”

Suarez Joaqui and Antoniazzi followed methodology established by the project leader, walking around their garden at established intervals and taking precise notes of pollinator species, flower species being visited, as well as the frequency of visitation.

“A very important thing in science is following protocols,” Antoniazzi said. “When collaborating with researchers from around the world with different skills and knowledge, it’s very important to have some limits to make this data possible to compare or to test interesting stuff like the effect of increased urbanization on pollinator populations or how temperature affects them.”

Although the data collection process was strictly scientific in context, the couple agree that regular exposure to their garden and having a sense of purpose during the pandemic was beneficial to their mental health.

“It was a very distracting activity, and you were learning and engaged with the animals,” Suarez Joaqui said.

Amid the isolation of the pandemic lockdown, Suarez Joaqui admits she regularly spoke to the pollinators during data collection.

“You didn’t have anyone else to talk to, so I was like, ‘Hey, what are you doing today? You look so beautiful. You’re a new species for my sampling — let me see you closer,’” Suarez Joaqui said with a laugh.

Mental health benefits aside, the results of the research provide substantial value to the scientific community. In total, participants collected 25,174 unique pollinator and plant interactions across more than 1,000 plant and 650 pollinator species.

Antoniazzi explained that open access to scientific data sets is increasingly important because it allows scientists to reproduce studies and continue to ask broader scientific questions.

“Big data sets are important because you can compare how processes, such as floral visits or pollination, are occurring across regions,” Suarez Joaqui said. “I think this can bring a lot of new questions to science. For example, how a widespread species is interacting with plants and other ecological factors across the globe, such as Apis mellifera, the western honeybee.”

Current research indicates pollinator diversity and abundance have declined in some parts of the world, largely driven by a number of factors, including land use change.

“One big thing we’re discussing is the importance of insects for ecosystem services,” Antoniazzi said.

Antoniazzi explained that ecosystem services are the goods and services provided by the natural environment that make human life possible. This includes clean air, water and pollination.

“Pollinators transfer pollen from one flower to another, making it possible for the flowers to produce fruits,” Antoniazzi said. “Without pollinators, we don’t have fruits. That’s very impactful for us, because if we don’t have fruits, we don’t have things we usually eat.”

Underscoring the importance of pollinators, Antoniazzi and other researchers organized a special symposium focused on insects that will take place at The Wildlife Society’s 2022 conference this November in Spokane, Washington.

“I think more individuals who are usually most interested in game animals are now turning their eyes to animals like pollinators,” Antoniazzi said. “They are very important in terms of the ecosystem services they provide, and they can alter the trophic relationships of all ecosystems we live in.”

As researchers move forward addressing current ecological trends, Antoniazzi and Suarez Joaqui stress the importance of scientific collaboration, as illustrated by this project.

“Collaboration is key in science,” Antoniazzi said. “When you work together it’s better in terms of what you can achieve.”

To learn more about this and other research, visit sfasu.edu/atcofa.

Story by Sarah Fuller, outreach coordinator for Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture. Contact information: (936) 468-1185 or fullersa@sfasu.edu.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts and School of Music will present Duo Karudan performing a program that features works by living American composers at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Duo Karudan features the husband-and-wife team of SFA clarinetist Dr. Christopher Ayer, professor, and Baylor University pianist Dr. Kae Hosoda-Ayer, associate professor of piano and director of collaborative piano.

Their SFA program will include works by Martin Rokeach, Libby Larsen, James David, Leonard Mark Lewis, Simon Sargon, Paquito D’Rivera and Jeff Scott. Two of the pieces, “North Beach Rhapsody” by Rokeach and “Toccata” by Scott, were part of a recital the couple performed over the summer at the International Clarinet Association’s world conference in Reno, Nevada.

“There is a wide range of musical styles, from avant-garde to jazz, represented in this concert,” Ayer said. “There will be something for everyone!”

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. To purchase tickets, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit finearts.sfasu.edu. For additional information, contact the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602.

Alumna Claire Salli will return to her alma mater to present a saxophone recital at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, in Cole Concert Hall on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.

Salli, who earned a Bachelor of Music Education in 2017, will present “The Unaccompanied Saxophone,” which features music for soprano, alto and baritone saxophone with no piano accompaniment, or other instrument, in a concert designed to “explore the unique capabilities of the saxophone including different styles, dynamics, range and extended techniques,” she said.

An educator based in Lubbock, Salli is completing her D.M.A. in saxophone performance at Texas Tech University where she serves as the graduate teaching assistant for both the saxophone studio and new music ensemble. She is on faculty at Lubbock Christian University and teaches both saxophone and clarinet at several public schools in the area.

Her return performance at SFA will feature “Black Mary” by Shelley Washington, “Melodies for Saxophone” by Philip Glass, “Deep Flowers” by Evan Chambers, and “Tre Pezzi” by Giacinto Scelsi, among other works.

Program notes for Chambers’ “Deep Flowers,” inspired by Indonesian Gamelan, state, “listening to the music of cultures in which we were not raised changes us,” and “my own experiences with Indonesian music have often left me amazed by the beauty that exists beyond our own conventions.”

A piece for solo soprano saxophone in three movements, “Tre Pezzi” was written by Scelsi during his second compositional period after taking a break from music following many hardships that changed his thoughts on music. He called his new style “spiritualized sound.” “Each movement focuses on one or two notes that slowly begin to unravel around themselves in an improvisatory manner,” Salli said.

Salli has performed solo and chamber recitals across the United States as well as in Italy and Croatia. She has placed in numerous competitions such as the American Prize, Elise Hall Competition and North International Competition. As an advocate for new music, she has commissioned over 10 new works for the saxophone. She has worked on staff for the National Repertory Orchestra as the Artist Liaison. In addition to Dr. Nathan Nabb, director of the SFA School of Music, her primary teachers include David Dees, Dr. Jan Berry Baker, Dr. John Sampen and Dr. Eric Nestler.

Recital tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. To purchase tickets, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit finearts.sfasu.edu. For additional information, contact the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602.