Spring-Summer Pollination Ecology Workgroup

The 2026 spring-summer activities of the Pollination Ecology Workgroup include participation in public events as well as various fieldwork.

Tomorrow, April 21, the Oecomess organized for students will take place in Oecologicum (J. Liivi 2). The event offers those interested the opportunity to get acquainted with the working groups operating within different departments and the topics of their thesis. The topics of the Pollination Ecology Workgroup's bachelor's and master's theses with their supervisors are listed here.

A few days later, from April 23 to 26, the working group will participate in the Rural Fair at the Tartu Fair Center (F. R. Kreutzwaldi 60). This is one of the largest rural and agricultural events in Estonia, where the working group will also introduce its research to a wider audience. Come visit us at booth C-40!

At the end of April, fieldwork will begin across Estonia under the leadership of the working group's scientists. During these, queen bumblebees will be observed searching for nest sites and data will be collected using disc traps to assess the condition of wild bees in agricultural landscapes (the fieldwork leader of the project funded by the Estonian Environmental Investment Centre is Research Fellow in Pollination Ecology Mari-Liis Viljur). Also, samples of various plant species will be collected from restored algal beds under the leadership of Research Fellow in Landscape Genetics Iris Reinula. “The samples obtained will be used to study the genetic and species diversity of plant species and the impact of restoration on them against the background of previously collected data,” said Iris Reinula.

The head of the workgroup, Associate Professor in Macroecology Tsipe Aavik and Iris Reinula will participate in the PopBio conference on plant population biology, which will take place from 6 to 9 May, this time in the city of Marburg, Germany. Iris Reinula will present the first results of landscape genetic analyses of medium-sized bluegrass (Briza media) at the conference. Marie, the representative of the FuncNet project led by the working group, will also give a presentation at the conference, talking about the landscape genetic studies conducted in the project with the Cowslips (Primula veris).

After PopBio, Tsipe Aavik will visit the Molecular Ecology Conservation Genetics Working Group at the University of Regensburg and hold a seminar on the research being carried out in the Pollination Ecology Working Group. This week, Senior Specialist for Research Projects Sigrid Ots will give a presentation at the Integrated Restoration Projects Network conference in Warsaw, where she will also talk about the activities of the “ForEst&FarmLand” project, which is being implemented with the participation of members of the Pollination Ecology Workgroup as well.

In June, the defenses of the final theses will take place at the University of Tartu. The schedule of the defenses of the Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences can be found here. Rafael Somelar, will defend his master’s thesis, while Kärg Valner (in zoology) and Anne-Mai Adamberg will defend their bachelor’s theses. Tsipe Aavik will participate in the defenses as a member of the evaluation committee.

For more information:

Tsipe Aavik, tsipe.aavik@ut.ee