The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded a $299,482 Project Grant under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). This 2-year award supports surveys and DNA barcoding to characterize insect pollinators and their use of flowering plants in the Tamaulipan thornscrub forest, a threatened ecosystem in South Texas. The project aims to provide critical data on pollinator-plant interactions to inform thornscrub restoration efforts and improve outcomes for both pollinators and the plant community. This work will generate a barcoding library of thornscrub plants and identify key floral resources used by both honey bees and native pollinators, which can then be incorporated into future reforestation plans. The results will help enhance the biodiversity and resilience of this unique forest system.
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