Film submitted by Rebecca Zerlin, Graduate Research Assistant, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, United States
Did you know that 1 out of 3 bites of food comes from the work of pollinators? Or that 67% of plants require pollination from insect pollinators? In her 3-minute presentation titled, “Effects of Prescribed Fire on Butterfly Populations in Coastal South Texas,” Rebecca Zerlin, master’s student at Texas A&M- Kingsville, details the vital role pollinators, specifically the 450 species of butterflies in Texas, play for plants and ecosystems. Her masters project studies the effects of prescribed burns on butterfly populations in south Texas. With about 75% of agricultural crops relying on pollination, we need to know how to keep pollinator and butterfly habitats and ecosystems thriving. Rebecca won first place in the 3 Minute Thesis with her presentation at the Texas Section of Society for Range Management.