Abstract
Flowering plants have evolved nectar production as an adaptation to attract animal pollinators, forming ecologically significant relationships essential for plant reproduction. Understanding metabolic composition of nectar can reveal how genetic and environmental factors influence nectar traits and shape plant-pollinator interactions. Among these metabolites, amino acids serve as an important nutritional resource for pollinators and may influence pollinator preference and behavior. High-performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) is a suitable method for quantification of amino acids because it allows for separation while offering high sensitivity. In this thesis, an HPLC-MS/MS method is developed to quantify 23 amino acids in nectar from two Aquilegia species (A. formosa and A. pubescens) collected from three locations (Lundy Canyon, Mosquito Flat, and Morgan Pass). Significant differences in individual amino acid concentrations were found between nectar from Lundy Canyon and Mosquito Flat and Morgan Pass and Mosquito Flat. Total amino acid composition also varied by location with Morgan Pass having the higher amino acid abundance (5,488 µM) and Mosquito Flat having the lowest abundance (861.3 µM). Limits of detection ranged from 0.004907-0.2661 µM and limits of quantification ranged from 0.01402-0.7605 µM, making the method suitably sensitive for analysis of low concentrations of amino acids in low-volume nectar samples.