scholarly journals Complementary crops and landscape features sustain wild bee communities

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 1093-1105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle T. Martins ◽  
Cécile H. Albert ◽  
Martin J. Lechowicz ◽  
Andrew Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Landscape Features ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Bee Communities

Influence of Nesting Characteristics on Health of Wild Bee Communities

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Harmon-Threatt
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Nest Site ◽  
Site Conditions ◽  
Wild Bees ◽  
Nesting Biology ◽  
Habitat Disturbances ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Growth Development ◽  
Bee Communities ◽  
Nest Initiation

Nest site availability and quality are important for maintaining robust populations and communities of wild bees. However, for most species, nesting traits and nest site conditions are poorly known, limiting both our understanding of basic ecology for bee species and conservation efforts. Additionally, many of the threats commonly associated with reducing bee populations have effects that can extend into nests but are largely unstudied. In general, threats such as habitat disturbances and climate change likely affect nest site availability and nest site conditions, which in turn affect nest initiation, growth, development, and overwintering success of bees. To facilitate a better understanding of how these and other threats may affect nesting bees, in this review, I quantify key nesting traits and environmental conditions and then consider how these traits may intersect with observed and anticipated changes in nesting conditions experienced by wild bees. These data suggest that the effects of common threats to bees through nesting may strongly influence their survival and persistence but are vastly understudied. Increasing research into nesting biology and incorporating nesting information into conservation efforts may help improve conservation of this declining but critical group.

scholarly journals Tillage intensity or landscape features: What matters most for wild bee diversity in vineyards?

2018 ◽  
Vol 266 ◽  
pp. 142-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Kratschmer ◽  
Bärbel Pachinger ◽  
Martina Schwantzer ◽  
Daniel Paredes ◽  
Muriel Guernion ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Landscape Features ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Bee Diversity ◽  
What Matters

scholarly journals Pollination services for apple are dependent on diverse wild bee communities

2016 ◽  
Vol 221 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor J. Blitzer ◽  
Jason Gibbs ◽  
Mia G. Park ◽  
Bryan N. Danforth
Keyword(s):  
Pollination Services ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Bee Communities

scholarly journals Noncrop Habitat Use by Wild Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in a Mixed-Use Agricultural Landscape

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 502-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brianne Du Clos ◽  
Francis A Drummond ◽  
Cynthia S Loftin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Northeastern United States ◽  
Wild Bees ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Lowbush Blueberry ◽  
Mixed Use ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
Bee Communities ◽  
Bee Abundance

Abstract Homogeneous, agriculturally intense landscapes have abundant records of pollinator community research, though similar studies in the forest-dominated, heterogeneous mixed-use landscape that dominates the northeastern United States are sparse. Trends of landscape effects on wild bees are consistent across homogeneous agricultural landscapes, whereas reported studies in the northeastern United States have not found this consistency. Additionally, the role of noncrop habitat in mixed-use landscapes is understudied. We assessed wild bee communities in the mixed-use lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) production landscape of Maine, United States at 56 sites in eight land cover types across two regional landscapes and analyzed effects of floral resources, landscape pattern, and spatial scale on bee abundance and species richness. Within survey sites, cover types with abundant floral resources, including lowbush blueberry fields and urban areas, promoted wild bee abundance and diversity. Cover types with few floral resources such as coniferous and deciduous/mixed forest reduced bee abundance and species richness. In the surrounding landscape, lowbush blueberry promoted bee abundance and diversity, while emergent wetland and forested land cover strongly decreased these measures. Our analysis of landscape configuration revealed that patch mixing can promote wild bee abundance and diversity; however, this was influenced by strong variation across our study landscape. More surveys at intra-regional scales may lead to better understanding of the influence of mixed-use landscapes on bee communities.

scholarly journals Wild Bee Conservation within Urban Gardens and Nurseries: Effects of Local and Landscape Management

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Egerer ◽  
Jacob Cecala ◽  
Hamutahl Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Plant Production ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Landscape Features ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Bee Conservation ◽  
Local Habitat

Across urban environments, vegetated habitats provide refuge for biodiversity. Gardens (designed for food crop production) and nurseries (designed for ornamental plant production) are both urban agricultural habitats characterized by high plant species richness but may vary in their ability to support wild pollinators, particularly bees. In gardens, pollinators are valued for crop production. In nurseries, ornamental plants rarely require pollination; thus, the potential of nurseries to support pollinators has not been examined. We asked how these habitats vary in their ability to support wild bees, and what habitat features relate to this variability. In 19 gardens and 11 nurseries in California, USA, we compared how local habitat and landscape features affected wild bee species abundance and richness. To assess local features, we estimated floral richness and measured ground cover as proxies for food and nesting resources, respectively. To assess landscape features, we measured impervious land cover surrounding each site. Our analyses showed that differences in floral richness, local habitat size, and the amount of urban land cover impacted garden wild bee species richness. In nurseries, floral richness and the proportion of native plant species impacted wild bee abundance and richness. We suggest management guidelines for supporting wild pollinators in both habitats.

Changes in the Summer Wild Bee Community Following a Bark Beetle Outbreak in a Douglas-fir Forest

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 1437-1448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel G Foote ◽  
Nathaniel E Foote ◽  
Justin B Runyon ◽  
Darrell W Ross ◽  
Christopher J Fettig
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Bark Beetle ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Bee Community ◽  
Bee Communities ◽  
Bee Abundance

Abstract The status of wild bees has received increased interest following recent estimates of large-scale declines in their abundances across the United States. However, basic information is limited regarding the factors affecting wild bee communities in temperate coniferous forest ecosystems. To assess the early responses of bees to bark beetle disturbance, we sampled the bee community of a Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.), forest in western Idaho, United States during a Douglas-fir beetle, Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), outbreak beginning in summer 2016. We resampled the area in summer 2018 following reductions in forest canopy cover resulting from mortality of dominant and codominant Douglas-fir. Overall, results from rarefaction analyses indicated significant increases in bee diversity (Shannon’s H) in 2018 compared to 2016. Results from ANOVA also showed significant increases in bee abundance and diversity in 2018 compared to 2016. Poisson regression analyses revealed percent tree mortality from Douglas-fir beetle was positively correlated with increases in total bee abundance and species richness, where community response variables displayed a cubic trend with percent tree mortality. Percent reduction in canopy cover from 2016 to 2018 was also correlated with bee species richness and diversity. These findings suggest that wild bee communities may benefit from changes in forest structure following bark beetle outbreaks.

scholarly journals Diversified Farming in a Monoculture Landscape: Effects on Honey Bee Health and Wild Bee Communities

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 753-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley L St. Clair ◽  
Ge Zhang ◽  
Adam G Dolezal ◽  
Matthew E O’Neal ◽  
Amy L Toth
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Colony Growth ◽  
Nutritional State ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Bee Conservation ◽  
Bee Communities

Abstract In the last century, a global transformation of Earth’s surface has occurred due to human activity with extensive agriculture replacing natural ecosystems. Concomitant declines in wild and managed bees are occurring, largely due to a lack of floral resources and inadequate nutrition, caused by conversion to monoculture-based farming. Diversified fruit and vegetable farms may provide an enhanced variety of resources through crops and weedy plants, which have potential to sustain human and bee nutrition. We hypothesized fruit and vegetable farms can enhance honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Apis mellifera Linnaeus) colony growth and nutritional state over a soybean monoculture, as well as support a more diverse wild bee community. We tracked honey bee colony growth, nutritional state, and wild bee abundance, richness, and diversity in both farm types. Honey bees kept at diversified farms had increased colony weight and preoverwintering nutritional state. Regardless of colony location, precipitous declines in colony weight occurred during autumn and thus colonies were not completely buffered from the stressors of living in a matrix dominated with monocultures. Contrary to our hypothesis, wild bee diversity was greater in soybean, specifically in August, a time when fields are in bloom. These differences were largely driven by four common bee species that performed well in soybean. Overall, these results suggest fruit and vegetable farms provide some benefits for honey bees; however, they do not benefit wild bee communities. Thus, incorporation of natural habitat, rather than diversified farming, in these landscapes, may be a better choice for wild bee conservation efforts.

scholarly journals Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) Intercropping within Managed Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) Does Not Affect Wild Bee Communities

Insects ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Campbell ◽  
Darren Miller ◽  
James Martin
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Taeda ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Panicum Virgatum ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Bee Communities

scholarly journals Agroecosystem landscape diversity shapes wild bee communities independent of managed honey bee presence

2022 ◽  
Vol 327 ◽  
pp. 107826
Author(s):  
Ashley L. St. Clair ◽  
Ge Zhang ◽  
Adam G. Dolezal ◽  
Matthew E. O’Neal ◽  
Amy L. Toth
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Landscape Diversity ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Bee Communities
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