Orientation and drifting behaviour of bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in commercial tomato greenhouses

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna L Birmingham ◽  
Mark L Winston
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Nest Entrance ◽  
Major Contributor ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Novel Environment ◽  
Substantial Loss ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Bombus Occidentalis ◽  
Orientation Cues ◽  
Greenhouse Tomatoes

A novel environment lacking in directional cues may present orientation challenges to foraging bees. We examined orientation and drifting behaviour of Bombus occidentalis Greene and Bombus impatiens Cresson, the two major bumblebee pollinators of greenhouse tomatoes in British Columbia. Our objectives were to establish the extent and frequency of bee drift into foreign colonies and to examine the potential of nest entrance patterns and landmarks to reduce drift in commercial greenhouses. On average, 28% of marked bumblebees drifted into foreign hives, making up 0.3%–34.8% of the population in those colonies. Bees drifted towards the top position when hives were vertically stacked. The use of simple black and white patterns and large landmarks did not affect the number of drifting bees, suggesting that disorientation is not a major contributor to drift or to the substantial loss of adult bees from colonies during their first week in a greenhouse. Bees had decreased foraging times when landmarks were present in the greenhouse and showed a marginally but not significantly increased rate of pollen input to colonies. These studies contribute to understanding bumblebee behaviour in a novel environment and determining whether orientation cues are feasible management options to reduce drift and potential bee loss.

scholarly journals Managing Woodland Caribou in West-Central British Columbia

Rangifer ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah B. Cichowski
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Range Management ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Specific Level ◽  
Winter Range

Initial long term planning for logging on the Tweedsmuir-Entiako caribou winter range began in the early 1980s. Because little information was available on which to base winter range management, the British Columbia Fish and Wildlife Branch began studies on radio-collared caribou in 1983, and an intensive study on caribou winter habitat requirements was conducted from 1985 to 1988. Terrestrial lichens were identified as the primary winter food source for the caribou, and in 1987, caribou winter range ecosystem maps, which emphasized abundance of terrestrial lichens, were produced. The ecosystem maps and information from the caribou study, including potential direct and indirect effects of timber harvesting on the caribou population, were used to develop a management strategy for the winter range. The management strategy comprised two levels of management: a landscape level (Caribou Management Zones); and a site-specific level (caribou habitat/timber values). Timber information associated with BC Ministry of Forests forest cover maps was integrated using a Geographic Information System. Six winter range management options were proposed ranging from harvesting low value caribou habitats only throughout the winter range to total protection of the entire winter range. Impacts of those options on both the caribou population and on the timber supply were evaluated. The options were reviewed through a public planning process, the Entiako Local Resource Use Plan, and recommendations from that process were forwarded to the British Columbia Protected Areas Strategy.

scholarly journals Using Alternative Silvicultural Systems to Integrate Mountain Caribou and Timber Management in British Columbia

Rangifer ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold M. Armleder ◽  
Susan K. Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Integrated Management ◽  
Managed Forests ◽  
Timber Management ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Single Tree ◽  
Alternative Silvicultural Systems ◽  
Silvicultural System ◽  
Maximum Development ◽  
Forest Managers

Even-aged forest management using the clearcutting silvicultural system as it is currently applied threatens mountain caribou habitat in British Columbia. Since neither complete preservation nor maximum development of timber resources are socially acceptable alternatives, forest managers are anxious to find integrated management options. We describe alternative silvicultural systems currently being tested, including single-tree and group selection. All the treatments have the goal of periodically extracting viable timber volumes while perpetually retaining stand characteristics necessary for caribou. The effects of these logging prescriptions on lichen biomass and growth rates are being tested. Alternative silvicultural systems may become part of a larger strategy to maintain caribou habitat in managed forests.

scholarly journals Clonal variation in cone and seed production in black and white spruce seed orchards and management implications

1996 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 475-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory W. Adams ◽  
Hartmut A. Kunze
Keyword(s):  
Seed Production ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Clonal Variation ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Seed Orchards ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Orchard Management

Variation in cone and seed production across a range of clones in black and white spruce seed orchards was investigated in 1994. The purpose was to develop production information to be used with knowledge of orchard management practices to capture genetic gain more efficiently and improve clonal balance in orchard seedlots. Bulk cone collections were made from ten randomly selected trees for each of 48 clones and 60 clones of white spruce and black spruce, respectively. The average number of cones tree−1 was determined for each clone. Seeds were extracted and average seeds tree−1, seeds cone−1 and seeds g−1 were determined for each clone. Clones were ranked by cone and seed production and significant variation existed between the two ranks. For white spruce, a strong positive correlation was found between number of cones tree−1 and number of seeds, but the same was not found for black spruce, largely because some of the heaviest cone bearing clones produced lower amounts of sound seed. For both species, clones which produced more cones tree−1 tended to produce fewer seeds per cone and the seed was smaller than clones with more moderate levels of cone production. Clonal balance in cone and seed production is discussed with respect to practical orchard management options. Key words: clonal variation, cone and seed production, seed orchard, black spruce, white spruce

Observations on the migrations of North Pacific humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 308-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Darling ◽  
Daniel J. McSweeney
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Ventral Side ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Prince William Sound ◽  
White Pigment ◽  
Southeast Alaska ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Northeast Pacific

Migratory destinations of northeast Pacific humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) were determined by repeat sightings of photographically identified individuals, using the black and white pigment patterns on the ventral side of the flukes. Individuals identified between 1975 and 1982 included 1056 in Hawaii, 420 in southeast Alaska, 54 in Prince William Sound, Alaska, 8 in British Columbia, and 12 in the Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico. Of these, 51 were found in Hawaii and southeast Alaska, 8 in Hawaii and Prince William Sound, 1 in Hawaii and British Columbia, and 1 in Mexico and Hawaii. Some travelled for four, five, and six successive seasons between Hawaii and southeast Alaska. One whale was found in British Columbia one summer and in southeast Alaska the next; the same individuals were commonly found off both Kona, Hawaii, and West Maui in winter. The study suggests that separate summer feeding areas may exist in the northeast Pacific where individuals prefer to feed. Migratory connections suggest that all humpbacks in the eastern North Pacific are of the same stock.

scholarly journals Colony distribution and prey diversity of Cerceris fumipennis (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) in British Columbia

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 45-59
Author(s):  
Troy Kimoto ◽  
Josie Roberts ◽  
Richard L. Westcott ◽  
Eduard Jendek ◽  
Matthias Buck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Brood Cell ◽  
Nest Entrance ◽  
Female Wasp ◽  
Prey Diversity ◽  
Average Size

Cercerisfumipennis Say, 1837 (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) is a wasp that provisions its subterranean nests with jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae). At 3 newly discovered colonies in British Columbia (BC), Cercerisfumipennis prey were collected by excavating the subterranean nests, using sweep nets to capture paralyzed prey in the grasp of a female returning to her nest, or collecting prey discarded at the nest entrance. In total, 9 species were collected: Acmaeoderaidahoensis Barr, Agriluscrataegi Frost, Agrilusgranulatuspopuli Fisher, Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) caseyicaseyi Obenberger, Chrysobothrislaricis Van Dyke, Chrysobothrisleechi Barr, Phaenopsdrummondi (Kirby), Phaenopsgentilis (LeConte) and Phaenopsintrusa (Horn). Anthaxiacaseyicaseyi was the smallest beetle (4.2 mm) while Chrysobothrisleechi was the largest (12.0 mm). The average size of all buprestid prey taken by females from all 3 colonies was 8.8 mm. These represent the first prey records for Cercerisfumipennis in BC and with the exception of Phaenopsdrummondi are new prey records for this wasp. A single Harpalusaffinis (Schrank) (Coleoptera: Carabidae) was discovered within a brood cell containing Acmaeodera spp. elytra, but it is unclear if this beetle was placed in the cell by a female wasp.

scholarly journals Managing wolves to benefit woodland caribou populations in northeast British Columbia: what we know and what we need

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven F Wilson
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Causal Pathways ◽  
Major Factors

Predator-prey systems are complex and attempts to manage them to benefit woodland caribou populations have generated mixed results. Despite limited success, calls for wolf control continue because of the urgent need to reverse the decline of woodland caribou populations, and because there are so few management options available that have the potential to demonstrate immediate benefits. I present the results of a policy analysis that reviews the potential role of wolf control within the ecological, social and political context of northeast British Columbia (BC). The scale and scope of a wolf control program is ultimately limited by the economic and ethical support of the public, while the program’s effectiveness is governed by the conditional dependencies among the major factors effecting woodland caribou declines. The policy analysis suggests that the contribution of wolf control programs to caribou conservation efforts in northeast BC will be limited, but that significant uncertainties in the causal pathways resulting in caribou population declines limit our ability to propose alternative management policies that have a high confidence of success.

scholarly journals Managing wolves to benefit woodland caribou populations in northeast British Columbia: what we know and what we need

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven F Wilson
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Woodland Caribou ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Control Programs ◽  
Causal Pathways ◽  
Major Factors

Predator-prey systems are complex and attempts to manage them to benefit woodland caribou populations have generated mixed results. Despite limited success, calls for wolf control continue because of the urgent need to reverse the decline of woodland caribou populations, and because there are so few management options available that have the potential to demonstrate immediate benefits. I present the results of a policy analysis that reviews the potential role of wolf control within the ecological, social and political context of northeast British Columbia (BC). The scale and scope of a wolf control program is ultimately limited by the economic and ethical support of the public, while the program’s effectiveness is governed by the conditional dependencies among the major factors effecting woodland caribou declines. The policy analysis suggests that the contribution of wolf control programs to caribou conservation efforts in northeast BC will be limited, but that significant uncertainties in the causal pathways resulting in caribou population declines limit our ability to propose alternative management policies that have a high confidence of success.

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