scholarly journals Bumble Bee Foraged Pollen Analyses in Spring Time in Southern Estonia Shows Abundant Food Sources

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 922
Author(s):  
Anna Bontšutšnaja ◽  
Reet Karise ◽  
Marika Mänd ◽  
Guy Smagghe
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Colony Development ◽  
Bumble Bee ◽  
Landscape Features ◽  
Forage Plants ◽  
Bee Colony ◽  
Foraging Preferences ◽  
Dna Metabarcoding

Agricultural landscapes usually provide higher quantities of single-source food, which are noticeably lacking in diversity and might thus have low nutrient value for bumble bee colony development. Here, in this study, we analysed the pollen foraging preferences over a large territory of a heterogeneous agricultural landscape: southern Estonia. We aimed to assess the botanical diversity of bumble bee food plants in the spring time there. We looked for preferences for some food plants or signs of food shortage that could be associated with any particular landscape features. For this purpose, we took Bombus terrestris commercial hives to the landscape, performed microscopy analyses and improved the results with the innovative DNA metabarcoding technique to determine the botanical origin of bumble bee-collected pollen. We found high variability of forage plants with no strong relationship with any particular landscape features. Based on the low number of plant species in single flights, we deduce that the availability of main forage plants is sufficient indicating rich forage availabilities. Despite specific limitations, we saw strong correlations between microscopy and DNA metabarcoding data usable for quantification analyses. As a conclusion, we saw that the spring-time vegetation in southern Estonia can support bumble bee colony development regardless of the detailed landscape structure. The absence of clearly dominating food preference by the tested generalist bumble bee species B. terrestris makes us suggest that other bumble bee species, at least food generalists, should also find plenty of forage in their early development phase.

scholarly journals Quantifying the food requirements and effects of food stress on bumble bee colony development

2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 288-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen L Rotheray ◽  
Juliet L Osborne ◽  
Dave Goulson
Keyword(s):  
Colony Development ◽  
Bumble Bee ◽  
Food Stress ◽  
Bee Colony

scholarly journals Flowering plant composition shapes pathogen infection intensity and reproduction in bumble bee colonies

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (21) ◽  
pp. 11559-11565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn S. Adler ◽  
Nicholas A. Barber ◽  
Olivia M. Biller ◽  
Rebecca E. Irwin
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Infection Intensity ◽  
Flowering Plant ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Bumble Bee ◽  
Pathogen Infection ◽  
Bee Colony ◽  
Foraging Preferences ◽  
Infection Treatment ◽  
High Infection

Pathogens pose significant threats to pollinator health and food security. Pollinators can transmit diseases during foraging, but the consequences of plant species composition for infection is unknown. In agroecosystems, flowering strips or hedgerows are often used to augment pollinator habitat. We used canola as a focal crop in tents and manipulated flowering strip composition using plant species we had previously shown to result in higher or lower bee infection in short-term trials. We also manipulated initial colony infection to assess impacts on foraging behavior. Flowering strips using high-infection plant species nearly doubled bumble bee colony infection intensity compared to low-infection plant species, with intermediate infection in canola-only tents. Both infection treatment and flowering strips reduced visits to canola, but we saw no evidence that infection treatment shifted foraging preferences. Although high-infection flowering strips increased colony infection intensity, colony reproduction was improved with any flowering strips compared to canola alone. Effects of flowering strips on colony reproduction were explained by nectar availability, but effects of flowering strips on infection intensity were not. Thus, flowering strips benefited colony reproduction by adding floral resources, but certain plant species also come with a risk of increased pathogen infection intensity.

scholarly journals Pollen Protein: Lipid Macronutrient Ratios May Guide Broad Patterns of Bee Species Floral Preferences

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony D. Vaudo ◽  
John F. Tooker ◽  
Harland M. Patch ◽  
David J. Biddinger ◽  
Michael Coccia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Larval Growth ◽  
Nutritional Ecology ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Bumble Bee ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Bee Colony ◽  
Foraging Preferences ◽  
Bee Foraging ◽  
Plant Pollinator

Pollinator nutritional ecology provides insights into plant–pollinator interactions, coevolution, and the restoration of declining pollinator populations. Bees obtain their protein and lipid nutrient intake from pollen, which is essential for larval growth and development as well as adult health and reproduction. Our previous research revealed that pollen protein to lipid ratios (P:L) shape bumble bee foraging preferences among pollen host-plant species, and these preferred ratios link to bumble bee colony health and fitness. Yet, we are still in the early stages of integrating data on P:L ratios across plant and bee species. Here, using a standard laboratory protocol, we present over 80 plant species’ protein and lipid concentrations and P:L values, and we evaluate the P:L ratios of pollen collected by three bee species. We discuss the general phylogenetic, phenotypic, behavioral, and ecological trends observed in these P:L ratios that may drive plant–pollinator interactions; we also present future research questions to further strengthen the field of pollination nutritional ecology. This dataset provides a foundation for researchers studying the nutritional drivers of plant–pollinator interactions as well as for stakeholders developing planting schemes to best support pollinators.

scholarly journals The Importance of Edible Landscape in the Cities

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filiz Çelik
Keyword(s):  
Food System ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Landscape Design ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Slow Food ◽  
Edible Landscaping ◽  
Edible Landscape

The 21st century sustainable city requires the merging of urbanism with sustainable food systems. The challenges industrial food system separates people from their food sources. The design strategies for edible landscape are about re-inviting food back into the city and re-connecting people with their local/regional food system to promote a healthier lifestyle. Edible landscapes are a movement in transition and sprouting up as a response to the slow food movement and living a greener lifestyle. These urban agricultural landscapes are fast becoming iconic media darlings and are demonstrating that they are far more than growing vegetables and fruits on abandoned lots. Edible landscaping is the use of food plants as design features in a landscape. These plants are used both for aesthetic value as well as consumption. Edible landscapes encompass a variety of garden types and scales but do not include food items produced for sale. Edible landscaping is the practical integration of food plants within an ornamental or decorative setting. Using edibles in landscape design can enhance a garden by providing a unique ornamental component with additional health, aesthetic, and economic benefits. In this study; emergence of edible landscape, edible landscape design and maintenance, samples of edible landscape, productive plants, importance of edible landscaping for urban environments have been explained.

scholarly journals Family graveyards form underappreciated local plant diversity hotspots in China's agricultural landscapes

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Gong ◽  
Liangtao Li ◽  
Jan C. Axmarcher ◽  
Zhenrong Yu ◽  
Yunhui Liu
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Landscape Features ◽  
Habitat Islands ◽  
Local Plant ◽  
Ecological Functioning

AbstractIn the intensively farmed, homogenous agricultural landscape of the North China Plain, family graveyards form distinct cultural landscape features. In addition to their cultural value, these graveyards represent semi-natural habitat islands whose potential roles in biodiversity conservation and ecological functioning has remained poorly understood. In this study, we investigated plant species richness on 199 family graveyards of different ages and sizes. In accordance with biogeography theory, both overall and insect-pollinated plant species richness increased with area and age of graveyards. Even small graveyards show a strong potential for conserving local plant richness, and a mosaic of both large and small family graveyards could play an important role in the conservation of farmland biodiversity and related ecosystem functions. The launch of agri-environmental measures that conserve and create semi-natural habitats, in turn benefitting agricultural biodiversity and ecological functioning, has proven difficult in China due to the shortage of dispensable arable land. Given the great value of family graveyards as semi-natural habitats reflected in our study, we propose to focus preliminary efforts on conserving these landscape features as existing, widespread and culturally important semi-natural habitat islands. This would represent an effective, complementary policy to a subsequent re-establishment of other semi-natural habitats for the conservation of biodiversity and ecological functioning in agricultural landscapes.

Bumble bee colony growth and reproduction on reclaimed surface coal mines

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessie Lanterman ◽  
Karen Goodell
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mines ◽  
Colony Growth ◽  
Bumble Bee ◽  
Bee Colony ◽  
Growth And Reproduction

Dryland organic farming increases floral resources and bee colony success in highly simplified agricultural landscapes

2019 ◽  
Vol 270-271 ◽  
pp. 9-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subodh Adhikari ◽  
Laura A. Burkle ◽  
Kevin M. O’Neill ◽  
David K. Weaver ◽  
Fabian D. Menalled
Keyword(s):  
Organic Farming ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Bee Colony

scholarly journals Annual flowers strips benefit bumble bee colony growth and reproduction

2020 ◽  
Vol 252 ◽  
pp. 108814
Author(s):  
Björn K. Klatt ◽  
Lovisa Nilsson ◽  
Henrik G. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Colony Growth ◽  
Bumble Bee ◽  
Bee Colony ◽  
Growth And Reproduction

scholarly journals MODIFIKASI BARU ALGORITMA KOLONI LEBAH BUATAN UNTUK MASALAH OPTIMASI GLOBAL

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Nursyiva Irsalinda ◽  
Sugiyarto Surono
Keyword(s):  
Food Source ◽  
Artificial Bee Colony ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Optimization Technique ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Abc Algorithm ◽  
Average Value ◽  
Bee Colony ◽  
Objective Function Values ◽  
Better Than

Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm is one of metaheuristic optimization technique based on population. This algorithm mimicking honey bee swarm to find the best food source. ABC algorithm consist of four phases: initialization phase, employed bee phase, onlooker bee phase and scout bee phase. This study modify the onlooker bee phase in selection process to find the neighborhood food source. Not all food sources obtained are randomly sought the neighborhood as in ABC algorithm. Food sources are selected by comparing their objective function values. The food sources that have value lower than average value in that iteration will be chosen by onlooker bee to get the better food source. In this study the modification of this algorithm is called New Modification of Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm (MB-ABC). MB-ABC was applied to 4 Benchmark functions. The results show that MB-ABC algorithm better than ABC algorithm

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