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opencc-zeroDec 2015View details →

Data from: Bee communities along a prairie restoration chronosequence: similar abundance and diversity, distinct composition

Recognition of the importance of bee conservation has grown in response to declines of managed honey bees and some wild bee species. Habitat loss has been implicated as a leading cause of declines, suggesting that ecological restoration is likely to play an increasing role in bee conservation efforts. In the Midwestern USA, restoration of tallgrass prairie has traditionally targeted plant community objectives without explicit consideration for bees. However, restoration of prairie vegetation is likely to provide ancillary benefits to bees through increased foraging and nesting resources. We investigated community assembly of bees across a chronosequence of restored eastern tallgrass prairies and compared patterns to those in control and reference habitats (old fields and prairie remnants, respectively). We collected bees for three years and measured diversity and abundance of in-bloom flowering plants, vegetation structure, ground cover, and surrounding land use as predictors of bee abundance and bee taxonomic and functional diversity. We found that site-level variables, but not site type or restoration age, were significant predictors of bee abundance (bloom diversity: p = 0.004, bare ground cover: p = 0.02) and bee diversity (bloom diversity: p = 0.01). There were significant correlations between overall composition of bee and blooming plant communities (mantel test: p = 0.002), and both plant and bee assemblages in restorations were intermediate between those of old fields and remnant prairies. Restorations exhibited high bee beta diversity, i.e., restored sites' bee assemblages were taxonomically and functionally differentiated from each other. This pattern was strong in younger restorations (< 20 years old), but absent from older restorations (> 20 years), suggesting restored prairie bee communities become more similar to one another and more similar to remnant prairie bee communities over time with the arrival of more species and functional groups of bees. Our results indicate that old fields, restorations, and remnants provide habitat for diverse and abundant bee communities, but continued restoration of old fields will help support and conserve bee communities more similar to reference bee communities characteristic of remnant prairies.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

Data from: How a generalist bee achieves high efficiency of pollen collection on diverse floral resources

Bees foraging for floral rewards are one of our most thoroughly studied examples of generalist foraging ecology. Generalist bees rely considerably on instrumental (associative) learning to acquire routines that allow them to collect nectar efficiently from diverse plant species. Although such bees must also collect pollen from diverse species, few studies have examined if and how high efficiency is achieved. We characterized how generalist bumble bees (Bombus impatiens) foraged effectively for pollen from diverse floral resources, by manipulating the presence of pollen and anther cues, in a series of experiments using pollen-bearing live flowers, flowers of a sterile pollenless horticultural hybrid, and artificial flowers. We show that generalist bumble bees exhibit flexible and effective pollen collection by switching between 2 routines: "scrabbling" when pollen is abundant and "sonicating" when pollen is scarce. Efficient switching between these behaviors is regulated by the interplay of 2 ubiquitous floral cues: chemical anther cues stimulating pollen collection behavior and mechanical pollen cues suppressing sonication (and eliciting scrabbling). Flexible pollen collection behavior is functional: When pollen on anthers was scarce, bees collected it at a greater rate by sonicating than scrabbling. This mechanism of behavioral flexibility likely allows generalist bees to handle diverse anther morphologies efficiently and may have facilitated the recurrent evolution of plant species that conceal pollen rewards via pored floral morphology. Whereas effective nectar foraging relies heavily on associative learning of unique routines for each flower type, a weighing of 2 types of cues regulates the flexible pollen collection mechanism we describe.

opencc-zeroJun 2021View details →

Coutinho et al. 2021 - Landscape structure is a major driver of bee functional diversity in crops

The study of functional diversity can support the understanding of how changes at the landscape affects the roles of organisms in biological communities and consequently their ecological functions such as pollination. Different aspects of functional diversity have been addressed in recent years. Understanding those effects on landscape patterns is a key step to target ecological intensification. Still, elucidating those relationships requires studies in multiple spatial scales since effects and consequences are different considering biological groups and interactions. In that sense, by using a multitrait approach we evaluated whether the landscape structure and/or local environment characteristics could explain the functional richness, divergence and dispersion of bee communities in agroecosystems. In addition, we investigated to which extent this approach help to predict effects on pollination services. This study was conducted in an agroecosystem situated in "Chapada Diamantina" region, State of Bahia, Brazil. Bees were collected using two complementary techniques (entomological nets and pan traps) in 27 sample units distributed orthogonally along a gradient of agriculture and landscape diversity. Bees were classified according to their response traits (e.g. body size, nesting location) and effect traits (e.g means of pollen transportation, specialty in obtaining some resource).The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) was used to select the best models created through the additive combination of landscape descriptors (landscape diversity, mean patch shape and local vegetation structure) at the local, proximal and broad landscape levels. Our results indicate that both landscape heterogeneity and configuration matter in explaining the three properties of bee functional diversity. We indicate that different properties of functional diversity are influenced by different landscape descriptors, at different spatial scales. In this sense, including conjunct strategies, in different spatial scales, considering different ecological processes is a more relevant way to think about land use scenarios in a perspective to contemplate functional diversity.

opencc-zeroDec 2012View details →

Data from: Revisiting comparisons of genetic diversity in stable and declining species: assessing genome-wide polymorphism in North American bumble bees using RAD sequencing

Genetic variation is of key importance for a species' evolutionary potential, and its estimation is a major component of conservation studies. New DNA sequencing technologies have enabled the analysis of large portions of the genome in nonmodel species, promising highly accurate estimates of such population genetic parameters. Restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) is used to analyse thousands of variants in the bumble bee species Bombus impatiens, which is common, and Bombus pensylvanicus, which is in decline. Previous microsatellite-based analyses have shown that gene diversity is lower in the declining B. pensylvanicus than in B. impatiens. RADseq nucleotide diversities appear much more similar in the two species. Both species exhibit allele frequencies consistent with historical population expansions. Differences in diversity observed at microsatellites thus do not appear to have arisen from long-term differences in population size and are either recent in origin or may result from mutational processes. Additional research is needed to explain these discrepancies and to investigate the best ways to integrate next-generation sequencing data and more traditional molecular markers in studies of genetic diversity.

opennotspecifiedFeb 2017View details →

Figure 1 in Using short-term surveys and mark-recapture to estimate diversity and population size of orchid bees in forest formations of the Brazilian savanna

Figure 1. Marking method used in the study of euglossine populations. (a) During all populational estimatives. Each geometric shape corresponds to the day when the PTT was collected. Square = 1st day; circle = 2nd day; pentagon = 3rd day; triangle = 4th day; diamond = 5th day. (b) During the samplings occurred simultaneously in seasonal semi-deciduous (ssf) and gallery forest (ssf). Square = 1st day; circle = 2nd day; pentagon = 3rd day; square combined with spot on the wing = 4th day; circle combined with spot on the wing = 5th day.

opencc-zeroNov 2022View details →

Open forest successional stages and landscape heterogeneity promote wild bee diversity in temperate forests

Recent studies have emphasized forests as crucial habitat for wild bees. In Europe, most forests are managed following the principles of close‐to‐nature silviculture, which combine timber production and nature conservation. However, open late and early successional stages within these forests are largely missing, which could be important for wild bees. This highlights that close‐to‐nature silviculture alone might not be sufficient to conserve bees within temperate forests. Open structures such as canopy gaps and road verges in forests could improve habitat for bees. To provide management recommendations for wild bee conservation in temperate forests, we analyzed how components of bee beta diversity varied between forest management types and tested how open structures, namely clear‐cuts, canopy gaps, and forest road verges influenced bee abundance, richness, and diversity. In addition, we analyzed the abundance and percent of red‐listed bee species at different scales. Bees were sampled using 90 pan traps on 45 (1 ha) plots in 2019 and 2020 in the Black Forest, Germany. Plots were selected in 15 triplets each consisting of three management types related to different successional stages: unmanaged, close‐to‐nature, and small clear‐cut. Beta diversity was not consistently nested highlighting the importance of different management and successional stages within the landscape to support bees in forests. Abundance, species richness, and Shannon diversity of bees were highest on clear‐cuts, compared to unmanaged‐ and close‐to‐nature plots. At landscape scale, wild bee abundance increased with canopy openness while wild bee diversity increased with landscape heterogeneity. Abundance‐ and percent of red‐listed bee species increased with the length of forest road verges. We advocate creating habitats at local scales which offer flowering and nesting resources by providing canopy gaps. At landscape scale, heterogeneity created through different forest successional stages is needed to conserve the entire community of wild bees.

opencc-zeroJan 2023View details →

Data from: Bee diversity decreases rapidly with time since harvest in intensively managed conifer forests

Despite widespread concern about the anthropogenic drivers of global pollinator declines, little information is available about the impacts of land management practices on wild bees outside of agricultural systems, including forests managed intensively for wood production. We assessed changes in wild bee communities with time since harvest in 60 intensively managed Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) stands across a gradient in stand ages spanning a typical harvest rotation. We measured bee abundance, species richness, and alpha and beta diversity, as well as habitat characteristics (i.e., floral resources, nesting substrates, understory vegetation, and early seral forest in the surrounding landscape) during the spring and summer in 2018 and 2019. We found that bee abundance and richness declined rapidly with stand age, decreasing by 61% and 48%, respectively, for every five years since timber harvest. Asymptotic estimates of Shannon and Simpson diversity were highest in stands 6-10 y post-harvest and lowest after the forest canopy had closed, approximately 11 y post-harvest. Bee communities in older stands were nested subsets of bee communities found in younger stands, indicating changes were due to species loss, rather than turnover, as stands aged. Bee abundance – but not richness – was positively associated with floral resource density, and neither metric was associated with floral richness. The amount of early seral forest in the surrounding landscape seemed to enhance bee species richness in older, closed-canopy stands, but otherwise had little effect. Changes in the relative abundance of bee species did not relate to bee functional characteristics such as sociality, diet breadth, or nesting substrate. Our study demonstrates that Douglas-fir plantations develop diverse communities of wild bees shortly after harvest, but those communities erode rapidly over time as forest canopies close. Therefore, stand-scale management activities that prolong the pre-canopy closure period and enhance floral density during the initial stage of stand regeneration will provide the greatest opportunity to enhance bee diversity in landscapes dominated by intensively managed conifer forests.

Figure 10 in A review of Augochlora (Oxystoglossella) bees from South America: unexpected Amazonian diversity and assessment of vulnerable species

Figure 10. Augochlora phoenicis (Vachal, 1911): (A) small female, frontal view of head; (B) mediumsized female, frontal view of head; (C) large, macrocephalic female, frontal view of head; (D) male, frontal view of head; € male, lateral view of mesosoma; (F) male, dorsal view of metasoma. Scale bar: 1.0 mm, all at same scale.

Figure 5 in A review of Augochlora (Oxystoglossella) bees from South America: unexpected Amazonian diversity and assessment of vulnerable species

Figure 5. Augochlora lamellata sp. nov.: (A–C) holotype female; (D–F) paratype male, (A) Female, oblique view of head, arrow: lamellate preoccipital carina; (B) female, dorsal view of mesosoma; (C) female, dorsal view of metasoma; (D) male, lateral view of head, arrow: lamellate preoccipital carina; (E) male, dorsal view of mesosoma; (F) male, dorsal view of metasoma. Scale bar: 1.0 mm, all at same scale.

Figure 4 in A review of Augochlora (Oxystoglossella) bees from South America: unexpected Amazonian diversity and assessment of vulnerable species

Figure 4. Augochlora laevinota sp. nov.: (A–C) holotype female; (D–F) paratype male. (A) Female, frontal view of head; (B) female, dorsal view of mesosoma; (C) female, dorsal view of metasoma; (D) male, frontal view of head; (E) male, dorsal view of mesosoma; (F) male, dorsal view of metasoma. Scale bar: 1.0 mm, all at same scale.

Figure 2 in A review of Augochlora (Oxystoglossella) bees from South America: unexpected Amazonian diversity and assessment of vulnerable species

Figure 2. Theholotype female of Augochlora brevipilosa sp.nov., (A) frontal view of head; (B) dorsal view of mesosoma; (C) obliqueview of habitus, red arrows showing S4–5 short pubescence. Scale bar: 1.0 mm, all at same scale.

Figure 7 in A review of Augochlora (Oxystoglossella) bees from South America: unexpected Amazonian diversity and assessment of vulnerable species

Figure 7. The holotype female of Augochlora meloi sp. nov.: (A) frontal view of head; (B) dorsal view of mesosoma; (C) dorsal view of metasoma. Scale bar: 1.0 mm, all at same scale.

Figure 1 in A review of Augochlora (Oxystoglossella) bees from South America: unexpected Amazonian diversity and assessment of vulnerable species

Figure 1. Augochlora almeidai sp. nov., (A– B) holotype female; (C–E) paratype male; (A) female, lateral view of head, red arrow showing thehypostomal lamella; (B) female, dorsal view of mesosoma and metasoma; (C) male, lateral view of head, red arrow showing the hypostomallamella; (D) male, dorsal view of mesosoma; (E) male, dorsal view ofmetasoma. Scale bar: 1.0 mm, all at same scale.

Figure 9 in A review of Augochlora (Oxystoglossella) bees from South America: unexpected Amazonian diversity and assessment of vulnerable species

Figure 9. Augochlora obidensis sp. nov.: (A–C) holotype female; (D–F) paratype male. (A) Female, frontal view of head; (B) female, lateral view of mesosoma; (C) female, dorsal view of metasoma; (D) male, frontal view of head; (E) male, lateral view of mesosoma; (F) male, dorsal view of metasoma. Scale bar: 1.0 mm, all at same scale.

Figure 6. Augochlora matucanensis Cockerell, 1914 in A review of Augochlora (Oxystoglossella) bees from South America: unexpected Amazonian diversity and assessment of vulnerable species

Figure 6. Augochlora matucanensis Cockerell, 1914: (A) female, frontal view of head; (B) female, dorsal view of mesosoma and metasoma; (C) male, lateral view of head; (D) male, dorsal view of mesosoma and metasoma. Scale bar: 1.0 mm, all at same scale.

Figure 13 in A review of Augochlora (Oxystoglossella) bees from South America: unexpected Amazonian diversity and assessment of vulnerable species

Figure 13. Map of distribution records for Oxystoglossella of the A. aurinasis and A. modica species groups: (A) A. almeidai, A. aurinasis and A. meloi sp. nov.; (B) A. eucnemis, A. lamellata sp. nov., A. mineira sp. nov. and A. rightmyerae; (C) A. mendax and A. modica; (D) A. simplex sp. nov. and A. tenax.

Figure 8 in A review of Augochlora (Oxystoglossella) bees from South America: unexpected Amazonian diversity and assessment of vulnerable species

Figure 8. Augochlora mineira sp. nov.: (A–C) holotype female; (D–F) paratype male. (A) Female, frontal view of head; (B) female, dorsal view of mesosoma; (C) female, dorsal view of metasoma; (D) male, frontal view of head; (E) male, dorsal view of mesosoma; (F) male, dorsal view of metasoma. Scale bar: 1.0 mm, all at same scale.

Figure 12 in A review of Augochlora (Oxystoglossella) bees from South America: unexpected Amazonian diversity and assessment of vulnerable species

Figure 12. Augochlora simplex sp. nov.: (A) female, frontal view of head; (B) female, dorsal view of mesosoma; (C) female, dorsal view of metasoma; (D) male, frontal view of head; (E) male, dorsal view of mesosoma; (F) male, dorsal view of metasoma. Scale bar: 1.0 mm, all at same scale.

Figure 3 in A review of Augochlora (Oxystoglossella) bees from South America: unexpected Amazonian diversity and assessment of vulnerable species

Figure 3. The holotype female of Halictus cymatoides Vachal, 1911. (A) dorsal view, arrow: lamellate hypostomal carina; (B) frontalview of head; (C) dorsal view of metasoma; (D) labels. Scale bar: 1.0 mm

Figure 11. Augochlora rightmyerae Engel, 2000 in A review of Augochlora (Oxystoglossella) bees from South America: unexpected Amazonian diversity and assessment of vulnerable species

Figure 11. Augochlora rightmyerae Engel, 2000: (A) female, frontal view of head; (B) female, lateral view of mesosoma; (C) female, dorsal view of metasoma; (D) male, frontal view of head; (E) male, lateral view of mesosoma; (F) male, dorsal view of metasoma. Scale bar: 1.0 mm, all at same scale.