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The contribution of wild insects to crop pollination is becoming increasingly important as global demand for crops dependent on animal pollination increases. If wild insect populations are to persist in agricultural landscapes, there must be sufficient floral resources (FR) over time and space. The temporal, within-season component of FR availability has rarely been investigated, despite growing recognition of its likely importance for pollinator populations. Here, we examined the visitation rates of common bee genera and the spatiotemporal availability of FR in agroecosystems over one season to determine whether local bee activity was limited by the abundance of landscape FR, and if so, whether it was limited by the present or past abundance of landscape FR. Visitation rates and landscape FR were measured in 27 agricultural sites in Ontario and Québec, Canada, across four time periods and three spatial scales. Landscape FR at varying spatial scales predicted visits for the seven most commonly observed bee genera. Bombus visitation rates were higher in landscapes that had greater cumulative seasonal abundance of FR, suggesting the importance of early-season FR for this taxon. Visits from Halictus and Lasioglossum were higher in landscapes that provided either a stable or increasing amount of FR over the season and were lower in landscapes that experienced a decrease in FR over the course of a season. Andrena, Augochlorella, Megachile, and Peponapis visits were not measurably influenced by FR in previous months but were lower in landscapes that had a higher present abundance of FR, perhaps reflecting pollinator movement or dilution. Our research provides insight into how seasonal fluctuations in floral resources affect bee activity, and by examining each bee genus separately, we could observe how differences in foraging periods, foraging ranges, and the number of broods per season influence how bee taxa respond to food availability within agroecosystems.
The ongoing threat of climate change poses an increasing risk to biodiversity, especially for currently threatened species. Climate change can both directly impact species and interact with other pre-existing threats, such as habitat loss, to further amplify species' risk of extinction. Recognizing the threat of climate change in extinction risk assessments and recovery planning for imperilled species is essential for tailoring and prioritizing recovery actions for climatethreatened species. Using species legally listed in Canada we show that 44.1% of species' risk assessments identify the threat of climate change, nonetheless, 43.5% of assessments completely omit climate change. Species assessed more recently were more likely to be identified as climate-threatened, however, the strength of this relationship varied across taxonomic groups. The likelihood that climate change was identified as a threat was also strongly affected by the use of a standardized threat assessment process. Of the climate-threatened species, less than half (46.0%) of species' recovery plans specified actions aimed explicitly at minimizing climate impacts and only 3.8% of recovery plans recommended habitat or population management actions. Climate-targeted recovery actions were more likely to be included in more recent plans, and were marginally more likely for species where climate change was considered a major threat. Our findings highlight the urgent need for consistent and standardized assessments of the threat of climate change, including the consideration of potential synergies between climate change and other existing threats. Performing species-specific climate change vulnerability assessments may serve to complement existing assessment and recovery planning processes. We provide additional recommendations aimed at threatened species recovery planners for improving the integration of the threat of climate change into species extinction risk assessments and recovery planning processes for listed species.Extinction risk assessments address climate change threats over time, few recovery documents include specific climate-targeted actions.
Threatened species lists describe the conservation status of species and are key tools used to inform decisions for biodiversity conservation. These lists are rich in information obtained during status assessment and recovery planning processes, ranging from biological attributes to actions that support recovery. Data compiled from species lists allow for analyses, including assessing trends in threats, prioritizing actions, and identifying barriers to achieving recovery objectives. For legally protected species at risk of extinction in Canada, such analyses are challenging owing to a lack of comprehensive and accessible data reflecting information compiled from listing and recovery documents. To encourage ongoing synthesis and minimise duplication of efforts, we initiated CAN-SAR: a database of Canadian Species at Risk information. This transparent, open-access, and searchable database contains information transcribed from listing documents, including listing date, and derived variables. Derived variables required interpretation for which we developed standardised criteria to record information, including classification of recovery actions. The CAN-SAR database is updateable, and will contribute towards improved recovery planning to safeguard species of conservation concern.
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