Experimental heatwaves disrupt bumblebee foraging through direct heat effects and reduced nectar production

Hemberger, Jeremy; Rosenberger, Nick M.; Williams, Neal M.

doi:10.1111/1365-2435.14241

Cited by 18 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 83 publications

(98 reference statements)

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“…Our experiment reveals that the increasing prevalence and severity of heatwaves (Meehl & Tebaldi, 2004) are likely to have dramatic impacts for bee populations, not only through effects on adult performance and behaviour (e.g. Hemberger et al, 2023)…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Heatwaves increase larval mortality and delay development of a solitary bee

Melone,

Stuligross,

Williams

2024

Ecological Entomology

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Heatwaves are expected to increase in frequency, intensity and duration due to climate change. For organisms like insects with discrete development, sensitivity may differ among life stages. Thermal sensitivity is of particular concern for species like bees that provide critical ecosystem services. Although social bees moderate nest temperatures through worker behaviour, solitary bees do not thermoregulate their nests, making immobile developing offspring especially vulnerable to such extreme events. We studied the effects of heatwaves on larval development in the solitary bee, Osmia lignaria, an important orchard pollinator and model species for solitary bee biology. We used a factorial design to assess the impacts of heatwave temperature and duration on larval mortality and development rate. Larvae were exposed to heatwaves under realistic diel temperature regimes, with daytime maxima of 31 or 37°C for 4 or 7 days at the beginning of development. Heatwave temperature strongly affected larval mortality. Exposure to 37°C heatwaves increased larval mortality by 130%, but the cooler 31°C heatwaves did not significantly impact mortality. Heatwave duration did not impact larval mortality. Larval development time also was affected by heatwave exposure. Compared with the no‐heatwave‐control, bees in the 31°C heatwave developed faster, and bees in the 37°C heatwave developed slower. Our study reveals the importance of stage‐specific effects of extreme events and suggests that the timing and maximum temperature of projected heatwaves may be more detrimental to populations than heatwave duration.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Heatwaves increase larval mortality and delay development of a solitary bee

Melone,

Stuligross,

Williams

2024

Ecological Entomology

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“…Returning to the example of a pollination mutualism, recent work has shown that the effects of heat stress can negatively and directly affect both nectar and pollen production in a bee‐pollinated plant species ( Borago officinalis , Descamps et al, 2021; see also Hemberger et al, 2023), while heat stress has also been shown to negatively and directly affect pollen foragers (i.e. pollen utilization), but not nectar foragers (i.e.…”

Section: The Thermal Ecology Of Mutualism: a Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mutualisms in a warming world

et al. 2023

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Predicting the impacts of global warming on mutualisms poses a significant challenge given the functional and life history differences that usually exist among interacting species. However, this is a critical endeavour since virtually all species on Earth depend on other species for survival and/or reproduction. The field of thermal ecology can provide physiological and mechanistic insights, as well as quantitative tools, for addressing this challenge. Here, we develop a conceptual and quantitative framework that connects thermal physiology to species' traits, species' traits to interacting mutualists' traits and interacting traits to the mutualism. We first identify the functioning of reciprocal mutualism‐relevant traits in diverse systems as the key temperature‐dependent mechanisms driving the interaction. We then develop metrics that measure the thermal performance of interacting mutualists' traits and that approximate the thermal performance of the mutualism itself. This integrated approach allows us to additionally examine how warming might interact with resource/nutrient availability and affect mutualistic species' associations across space and time. We offer this framework as a synthesis of convergent and critical issues in mutualism science in a changing world, and as a baseline to which other ecological complexities and scales might be added.

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“…Increased temperature was shown to alter floral volatile emissions in Mediterranean species observed in situ (Farré-Armengol et al, 2014). Increased temperature or drought may have negative effects on both the production of flowers and the amounts or quality of floral rewards (Hemberger et al, 2023;Phillips et al, 2018;Takkis et al, 2018). For example, experimental heatwaves impact nectar volume and sugar content in six Mediterranean plants, especially those flowering late in spring, towards the dry Mediterranean summer (Takkis et al, 2018).…”

Section: Direct Effects On Plantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Direct effects of elevated ambient temperature on pollinators may influence foraging activity, development, pheromone secretion and/or fertility both in cold-and warm-adapted lineages (CaraDonna et al, 2018;Hemberger et al, 2023;McAfee et al, 2020); in endothermic pollinators (e.g. hummingbirds), thermoregulation could be challenged, but the effects remain underexplored (Powers et al, 2017).…”

Section: Direct Effects On Pollinatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global change and plant–pollinator communities in Mediterranean biomes

Kantsa,

De Moraes,

Mescher

2023

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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AimOccurring in five distinct global regions, Mediterranean‐type ecosystems (MTEs) include both centres of agricultural production and hotspots of extratropical biodiversity – particularly for plants and bees. Considerable research has addressed the persistence of highly diverse biological communities within MTEs, despite their typically long histories of anthropogenic and natural disturbance. However, important questions remain, especially regarding the limits of ecological resilience in the face of accelerating environmental change. Here, we explore current knowledge regarding the effects of disturbance on MTE plant–pollinator communities.LocationMediterranean Basin, California, Cape Province in South Africa, Central Chile and Southern South‐Western Australia.Taxa StudiedFlowering plants and pollinators (insects, birds and mammals).MethodsWe reviewed the available literature about MTE plant–pollinator communities via a systematic search that yielded 234 case studies. We analysed this dataset to quantify research efforts across regions and taxonomic groups, the proportion of surveys addressing ecological interactions (i.e. rather than only taxonomic diversity) and the availability of work addressing community responses to specific stressors (viz. climate change, landscape alteration, fire, farming, grazing, urbanization and species introductions).ResultsCurrent knowledge on MTE plant–pollinator communities is dominated by work from the northern Mediterranean Basin, while the Southern Hemisphere and California are markedly understudied by comparison. Taxonomic coverage is similarly uneven, with 58% of studies focusing only on a single pollinator group. Furthermore, less than half of the surveys address ecological networks. Finally, despite some pioneering work addressing fire, climate and species introductions, only 13% focus on the impact of stressors on interaction networks.OutlookBased on our findings, we identify a need for coordinated international research efforts focusing on (i) community‐level studies, observational and experimental, (ii) ecological networks, (iii) functional traits mediating post‐disturbance recovery and (iv) impacts of combined/synergistic stressors. Progress in these areas will facilitate predictions about the long‐term impacts of global change on MTE plant–pollinator communities.

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Experimental heatwaves disrupt bumblebee foraging through direct heat effects and reduced nectar production

Cited by 18 publications

References 83 publications

Heatwaves increase larval mortality and delay development of a solitary bee

Heatwaves increase larval mortality and delay development of a solitary bee

Mutualisms in a warming world

Global change and plant–pollinator communities in Mediterranean biomes

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