Seasonal persistence of bumblebee populations is affected by landscape context

Persson, Anna; Smith, Henrik G.

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2012.12.008

Cited by 88 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These areas might be a source of continuous pollen and nectar resources throughout the foraging stage of bumblebees. While food supply in early spring can favor bumblebee colony establishment and initial growth (Westphal et al 2009), the reproductive success of the colony seems to be determined by late-season food availability provided by surrounding natural areas (Persson and Smith 2013). Late-season food supply is crucial for hibernating queens since Beekman et al (1998) found that body weight at the start of diapause positively affects its success, while environmental temperature has no effect.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape effects on wild Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae) queens visiting highbush blueberry fields in south-central Chile

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

-In this study pollinators visiting highbush blueberry fields set in landscapes with differing land use pattern in south-central Chile were investigated. Effects of spatial buffers from 0.5 to 8 km around each blueberry field on the abundance of the main wild pollinator, Bombus terrestris queens, were tested. Wild B. terrestris abundances were positively affected by natural forest area and negatively affected by high-food resource area, and these effects were strongest at a buffer radius of 1 and 3.5 km, respectively. Possibly, continuous food resources provided by natural forest areas favor colony establishment and growth, and/or increase overwintering survival of bumblebee queens. Also, pollinator dependent crop area can generate a Btransient dilution effect^by decreasing the density of bumblebees in simultaneously flowering crops. Management strategies might increase crop pollination services by considering the importance of nesting and overwintering habitat quality/amount and area of simultaneously flowering crops requiring insect pollination.Vaccinium corymbosum / pollinators / bumblebee / natural forest areas / flowering crops

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape effects on wild Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae) queens visiting highbush blueberry fields in south-central Chile

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Weeds are also a limiting factor for bumblebees: after the mass-flowering of rapeseed simplified landscapes contain significantly fewer flowers than complex landscapes. One study reported a sharp decline in bumblebees in simplified landscapes in late July with bumblebee abundance being positively correlated with the availability of herbaceous flowers (among other factors), suggesting that, in simplified landscapes, bumblebee abundance is limited by floral resources (Persson and Smith 2013).…”

Section: Floral Resources Required For Wild and Honeybees: Weeds Arementioning

confidence: 99%

Weeds for bees? A review

Bretagnolle

Gaba

2015

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

226

125

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Agricultural intensification has led to the decrease of the diversity of wild and domestic pollinators. For instance, honeybees declined by 59 % in 61 years in the USA. About 35 % of major crops in the world depend on pollination services, and 3-8 % of world crop production will disappear without pollinators. Indeed, pollination provides several ecosystem services such as enabling crop and honey productions, regulating weeds and other cultural services. Agricultural intensification has also decreased weed diversity by about 50 % in 70 years because massive herbicide sprays have reduced the competition between weeds and crops. Nevertheless, weeds are at the basis of agricultural foodwebs, providing food to many living organisms. In particular, weeds provide flowers for pollinating insects including honey and wild bees. Here, we review the decline of weeds and bees. We discuss the effect of bees and pollination on crop production. We describe the complex interactions between bee pollinators, e.g. honey and wild bees, and landscape habitats such as crop fields and seminatural elements. For that, we focus on spatial and temporal effects on flower resources. We show that weed abundance can reduce crop yields, thus inducing conflict with farmers.But weed abundance enhances regulating services by ensuring the survival of honeybees in the absence of oil seed crops. Weed abundance also enhances pollination services and, in turn, honey yield for the benefit of beekeepers. Weed abundance has also improved the survival of wild flora and the socio-cultural value of landscapes, a major request from the public. From those findings, we present a conceptual framework allowing to define ecological engineering options based upon ecosystem services of weeds and pollinators.

show abstract

“…Roughly coinciding with the peak flowering of our experimental L.viscaria plants, between 15 and 17 June, we surveyed the study sites to measure the local availability of floral resources, considering plants that were previously identified as important for bumble bees as nectar or pollen sources (Persson and Smith 2013). We surveyed bee flower abundance within two 50 m × 1 m transects, starting from the station with experimental plants and heading 50 m in the two directions in which floral abundance was highest.…”

Section: Study Sites and Field Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The transects usually headed in opposite directions at an angle of 180° since most stations were situated in linear non-crop habitat elements with few floral resources around them. The abundance of each species listed in Persson and Smith (2013) was recorded as the percentage cover in the total transect area of 100 m × 1 m. Based on our plant surveys, L. viscaria occurred naturally in only one out of the 36 study sites.…”

Section: Study Sites and Field Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of landscape composition and configuration on pollination in a native herb: a field experiment

et al. 2015

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bumble bee abundance in agricultural landscapes is known to decrease with increasing distance from seminatural grasslands, but whether the pollination of bumble-bee-pollinated wild plants shows a similar pattern is less well known. In addition, the relative effects of landscape composition (landscape heterogeneity) and landscape configuration (distance from seminatural grassland) on wild plant pollination, and the interaction between these landscape effects, have not been studied using landscape-level replication. We performed a field experiment to disentangle these landscape effects on the pollination of a native herb, the sticky catchfly (Lychnis viscaria), while accounting for the proportion of oilseed rape across landscapes and the local abundance of bee forage flowers. We measured pollen limitation (the degree to which seed set is pollen-limited), seed set, and seed set stability using potted plants placed in landscapes that differed in heterogeneity (composition) and distance from seminatural grassland (configuration). Pollen limitation and seed set in individual plants did not respond to landscape composition, landscape configuration, or proportion of oilseed rape. Instead, seed set increased with increasing local bee forage flower cover. However, we found within-plant variability in pollen limitation and seed set to increase with increasing distance from seminatural pasture. Our results suggest that average within-plant levels of pollen limitation and seed set respond less swiftly than the within-plant variability in pollen limitation and seed set to changes in landscape configuration. Although landscape effects on pollination were less important than predicted, we conclude that landscape configuration and local habitat characteristics play larger roles than landscape composition in the pollination of L. viscaria.

show abstract

Seasonal persistence of bumblebee populations is affected by landscape context

Cited by 88 publications

References 40 publications

Landscape effects on wild Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae) queens visiting highbush blueberry fields in south-central Chile

Landscape effects on wild Bombus terrestris (Hymenoptera: Apidae) queens visiting highbush blueberry fields in south-central Chile

Weeds for bees? A review

Effects of landscape composition and configuration on pollination in a native herb: a field experiment

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About