scholarly journals Big city Bombus : using natural history and land-use history to find significant environmental drivers in bumble-bee declines in urban development

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 170156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Glaum ◽  
Maria-Carolina Simao ◽  
Chatura Vaidya ◽  
Gordon Fitch ◽  
Benjamin Iulinao

Native bee populations are critical sources of pollination. Unfortunately, native bees are declining in abundance and diversity. Much of this decline comes from human land-use change. While the effects of large-scale agriculture on native bees are relatively well understood, the effects of urban development are less clear. Understanding urbanity's effect on native bees requires consideration of specific characteristics of both particular bee species and their urban landscape. We surveyed bumble-bee ( Bombus spp.) abundance and diversity in gardens across multiple urban centres in southeastern Michigan. There are significant declines in Bombus abundance and diversity associated with urban development when measured on scales in-line with Bombus flight ability. These declines are entirely driven by declines in females; males showed no response to urbanization. We hypothesize that this is owing to differing foraging strategies between the sexes, and it suggests reduced Bombus colony density in more urban areas. While urbanity reduced Bombus prevalence, results in Detroit imply that ‘shrinking cities’ potentially offer unique urban paradigms that must be considered when studying wild bee ecology. Results show previously unidentified differences in the effects of urbanity on female and male bumble-bee populations and suggest that urban landscapes can be managed to support native bee conservation.

1984 ◽  
Vol 116 (7) ◽  
pp. 965-974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenna E. MacKenzie ◽  
Mark L. Winston

AbstractNative bee pollinators were collected and observed on cultivated blueberry, raspberry, and cranberry and on natural non-cultivated plants such as blackberry, buttercup, fireweed, thistle, and hairy cat's ear. Higher abundance and diversity of native bees were found on natural vegetation than on berry crops. Native bee populations on berry crops increased from 1981 to 1982, although diversity was similar. Native bees were not abundant enough to ensure adequate pollination of berry crops, and therefore, the use of managed honey bees is advisable. Pesticide impact, competition with managed honey bees, and habitat destruction have probably decreased native bee populations in agricultural areas of the Fraser Valley.The use of a standard measure of native pollinator abundance, bees observed/min/m2, is recommended for future studies of this kind.


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Hill ◽  
Ignasi Bartomeus

AbstractDeclines in pollinator abundance and diversity are not only a conservation issue but also a threat to crop pollination. Maintained infrastructure corridors, such as those containing electricity transmission lines, are potentially important wild pollinator habitat. However, there is a lack of evidence comparing the abundance and diversity of wild pollinators in transmission corridors with other important pollinator habitats. We compared the diversity of a key pollinator group, bumble bees (Bombus spp.), between transmission corridors and the surrounding semi-natural and managed habitat types at ten sites across Sweden’s Uppland region. Our results show that transmission corridors have no impact on bumble bee diversity in the surrounding area. However, transmission corridors and other maintained habitats have a level of bumble bees abundance and diversity comparable to semi-natural grasslands and host species that are important for conservation and ecosystem service provision. Under the current management regime, transmission corridors already provide valuable bumble bee habitat, but given that host plant density is the main determinant of bumble bee abundance, these areas could potentially be enhanced by establishing and maintaining key host plants. We show that in northern temperate regions the maintenance of transmission corridors has the potential to contribute to bumble bee conservation and the ecosystem services they provide.


2018 ◽  
Vol 150 (4) ◽  
pp. 520-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.J. Hicks ◽  
B.L. Pilgrim ◽  
E. Perry ◽  
H.D. Marshall

AbstractMany fruit producers use commercial colonies ofBombus impatiensCresson (Hymenoptera: Apidae) to supplement crop pollination by native bees. A small number of Newfoundland (Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada) farmers forego purchasing new colonies and, instead, purchase previously used colonies from crops in other provinces. This practice has potentially dangerous implications that may adversely affect future native bee diversity in Newfoundland. This study is the first to record the presence of native bumble bee species inside the colonies of new and pre-used commercialB. impatiensand the first to look at diseases in native bumble bees from Newfoundland. Polymerase chain reaction and taxon-specific oligonucleotides were used to screen the commercial and native bumble bee species for pathogens.Crithidia bombi(Lipa and Triggiani), Apicystis bombi(Liu, Macfarlane, and Pengelly),Nosema bombiFantham and Porter, Nosema ceranaeFrieset al., and species ofAscosphaeraOlive and Spiltoir, were detected in native bumble bees that were collected from inside the new and pre-used commercialB. impatiens.Crithidia bombi,A. bombi, andN. bombiwere also detected among native bees that were collected away from the commercial colonies.Nosema apis(Zander) andMelissococcus plutonius(White) were not detected in any of the bees tested. The mixing of native bumble bees inB. impatienscolonies increases the potential for pathogen spillover and spillback that may threaten the small and vulnerable island bee fauna.


HortScience ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 885-888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Broussard ◽  
Sujaya Rao ◽  
William P. Stephen ◽  
Linda White

Cultivated cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton) relies on insect pollination for berry production. Honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) have historically provided this service, but their recent decline has underscored the need for additional pollinators. The objective of this study was to determine the richness and abundance of native bees in the cranberry-growing area of southern coastal Oregon and compare foraging behaviors of honeybees and native bees. In a 2-year study, we collected over 27 native bee species in traps set out during and after bloom (mid-May to mid-June). During 67 2-min observations, honeybees (68.1%) and three species of bumble bees (Bombus spp.; 31.6%) comprised 99.7% of foragers. The dominant bumble bee was Bombus vosnesenskii Radoszkowski (56.0%). Multivariate regression of temperature and wind speed data indicated that both were significantly predictive of honeybee and bumble bee foragers (P < 0.001). The interquartile range for foraging was 18.3 to 22.2 °C for bumble bees and 21.1 to 26.7 °C for honeybees. Over 75% of honeybees were seen foraging above the average observed temperature (19.5 °C). Bumble bee pollen loads had a greater dry mass (6.8 ± 12.9 mg) than those of honeybees (2.0 ± 3.6 mg; P < 0.001), and the latter were observed collecting nectar but no pollen more often (during 37.2% of visits) than bumble bees (11.3% of visits). Based on our results, bumble bees in general, and B. vosnesenskii in particular, may be providing significant pollination services for Oregon cranberry farms. However, to maintain current native bumble bee populations, conservation efforts are recommended.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-175
Author(s):  
Urszula Żukowska ◽  
Grażyna Kalewska

In today's world, when it is so important to use every piece of land for a particular purpose, both economically and ecologically, identifying optimal land use is a key issue. For this reason, an analysis of the optimal land use in a section of the city of Olsztyn, using the L-system Urban Development computer program, was chosen as the aim of this paper. The program uses the theories of L-systems and the cartographic method to obtain results in the form of sequences of productions or maps. For this reason, the first chapters outline both theories, i.e. the cartographic method to identify optimal land use and Lindenmayer grammars (called L-systems). An analysis based on a fragment of the map of Olsztyn was then carried out. Two functions were selected for the analysis: agricultural and forest-industrial. The results are presented as maps and sequences in individual steps.


Author(s):  
Olha Dorosh ◽  
Iryna Kupriyanchik ◽  
Denys Melnyk

The land and town planning legislation concerning the planning of land use development within the united territorial communities (UTC) is considered. It is found that legislative norms need to be finalized. The necessity of updating the existing land management documentation developed prior to the adoption of the Law of Ukraine "On Land Management" and changes in the structure of urban development in connection with the adoption of the Law of Ukraine "On Regulation of Urban Development" was proved as they do not ensure the integrity of the planning process within the territories of these communities through their institutional incapacity (proved by the example of the Palan Unified Territorial Community of the Uman district of the Cherkasy region). The priority of land management and urban planning documents as the most influential tools in planning the development of land use systems in UTC is scientifically grounded and their interdependence established.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 715
Author(s):  
Yingkai Tang ◽  
Kun Wang ◽  
Xuanming Ji ◽  
He Xu ◽  
Yangqing Xiao

Rapid urbanization has provided a strong impetus for the economic growth of China, but it has also caused many problems such as inefficient urban land use and environmental pollution. With the popularization of the concept of green and sustainable development, the Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG) assessment concept is widely accepted. The government and residents are paying more and more attention to environmental issues in urban development, and environmental protection has formed an important part of urban development. In this context, this study takes 26 cities in the Yangtze River Delta as examples to build an evaluation system for urban land-use efficiency under green development orientation. The evaluation system takes into account the inputs of land, capital, labor, and energy factors in the process of urban development. Based on emphasizing economic output, the social benefits and undesired outputs brought about by urban development are taken into account. This paper measures urban land use efficiency by the super-efficiency SBM model, and on this basis, analyses the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of urban land-use efficiency. Further, this paper measures urban land use efficiency without considering undesired outputs and compares the two evaluation methods. Again, the comparison illustrates the rationality of urban land use efficiency evaluation system under green development orientation.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 306
Author(s):  
Vinicio Carrión-Paladines ◽  
Andreas Fries ◽  
Andrés Muñoz ◽  
Eddy Castillo ◽  
Roberto García-Ruiz ◽  
...  

This study evaluated the effects of land-use change (L-UCH) on dung beetle community structure (Scarabaeinae) in a disturbed dry ecosystem in southern Ecuador. Five different L-UCH classes were analyzed by capturing the dung beetle species at each site using 120 pitfall traps in total. To determine dung beetle abundance and diversity at each L-UCH, a general linear model (GLM) and a redundancy analysis (RDA) were applied, which correlated environmental and edaphic conditions to the community structure. Furthermore, changes in dung-producing vertebrate fauna were examined, which varied significantly between the different L-UCH classes due to the specific anthropogenic use or level of ecosystem disturbance. The results indicated that soil organic matter, pH, potassium, and phosphorus (RDA: component 1), as well as temperature and altitude (RDA: component 2) significantly affect the abundance of beetles (GLM: p value < 0.001), besides the food availability (dung). The highest abundance and diversity (Simpson’s index > 0.4, Shannon-Wiener index > 1.10) was found in highly disturbed sites, where soils were generally more compacted, but with a greater food supply due to the introduced farm animals. At highly disturbed sites, the species Canthon balteatus, Dichotomius problematicus, and Onthphagus confuses were found specifically, which makes them useful as bio-indicators for disturbed dry forest ecosystems in southern Ecuador.


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