Complementarity and redundancy in the functional niche of cider apple pollinators

Miñarro, Marcos; García, Daniel

doi:10.1007/s13592-018-0600-4

Cited by 26 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…2016; Park et al . 2016; Miñarro & García 2018) and may enhance honey bee pollination services by altering their foraging behaviour (Greenleaf & Kremen 2006). Planting alternative foraging plants in and among the apple trees and ensuring there are adequate nesting resources in the orchards may enhance native bee populations and encourage native bee visitation (Campbell et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2007; Garratt et al . 2014; Miñarro & García 2018; Pardo & Borges 2020). Honey bees ( Apis spp., predominantly Apis mellifera , but also Apis cerana in southern, south‐eastern and eastern Asia) are traditionally used as the main pollinators of apples (Pardo & Borges 2020), yet there is increasing interest in alternative pollinators, including in Australia, owing to the similar or higher per‐visit performance in pollen transfer by native or other managed species (Hogendoorn et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) outnumber native bees in Tasmanian apple orchards: Perspectives for balancing crop production and native bee conservation

Prendergast

Leclercq²,

Vereecken³

2021

Austral Entomology

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Apples are a major crop globally, including in Tasmania (Australia)known as 'the Apple Isle' owing to the key role of apples in Tasmania's history and economy. Most apple cultivars are obligate entomophilous species, and fruit quantity, quality and economic value are enhanced under insect pollination. Whilst the introduced European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is often assumed to be the main pollinator of apple in most regions of the world, including Australia, there is an increasing interest in alternative pollinators. The pollinator community of Tasmanian apple crops, however, has never been assessed. In this study, we surveyed four apple orchards for 3 days each during peak bloom in the Huon Valley region to characterise bee assemblages visiting blooming apple trees and the native bee fauna associated with surrounding flowering vegetation. Our results show that honey bees were the predominant visitors to apple blossoms (90.7% of visits), followed by the introduced bumble bee Bombus terrestris (5.9% of visits), with only a minor contribution by native bees (3.3% of visits). Twenty-six species of native bees were collected in total, of which only 10 species (five Exoneura (Apidae), four Lasioglossum (Halictidae) and one Euryglossa (Colletidae) species) were collected from apple blossoms, with Exoneura being the most abundant visitors. Few native bees were captured on apple blossoms, however co-blooming surrounding native vegetation, as well exotic flowers, hosted a high diversity and abundance of native bees. Site conditions influenced community composition, including abundance and representation of introduced bees compared to native bees visiting apples. Additionally, warmer temperatures favoured native bees. Collectively, our results suggest that Tasmania's apple production in its current state is unlikely to rely exclusively on native pollinators. Native bees nevertheless warrant conservation in such an insular crop production system. This can be achievable through retaining native flowering plants and even exotic non-crop flowers in and around orchards. Promoting the diversity and abundance of native bees through habitat enhancement may have additional benefits, such as filling current and future pollination demands and gaps, a key strategy under scenarios of climate change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) outnumber native bees in Tasmanian apple orchards: Perspectives for balancing crop production and native bee conservation

Prendergast

Leclercq²,

Vereecken³

2021

Austral Entomology

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“…Grass et al., 2017) was found after putting nest boxes in apple orchards. In the same vein, pollinators were rarely preyed by nesting birds (Figure 5), even when this functional group is abundant in orchards during nesting season (Miñarro & García, 2018), suggesting no negative effect of bird nest boxes on apple pollination is to be expected.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Enhancing ecosystem services in apple orchards: Nest boxes increase pest control by insectivorous birds

García

Miñarro

Martínez-Sastre

2021

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Ecological intensification in croplands aims to enhance biodiversity‐based ecosystem services, helping to increase yield while reducing agricultural environmental impacts. Identifying ecological intensification tools of wide applicability and easily implemented by farmers is, therefore, an imperative. Here, we verify the efficiency of provisioning artificial nest boxes for insectivorous birds to reinforce pest biological control in apple orchards. The study was conducted in 24 cider‐apple orchards in Asturias (NW Spain) over 3 years. We compared the effect of insectivorous birds between orchards with and without nest boxes occupied by different bird species, through insectivory estimates based on attack on a sentinel pest and measurements of arthropod abundance in apple trees. We also identified preys that birds of different species captured to feed nestlings. Bird occupancy of nest boxes was widespread, ranging 25.0%–33.3% each year. Great tit was the dominant species, followed by blue tit and, occasionally, common redstart. Predation pressure on apple pests increased in orchards with nest boxes, as judged by the increased proportion of sentinel models attacked by birds (34.9% increase in 2018 and 41.1% in 2019), decreased biomass of tree‐dwelling arthropods (−51.7%) and reduced probability of apple pest occurrence (from 57% to 40%), compared to orchards without nest boxes. Nesting species showed different predatory roles in apple orchards. Fewer attacks on sentinel pests but lower arthropod biomass was associated with blue tit rather than great tit. Besides, blue tit fed nestlings at a faster rate and included in their diet a higher proportion of apple pests than great tit, which preyed mostly on other herbivorous insects. Synthesis and applications. We demonstrated the usefulness of nest boxes for insectivorous birds in enhancing biological control of apple pests at a regional scale, identifying tit species as complementary predators of apple pests and herbivores. From the farmers' perspective, providing nest boxes in orchards may represent an efficient, easy to implement, cheap and attractive measure of ecological intensification, compatible with other actions fostering biodiversity in croplands.

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“…Foraging behaviour of both species could account for these differences. Honeybees usually move between trees less frequently and over shorter distances than bumblebees (Dupont, Hansen, Valido, & Olesen, ; McBrydie, Howlett, & Pattemore, ; but see Miñarro & García, ; Palmer‐Jones & Clinch, ), thus, promoting geitonogamy (i.e. pollen transfer among flowers of the same individual).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The economic cost of losing native pollinator species for orchard production

Pérez‐Méndez

Andersson

Réquier

et al. 2020

Journal of Applied Ecology

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The alarming loss of pollinator diversity world‐wide can reduce the productivity of pollinator‐dependent crops, which could have economic impacts. However, it is unclear to what extent the loss of a key native pollinator species affects crop production and farmer's profits. By experimentally manipulating the presence of colonies of a native bumblebee species Bombus pauloensis in eight apple orchards in South Argentina, we evaluated the impact of losing natural populations of a key native pollinator group on (a) crop yield, (b) pollination quality, and (c) farmer's profit. To do so, we performed a factorial experiment of pollinator exclusion (yes/no) and hand pollination (yes/no). Our results showed that biotic pollination increased ripe fruit set by 13% when compared to non‐biotic pollination. Additionally, fruit set and the number of fruits per apple tree was reduced by less than a half in those orchards where bumblebees were absent, even when honeybees were present at high densities. Consequently, farmer's profit was 2.4‐fold lower in farms lacking bumblebees than in farms hosting both pollinator species. The pollination experiment further suggested that the benefits of bumblebees could be mediated by improved pollen quality rather than quantity. Synthesis and applications. This study highlights the pervasive consequences of losing key pollinator functional groups, such as bumblebees, for apple production and local economies. Adopting pollinator‐friendly practices such as minimizing the use of synthetic inputs or restoring/maintaining semi‐natural habitats at farm and landscape scales, will have the double advantage of promoting biodiversity conservation, and increasing crop productivity and profitability for local farmers. Yet because the implementation of these practices can take time to deliver results, the management of native pollinator species can be a provisional complementary strategy to increase economic profitability of apple growers in the short term.

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Complementarity and redundancy in the functional niche of cider apple pollinators

Cited by 26 publications

References 47 publications

Honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) outnumber native bees in Tasmanian apple orchards: Perspectives for balancing crop production and native bee conservation

Honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) outnumber native bees in Tasmanian apple orchards: Perspectives for balancing crop production and native bee conservation

Enhancing ecosystem services in apple orchards: Nest boxes increase pest control by insectivorous birds

The economic cost of losing native pollinator species for orchard production

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