Keeping Up with Insect Pollinators in Paris

Abstract

There is growing interest in urban pollinator communities, although they may be subject to biotic homogenization in densely artificial landscapes. Paris (France) is one of the densest cities in the world, yet over the years many insect pollinator species have been reported there. We conducted in-depth surveys of Parisian green spaces for two years, in order to improve our knowledge of these assemblages. We explored several types of green spaces, monitoring pollinators throughout their activity season. We listed 118 species of wild bees and 37 species of hoverflies, updating pre-existing lists with 32 additional species. Bee assemblages showed functional diversity with 18.5% parasitic species and 17.7% oligolectic species. We also found several bee and hoverfly species under special conservation status. Over the study period, we observed seasonal succession of species, with diversified phenological niches. The greatest taxonomic and functional diversity was found in green spaces combining several habitats with ecological management. Despite its very dense urbanism, Paris is home to diverse pollinator communities. As a result, nearly half of the wild bee species of the wider Ile-de-France administrative region can be found within the city. This highlights the need to also consider dense urban environments in insect pollinator conservation strategies.

Bring Nature Back to the City; Keep Invasive Species Out

“…Bansal et al (2022) and Lawson et al (2021) highlighted linkages between human settlements and water resources. Zaninotto & Dajoz (2022) and Apostolopoulou (2020) highlighted the adverse impacts of urbanization on biodiversity. Invasive species affect biodiversity richness and abundance, and without proper urban management, the likelihood of spreading invasive species increases (Le Louarn et al, 2018;Mehraj et al, 2021;Oertli et al, 2018;Santana Marques et al, 2020;Shiferaw et al, 2019).…”

A large-scale dataset reveals taxonomic and functional specificities of wild bee communities in urban habitats of Western Europe

“…Several urban environments have actually reported hosting a substantial diversity and abundance of wild bees 16 – 21 . For example, 146 wild bee species have been reported in the city of Paris, France 22 , and 291 in the urban and suburban areas of Lyon (France), representing around one third of the French bee fauna 16 . In the city of Poznan (Poland), more than 100 wild bee species have been reported, representing 25% of the Polish fauna 20 .…”