Molecular and spatial analyses reveal links between colony‐specific foraging distance and landscape‐level resource availability in two bumblebee species

Carvell, Claire; Jordan, William Chester; Bourke, Andrew F. G.; Pickles, Robert S. A.; Redhead, John W.; Heard, Matthew S.

doi:10.1111/j.1600-0706.2011.19832.x

Cited by 67 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…It is therefore possible that the interspecific variation was too low to mediate any landscape effects. Interestingly it has been shown that several Bombus species (B. terrestris: Osborne et al 2008, B. pascuorum: Goulson et al 2010Carvell et al 2012, B. lapidarius: Carvell et al 2012, B. vosnesenskii: Jha and Kremen 2013 adjust their foraging ranges depending on the surrounding resource distribution and diversity. This may indicate that, at the spatial scales of resource distribution studied here, flight capacity itself (via its proxy thorax width) may not limit resource acquisition by bumble bees.…”

Section: Effects Of Morphological Traitsmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Bumble bees show trait-dependent vulnerability to landscape simplification

et al. 2015

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Agricultural intensification has resulted in large-scale loss of bee pollinators, but while some species have been negatively affected others seem to endure changed conditions. It has been suggested that certain morphological, ecological and life-history traits make some species more vulnerable to landscape changes. Information on which traits make species vulnerable and why may aid conservation of declining species. We performed a comprehensive analysis of how multiple traits related to diet breadth, movement and nesting habits moderate vulnerability of bumble bees to landscape simplification. We surveyed bumble bees in flower-rich non-crop habitats in either complex landscapes (with small crop fields bordered by non-crop habitats), or simple landscapes (with larger fields and therefore less non-crop habitats). We analysed if landscape type interacted with colony size, queen emergence date, colony life-cycle length, nesting habitat, thorax width, proboscis length or variability in thorax and proboscis, to explain bumble bee abundances. Workers and males of species with above-ground nests, small sized colonies and long colony cycle were relatively less abundant in simple compared to in complex landscapes. Simple landscapes hosted fewer males of late emerging species and species with highly variable proboscis length. This suggests that both nesting habitat and spatio-temporal availability of food resources act as ecological filters for bumble bees. Colony size correlated with nesting habitat and queen emergence when correcting for phylogenetic correlations, suggesting that landscape simplification acts through effects on combinations of traits. Our results have consequences for conservation by suggesting that declining bumble bee species can be supported by providing adequate nesting habitats and Communicated by Jens Wolfgang Dauber.Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (preferred plant species throughout the season and within short distance from nesting habitats, to allow utilisation also by species having colonies with few workers.

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Section: Effects Of Morphological Traitsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Genetic methods can be employed to more accurately estimate landscape wide colony densities (e.g. Carvell et al 2012), but was not possible to employ on our data set including 13 species. Plasticity in colony size is indeed a trait, which could potentially promote persistence through periods of variable forage availability.…”

Section: Potential Caveatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bumble bees show trait-dependent vulnerability to landscape simplification

et al. 2015

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“…The study was conducted on the Hillesden Estate, 1000 ha of farmland in Buckinghamshire, central England (51.95N,01.00W (Hinsley et al, 2010), small mammals, pollinators (Carvell et al, 2012) and invertebrates (Woodcock et al, 2010). Three levels of Environmental Stewardship management were established on plots of between 60 and 90 ha, each replicated five times in a randomised block design (see Hinsley et al, 2010 for further details).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Great tits Parus major and blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus as indicators of agri-environmental habitat quality

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et al. 2013

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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Contact CEH NORA team at noraceh@ceh.ac.ukThe NERC and CEH trademarks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner. AbstractThis study examined relationships between habitat and breeding success for two common bird species, the great tit Parus major and blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus. The aim was to determine the potential of these species to act as indicators of food resource availability for birds in managed seminatural habitats on farmland and thus a measure of the effectiveness of specific management practices under agri-environment schemes (AES). Breeding success was recorded for four years (2007-10) using 90 nestboxes on arable farmland in central England. Habitat parameters were derived from high spatial resolution airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and hyperspectral data.Relationships of breeding variables with a range of habitat variables, many of which were influenced by AES management, were evident for both species, despite strong interannual variation in breeding parameters. Relationships were strongest for models using habitat variables within a 100 m radius of the nest, compared to values of 50 and 200 m. Both species showed significant, positive relationships with the area and proximity of tree canopy and, for great tits especially, with hedgerow height and volume.Therefore, tits may act as indicators of the quality of local habitat, particularly within-hedge trees and hedgerows, managed under agri-environmental provision, and provide insight into the spatial arrangement of AES options at the field scale.

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“…For instance, relatively common bumblebee species (e.g. Bombus pascuorum and Bombus lapidarius) in Britain may be somewhat buffered against landscape alteration due to their ability to forage and disperse over greater distances [40] than declining congeners [28,29]. Such dispersal by highly mobile, generalist species between habitat fragments may ameliorate the effects of landscape fragmentation on pollinator community evenness [27].…”

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confidence: 98%