Pollination disruption by European honeybees in the Australian bird-pollinated shrubGrevillea barklyana (Proteaceae)

Vaughton, Glenda

doi:10.1007/bf00984750

Cited by 89 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Several studies, however, have shown that for certain plant species, honey bees are less efficient pollinators compared to wild flower visitors. The continued use of the honey bees and their possible competition with wild bees in natural areas might gradually affect both fauna and flora (Schaffer et al, 1983;Taylor & Whelan, 1988;Westerkamp, 1991;Vaughton, 1996;Gross & Mackay, 1998;Hansen, Olsen & Jones, 2002;Whelan, Ayre & Benyuon, 2009). The potential impact of honey bees on wild bees has been discussed by several authors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) density on wild bee foraging behaviour

Goras

Tananaki

Dimou

et al. 2016

Journal of Apicultural Science

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A b s t r a c t Honey bees are globally regarded as important crop pollinators and are also valued for their honey production. They have been introduced on an almost worldwide scale. During recent years, however, several studies argue their possible competition with unmanaged pollinators. Here we examine the possible effects of honey bees on the foraging behaviour of wild bees on Cistus creticus flowers in Northern Greece. We gradually introduced one, five, and eight honey-bee hives per site, each containing ca. 20,000 workers. The visitation frequency and visit duration of wild bees before and after the beehive introductions were measured by flower observation. While the visitation frequencies of wild bees were unaffected, the average time wild bees spent on C. creticus increased with the introduction of the honey-bee hives. Although competition between honey bees and wild bees is often expected, we did not find any clear evidence for significant effects even in honey-bee densities much higher than the European-wide average of 3.1 colonies/km 2 .Keywords: Apis mellifera, Cistus creticus, competition, Mediterranean, native bees 1 Laboratory of Apiculture-Sericulture, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece 2 Laboratory of Biogeography and Ecology, Department of Geography, University of the Aegean, Greece INTRODUCTIONMost plant species depend on animal pollination for their reproduction . Plant-pollinator relationships are of great importance to ecosystem health (Costanza et al., 1997; Kearns, Inouye & Weser, 1998). During recent years, the biodiversity and number of native bees have been repeatedly reported to be in decline worldwide. The decline is mainly due to changes of agricultural activities such as changes in land use, modern agricultural practices, and pesticide use (Allen-Wardell et al., 1998;Potts et al., 2006;Kremen et al., 2007;Goulson et al., 2008; Brown & Paxton, 2009). Pollinator efficiency, and therefore, pollination effectiveness, is strongly related to the compatibility between flowers and their pollinators. Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are extremely polylectic insects (Cane & Sipes, 2006) visiting and pollinating a variety of species (Crane, 1990;Free, 1993;Vaughton, 1992;Gross, 2001;Dupont et al., 2004). In addition, honey bees have been widely and successfully used as pollinators in crop systems (Free, 1993;Morse & Calderone, 2000;Artz, Hsu & Nault, 2011). Several studies, however, have shown that for certain plant species, honey bees are less efficient pollinators compared to wild flower visitors. The continued use of the honey bees and their possible competition with wild bees in natural areas might gradually affect both fauna and flora (Schaffer et al., 1983;Taylor & Whelan, 1988;Westerkamp, 1991;Vaughton, 1996;Gross & Mackay, 1998; Hansen, Olsen & Jones, 2002; Whelan, Ayre & Benyuon, 2009 Impact of honeybee density on wild bees Competition between honey bees and wild bees is believed to affect the foraging behaviour of wild bees. Consequently the fecundity...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) density on wild bee foraging behaviour

Goras

Tananaki

Dimou

et al. 2016

Journal of Apicultural Science

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“…England et al (2001) demonstrated that for Grevillea macleayana, pollination by honeybees in a vertebrate exclusion experiment produced a small but significant decrease in outcrossing rates. Vaughton (1996) found decreased seed set (50%) in inflorescences of the same species when birds were excluded compared to inflorescences where both birds and honeybees had access, while similar vertebrate exclusion experiments by Paton and Turner (1985) and Vaughton (1992) detected no clear effect on seed production in Banksia ericifolia or Banksia spinulosa respectively. However, none of these studies comment on seed or seedling quality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Honeybees have been reported to be effective pollinators of a range of Proteaceae (e.g. Vaughton 1992;Whelan et al 2009) but frequently, in foraging for both nectar and pollen, they are considered to deplete the resources available to native pollinators (Vaughton 1996) and are typically observed to make more foraging movements within plants or among sets of near neighbours than is the case for native birds or insects (Richardson et al 2000;Celebrezze 2002;Rymer et al 2005;Whelan et al 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do introduced honeybees affect seed set and seed quality in a plant adapted for bird pollination?

Gilpin

Collette

Denham

et al. 2016

JPECOL

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. (2017). Do introduced honeybees affect seed set and seed quality in a plant adapted for bird pollination?. Journal of Plant Ecology, 10 (4), 721-729. Do introduced honeybees affect seed set and seed quality in a plant adapted for bird pollination? Abstract Aims: Worldwide, evidence suggests that exotic pollinators can disrupt plant mating patterns. However, few studies have determined if pollination by the honeybee Apis mellifera (the world's most widely introduced pollinator) reduces offspring quality when compared with pollination by native birds. The Australian Proteaceae provide an excellent opportunity to test the impact of honeybees in pollination systems that are adapted to birds and non-flying mammals. Methods:We compared the frequency of flower visitation and foraging behaviour of birds and insects within seven populations of Banksia ericifolia. Banksia ericifolia is hermaphroditic and has large nectar-rich, orange inflorescences typical of bird and mammal pollinated species. For a subset of the study populations, we compared the quality of seed produced via an exclusion treatment (that only allowed invertebrates to access flowers) with an open-pollination treatment (potentially visited by mammals, birds and invertebrates), by measuring seed weight, germination rates (T50), percent germination, seedling height after 14 days since the emergence of the cotyledon and time to emergence of the cotyledon.Important Findings: Apis mellifera was the only apparent insect pollinator and the most frequent flower visitor, while the open treatment inflorescences were also frequently visited by avian pollinators, primarily honeyeater species. The foraging behaviour of honeybees and honeyeaters showed striking differences that potentially affect patterns of pollen transfer. Honeybees made significantly greater proportions of within cf. among plant movements and only 30% (n=48) of honeybees foraged for pollen (nectar foragers carried no pollen) whilst all birds were observed to contact both stigmas and anthers when foraging for nectar. Despite these fundamental differences in behaviour, there was little effect of treatment on seed set or quality. Our data show that while honeybees appear to alter patterns of pollen transfer within B. ericifolia populations, they do not impact reproductive rates or performance of early life-stages. an excellent opportunity to test the impact of honeybees in pollination systems that are adapted to birds and non-flying mammals. MethodsWe compared the frequency of flower visitation and foraging behaviour of birds and insects within seven populations of Banksia ericifolia. Banksia ericifolia is hermaphroditic and has large nectar-rich, orange inflorescences typical of bird and mammal pollinated species. For a subset of the study populations, we compared the quality of seed produced via an exclusion treatment (that only allowed invertebrates to access flowers) with an open-pollination treatment (potentially visited by mammals, birds and invertebrates), by measuring seed weight, germinati...

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“…Although A. mellifera is an exotic species in Brazil, it has become the most common floral visitor in the Neotropics (Roubik, 2000). Apis mellifera has considerable interference in the reproduction of many plant species and can facilitate or hamper their reproductive success, influencing directly or indirectly on the foraging of native pollinators (Paton, 1993;Vaughton, 1996;Villanueva-G, 2002). According to Silva and Pinheiro (2007) the high number of A. mellifera in the early anthesis can impair the pollen supply for native visitors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity of flower visiting bees of Eugenia uniflora L. (Myrtaceae) in fragments of Atlantic Forest in South Brazil

Diniz

Buschini

2016

Sociobiology

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Eugenia uniflora L. (Myrtaceae) is pollinated mostly by bees and there are no restrictions for pollen collection in their flowers. This stimulated us to study the bee diversity on its flowers in two forest fragments in southern Brazil, in August and September, 2012. A total of 826 bees belonging to 39 species and four subfamilies were captured with entomological nets. Halictinae presented the greatest richness, followed by Apinae, Colletinae and Andreninae. Apis mellifera was the only common species and the most abundant, followed by Scaptotrigona bipunctata and Melipona obscurior. Seven species were classified as intermediate and 31 as rare. Highest numbers of bees were collected from 10 to 11:30 h. The species richness of flower visiting bees was much higher than that of previous studies with first records of Plebeia remota and Anthrenoides paolae. Eugenia uniflora is a food source for exotic and native bees and possibly contributes to the conservation of these bees in forest fragments. In return, the bees probably act in maintaining this plant native of the Atlantic Forest.

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Pollination disruption by European honeybees in the Australian bird-pollinated shrubGrevillea barklyana (Proteaceae)

Cited by 89 publications

References 30 publications

Impact of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) density on wild bee foraging behaviour

Impact of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) density on wild bee foraging behaviour

Do introduced honeybees affect seed set and seed quality in a plant adapted for bird pollination?

Diversity of flower visiting bees of Eugenia uniflora L. (Myrtaceae) in fragments of Atlantic Forest in South Brazil

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