Seasonality of floral resources in relation to bee activity in agroecosystems

Guezen, Jessica; Forrest, Jessica R. K.

doi:10.1002/ece3.7260

Cited by 29 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Surveys to quantify floral resources were performed at the same time as the bee surveys. Following (J. Guezen, 2017; J. M Guezen & Forrest, 2021),. we estimated floral resource abundance by setting up 1 m 2 quadrats every 10 m along the 100 m survey transects along the hedgerows, identifying all species of nongraminoid plants and trees in flower.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…We then counted the number of open flowers or inflorescences in bloom in the quadrat. For species with a large number of inflorescences, the average number of open flowers was counted on five haphazardly selected inflorescences, and an average number of open flowers per inflorescence calculated (followingGuezen & Forrest, 2021). That average was then multiplied by the number of inflorescences in the quadrat to estimate the number of flowers of that species per quadrat.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Effects of neonicotinoid seed treatments on wild bee populations in soybean and corn fields in eastern Ontario

Gaudreault

Naujokaititis‐Lewis

Lapen

et al. 2022

Agri and Forest Entomology

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1. Neonicotinoid-coated corn and soybean seeds are a common crop in Canada and the US. A growing body of research is demonstrating that, through various exposure routes, neonicotinoids can impact a suite of nontarget organisms including beneficial insects such as bees. However, to date, only a few studies have examined the effects of neonicotinoids in field settings.2. We assessed the relationship between agricultural crop soil neonicotinoid levels and wild bee abundance and diversity at 16 agricultural sites representing different soil neonicotinoid levels. We detected clothianidin at 11 sites, thiamethoxam at three sites; imidacloprid was not detected.3. Hedgerow and crop soils were consistent in terms of where clothianidin was detected; thiamethoxan was not detected in hedgerow soils. Based on model outcomes, fields with higher levels of soil neonicotinoids exhibited significantly lower wild bee abundance and diversity than those with low or no neonicotinoids detected.4. Crop soil neonicotinoid level, hedgerow floral resource abundance and crop type were consistent predictors of bee abundance across models; only neonicotinoid level and crop type were significant predictors of diversity. 5. Our results are consistent with recent findings in the midwestern US, and underscore the potential risk of soil neonicotinoids to wild bee populations across regions and crop systems.

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Effects of neonicotinoid seed treatments on wild bee populations in soybean and corn fields in eastern Ontario

Gaudreault

Naujokaititis‐Lewis

Lapen

et al. 2022

Agri and Forest Entomology

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“…Such an abundance could have significant effects on other bees if food resources are limiting (Carey et al 2012;LeCroy et al 2020). The numerical superiority of O. conjuncta could deplete the floral resources from the limited number of native early spring flowering species (Guezen and Forrest 2021). We would predict that O. conjuncta may compete more strongly with closely related species that often have similar suites of functional traits, including the 23 Osmia species described in eastern Canada (Packer et al 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The native snail shell–nesting beeOsmia conjuncta(Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) exploits a local abundance of exoticCepaeasnails (Stylommatophora: Helicidae), choosing empty shells by size, colour, and microhabitat

Fanaki,

Irazuzta,

Dudley

2023

Can Entomol

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For solitary bees, nesting substrate availability may limit population growth. Here, we investigate the nesting of a locally abundant bee Osmia conjuncta Cresson (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in empty shells of exotic snails, Cepaea spp. Held (Stylommatophora: Helicidae), in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. A literature review determined that O. conjuncta was sparsely distributed throughout its range, with a low relative abundance except for the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada, three sites in Maryland, United States of America, and the focal study area in Hamilton, Ontario. The Hamilton field survey of five grassland bee communities found O. conjuncta to be the most abundant bee species. The average relative abundance was 18.7%, peaking at 87% on one spring day. A survey of 1088 empty snail shells was done at the site with the highest O. conjuncta abundance. It revealed an average of 10.87 empty shells per square metre with cocoons in 9.8% of the shells, averaging 1.6 cocoons per nest. The relation between shell traits and cocoon presence indicated that O. conjuncta preferred nesting in shells with intermediate size and colour and avoided shells near shrubs. The presence of Cepaea snails increased O. conjuncta populations with potential consequences to the local bee assemblage.

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“…Therefore, it is vital to develop pollinator conservation strategies that consider which natural and cultivated areas provide substantial nectar resources (Aronne et al, 2012;Baude et al, 2016;Quinlan et al, 2021). Several studies have evaluated the nutritional contribution of plants to pollinators by estimating the quantity of nectar produced under different environments, considering historical or seasonal variations (Baude et al, 2016;Guezen & Forrest, 2021;Hicks et al, 2016;Timberlake et al, 2019). These estimates are based on the measure of the nectar volume produced by flowers after a 24 h period isolated from flower-visiting insects, using a mesh bag, as proxy for plant species nectar productivity (Table 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimates of nectar productivity through a simulation approach differ from the nectar produced in 24 h

Carisio

Schurr²,

Masotti³

et al. 2022

Functional Ecology

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Nectar is a key resource for numerous insects. Despite its importance, nectar productivity has mainly been assessed using one sampling method, in which the volume of nectar produced by a flower is measured after 24 h of isolation from insects (‘measured 24 h volume’ hereafter). This method assumes that nectar removal by flower‐visiting insects does not affect nectar productivity. Hence, a linearity in the nectar production dynamic is assumed. The effect of nectar removal could lead to an actual volume of nectar produced per flower over 24 h being higher or lower than the measured 24 h volume. Whether the nectar productivity is influenced by insect activity still therefore needs to be assessed. In a field experiment, we estimated the nectar production dynamics of lavender (Lavandula hybrida) and fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) flowers and tested whether they met the linearity assumption. Then, we developed a simulation model to identify how different scenarios of insect foraging activity: nectar removal rate (average and maximum), and flower‐selection strategies (random selection or rewarding flower selection) alter the estimated 24 h volume of nectar for both crops (‘estimated 24 h volume’ hereafter). Finally, we tested whether the estimated 24 h volume differed from the measured 24 h volume for both crops. Lavender and fennel showed equal measured 24 h volume of nectar but the produced nectar volume over 6 h suggested that a flower of lavender was more productive than a flower of fennel. Both nectar production dynamics did not meet the assumption of linearity. The simulation models showed that the estimated 24 h volume increased with maximum nectar removal rate for lavender, and the opposite was found for fennel. Rewarding selection always increased the estimated 24 h volume for fennel while for lavender a positive effect was detected at average rate of nectar removal. We found that the estimated 24 h volume was always greater than the measured 24 h volume. Our model demonstrated that the effect of insect foraging activity on flower's nectar productivity should be considered while estimating the resources produced by plants. As an alternative, measures of produced nectar volume in short time spans may be compared with the measured 24 h volume to check the reliability of this widespread method. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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Seasonality of floral resources in relation to bee activity in agroecosystems

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 29 publications

References 81 publications

Effects of neonicotinoid seed treatments on wild bee populations in soybean and corn fields in eastern Ontario

Effects of neonicotinoid seed treatments on wild bee populations in soybean and corn fields in eastern Ontario

The native snail shell–nesting beeOsmia conjuncta(Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) exploits a local abundance of exoticCepaeasnails (Stylommatophora: Helicidae), choosing empty shells by size, colour, and microhabitat

Estimates of nectar productivity through a simulation approach differ from the nectar produced in 24 h

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