<p>Cities are complex landscapes capable of contributing to multi-taxa declines through a variety of mechanisms operating synergistically at local and landscape scales. While response to urbanization varies among bee species, urban bee communities may become functionally homogenous as species with disadvantaged traits are displaced from the landscape. Due to the ecological and economic necessity of bees, understanding what species exist within city spaces, what flowers they visit, and how they respond to increasing urban and climatic changes over time has conservation, sustainability, and economic implications. To investigate bee community and plant interaction response to urban change and climate over time, we surveyed green spaces across an urbanization gradient for three years. We sampled 19,000 bees representing 194 species and documented 13,115 plant-bee interactions. Impervious surface cover negatively affected bee richness more than abundance with the overall richness of bees in addition to the richness of below-ground nesting, generalist, native, and parasitic, social, and small-bodied functional traits. Other aspects of the urban environment such as plant genus richness were found to be beneficial to nearly all bee functional traits. Plant-bee interaction networks varied significantly throughout the season, likely due to differences in resource availability. As a result, numerous plant genera, such as <i>Cornus</i> and <i>Solidago</i>, have been highlighted as important early and late season flora resources for bees. These results highlight the importance of establishing conservation priority for potentially vulnerable species, such as below-ground nesting native bees, especially through means such as increasing nesting habitat and floral richness.</p>

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Determining bee community response to urbanization through multi-year monitoring

  • Anthony C. Ayers,
  • Sandra M. Rehan

摘要

Cities are complex landscapes capable of contributing to multi-taxa declines through a variety of mechanisms operating synergistically at local and landscape scales. While response to urbanization varies among bee species, urban bee communities may become functionally homogenous as species with disadvantaged traits are displaced from the landscape. Due to the ecological and economic necessity of bees, understanding what species exist within city spaces, what flowers they visit, and how they respond to increasing urban and climatic changes over time has conservation, sustainability, and economic implications. To investigate bee community and plant interaction response to urban change and climate over time, we surveyed green spaces across an urbanization gradient for three years. We sampled 19,000 bees representing 194 species and documented 13,115 plant-bee interactions. Impervious surface cover negatively affected bee richness more than abundance with the overall richness of bees in addition to the richness of below-ground nesting, generalist, native, and parasitic, social, and small-bodied functional traits. Other aspects of the urban environment such as plant genus richness were found to be beneficial to nearly all bee functional traits. Plant-bee interaction networks varied significantly throughout the season, likely due to differences in resource availability. As a result, numerous plant genera, such as Cornus and Solidago, have been highlighted as important early and late season flora resources for bees. These results highlight the importance of establishing conservation priority for potentially vulnerable species, such as below-ground nesting native bees, especially through means such as increasing nesting habitat and floral richness.