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Katherine J. Willis - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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flower preferences and pollen transport networks for cavity nesting solitary bees implications for the design of agri environment schemes
Ecology and Evolution, 2018Co-Authors: Catherine Gresty, Elizabeth L. Clare, Dion S. Devey, Robyn S. Cowan, Laszlo Csiba, Panagiota Malakasi, Owen T. Lewis, Katherine J. WillisAbstract:Floral foraging resources are valuable for pollinator conservation on farmland, and their provision is encouraged by agri‐environment schemes in many countries. Across Europe, wildflower Seed Mixtures are widely sown on farmland to encourage pollinators, but the extent to which key pollinator groups such as solitary bees exploit and benefit from these resources is unclear. We used high‐throughput sequencing of 164 pollen samples extracted from the brood cells of six common cavity‐nesting solitary bee species (Osmia bicornis, Osmia caerulescens, Megachile versicolor, Megachile ligniseca, Megachile centuncularis and Hylaeus confusus) which are widely distributed across the UK and Europe. We documented their pollen use across 19 farms in southern England, UK, revealing their forage plants and examining the structure of their pollen transport networks. Of the 32 plant species included currently in sown wildflower mixes, 15 were recorded as present within close foraging range of the bees on the study farms, but only Ranunculus acris L. was identified within the pollen samples. Rosa canina L. was the most commonly found of the 23 plant species identified in the pollen samples, suggesting that, in addition to providing a nesting resource for Megachile leafcutter bees, it may be an important forage plant for these species. Higher levels of connectance and nestedness were characteristic of pollen transport networks on farms with abundant floral resources, which may increase resilience to species loss. Our data suggest that plant species promoted currently by agri‐environment schemes are not optimal for solitary bee foraging. If a diverse community of pollinators is to be supported on UK and European farmland, additional species such as R. canina should be encouraged to meet the foraging requirements of solitary bees.
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Flower preferences and pollen transport networks for cavity‐nesting solitary bees: implications for the design of agri‐environment schemes
Ecology and Evolution, 2018Co-Authors: Catherine Gresty, Elizabeth L. Clare, Dion S. Devey, Robyn S. Cowan, Laszlo Csiba, Panagiota Malakasi, Owen T. Lewis, Katherine J. WillisAbstract:Floral foraging resources are valuable for pollinator conservation on farmland, and their provision is encouraged by agri‐environment schemes in many countries. Across Europe, wildflower Seed Mixtures are widely sown on farmland to encourage pollinators, but the extent to which key pollinator groups such as solitary bees exploit and benefit from these resources is unclear. We used high‐throughput sequencing of 164 pollen samples extracted from the brood cells of six common cavity‐nesting solitary bee species (Osmia bicornis, Osmia caerulescens, Megachile versicolor, Megachile ligniseca, Megachile centuncularis and Hylaeus confusus) which are widely distributed across the UK and Europe. We documented their pollen use across 19 farms in southern England, UK, revealing their forage plants and examining the structure of their pollen transport networks. Of the 32 plant species included currently in sown wildflower mixes, 15 were recorded as present within close foraging range of the bees on the study farms, but only Ranunculus acris L. was identified within the pollen samples. Rosa canina L. was the most commonly found of the 23 plant species identified in the pollen samples, suggesting that, in addition to providing a nesting resource for Megachile leafcutter bees, it may be an important forage plant for these species. Higher levels of connectance and nestedness were characteristic of pollen transport networks on farms with abundant floral resources, which may increase resilience to species loss. Our data suggest that plant species promoted currently by agri‐environment schemes are not optimal for solitary bee foraging. If a diverse community of pollinators is to be supported on UK and European farmland, additional species such as R. canina should be encouraged to meet the foraging requirements of solitary bees.
Catherine Gresty - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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flower preferences and pollen transport networks for cavity nesting solitary bees implications for the design of agri environment schemes
Ecology and Evolution, 2018Co-Authors: Catherine Gresty, Elizabeth L. Clare, Dion S. Devey, Robyn S. Cowan, Laszlo Csiba, Panagiota Malakasi, Owen T. Lewis, Katherine J. WillisAbstract:Floral foraging resources are valuable for pollinator conservation on farmland, and their provision is encouraged by agri‐environment schemes in many countries. Across Europe, wildflower Seed Mixtures are widely sown on farmland to encourage pollinators, but the extent to which key pollinator groups such as solitary bees exploit and benefit from these resources is unclear. We used high‐throughput sequencing of 164 pollen samples extracted from the brood cells of six common cavity‐nesting solitary bee species (Osmia bicornis, Osmia caerulescens, Megachile versicolor, Megachile ligniseca, Megachile centuncularis and Hylaeus confusus) which are widely distributed across the UK and Europe. We documented their pollen use across 19 farms in southern England, UK, revealing their forage plants and examining the structure of their pollen transport networks. Of the 32 plant species included currently in sown wildflower mixes, 15 were recorded as present within close foraging range of the bees on the study farms, but only Ranunculus acris L. was identified within the pollen samples. Rosa canina L. was the most commonly found of the 23 plant species identified in the pollen samples, suggesting that, in addition to providing a nesting resource for Megachile leafcutter bees, it may be an important forage plant for these species. Higher levels of connectance and nestedness were characteristic of pollen transport networks on farms with abundant floral resources, which may increase resilience to species loss. Our data suggest that plant species promoted currently by agri‐environment schemes are not optimal for solitary bee foraging. If a diverse community of pollinators is to be supported on UK and European farmland, additional species such as R. canina should be encouraged to meet the foraging requirements of solitary bees.
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Flower preferences and pollen transport networks for cavity‐nesting solitary bees: implications for the design of agri‐environment schemes
Ecology and Evolution, 2018Co-Authors: Catherine Gresty, Elizabeth L. Clare, Dion S. Devey, Robyn S. Cowan, Laszlo Csiba, Panagiota Malakasi, Owen T. Lewis, Katherine J. WillisAbstract:Floral foraging resources are valuable for pollinator conservation on farmland, and their provision is encouraged by agri‐environment schemes in many countries. Across Europe, wildflower Seed Mixtures are widely sown on farmland to encourage pollinators, but the extent to which key pollinator groups such as solitary bees exploit and benefit from these resources is unclear. We used high‐throughput sequencing of 164 pollen samples extracted from the brood cells of six common cavity‐nesting solitary bee species (Osmia bicornis, Osmia caerulescens, Megachile versicolor, Megachile ligniseca, Megachile centuncularis and Hylaeus confusus) which are widely distributed across the UK and Europe. We documented their pollen use across 19 farms in southern England, UK, revealing their forage plants and examining the structure of their pollen transport networks. Of the 32 plant species included currently in sown wildflower mixes, 15 were recorded as present within close foraging range of the bees on the study farms, but only Ranunculus acris L. was identified within the pollen samples. Rosa canina L. was the most commonly found of the 23 plant species identified in the pollen samples, suggesting that, in addition to providing a nesting resource for Megachile leafcutter bees, it may be an important forage plant for these species. Higher levels of connectance and nestedness were characteristic of pollen transport networks on farms with abundant floral resources, which may increase resilience to species loss. Our data suggest that plant species promoted currently by agri‐environment schemes are not optimal for solitary bee foraging. If a diverse community of pollinators is to be supported on UK and European farmland, additional species such as R. canina should be encouraged to meet the foraging requirements of solitary bees.
Sabine Tischew - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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sowing of low and high diversity Seed Mixtures in ecological restoration of surface mined land
Applied Vegetation Science, 2012Co-Authors: Anita Kirmer, Annett Baasch, Sabine TischewAbstract:Questions What are the differences in speed and pathway of vegetation development on nutrient-poor, unvegetated slopes sown with low-diversity Seed Mixtures of cultivars and high-diversity Seed Mixtures of regional species? And how is the susceptibility of the different sowing treatments to immigration events via Seed rain? We compared differences in using a low-diversity Seed mixture in comparison with a high-diversity Seed mixture, both sown on nutrient-deficient raw soil. We assessed differences of speed and pathway of vegetation development of different variants as well as their susceptibility to immigration events via Seed rain. Location Central German Lignite Mining District. Methods In December 2004, the trial was established in complete block design with four variants: sowing of a low-diversity Seed mixture with three grass cultivars and sowing of a high-diversity Seed mixture with 40 herbs and 11 grasses of local provenance, both with and without an additional mulch layer. Vegetation surveys were made between 2005 and 2010. Using generalized linear models (GLM), we tested for treatment effects on species diversity, above-ground biomass, total coverage of vegetation as well as number and coverage of target grassland species. In addition, we estimated Bray-Curtis distances between treatments using non-metric-multidimensional scaling. Results Sowing of a high-diversity Seed mixture clearly accelerated the vegetation development and led to a significantly higher biomass production in the 1st year. On both variants, the additional mulch layer facilitated the establishment of sown species and led to a higher coverage of the herb layer in the 1st year. After 6 yr, the influence of the mulch layer decreased for the benefit of the Seed mixture. Despite species exchange between sites, sites sown with different Seed Mixtures were still dominated by different sets of species in the final year of our study. Whereas high-diversity Mixtures sped up vegetation development in the direction of highly diverse semi-natural grasslands, low-diversity Mixtures considerably delayed the successional progress. Conclusions In grassland restoration in surface-mined land, high-diversity Mixtures performed similar or even better than low-diversity Mixtures of grass cultivars with respect to ecosystem services such as biomass production and ground cover (erosion control). An additional mulch layer considerably accelerated the vegetation development in the 1st years on both sowing variants. In contrast to sowing of low-diversity Seed Mixtures of grass cultivars, the use of high-diversity Seed Mixtures of local provenance contributes to the enhancement of local biodiversity. Although target grassland species were able to migrate into the low-diversity sites, this process is slow and only possible when appropriate Seed sources are nearby.
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nine years of vegetation development in a postmining site effects of spontaneous and assisted site recovery
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2012Co-Authors: Annett Baasch, Anita Kirmer, Sabine TischewAbstract:Summary1. Highly disturbed areas such as surface-mined land provide a great challenge for ecologicalrestoration. The goal is to identify appropriate restoration approaches in a continuum betweentechnical reclamation and spontaneous succession. In particular, on slopes endangered by erosion,appropriate methods are needed that quickly establish vegetation cover but also take into accountthenaturalpotentialsofthesite.2. IntheminedareaRosbach(Saxony-Anhalt,Germany),weevaluatedtheeffectsofspontaneoussuccessionandassistedsiterecovery(speciesintroductionthroughhaytransferandsowing)duringa 9-year experiment. We asked how rates and pathways of vegetation development differ betweentreatmentsandwhetherspeciescompositionconvergesovertimeowingtospeciesexchange.3. The application of green hay as well as the sowing of regional Seed Mixtures clearly acceleratedvegetation development and led to the rapid establishment of species-rich grasslands. Hay transferwas mostsuccessful owingtothe highamount of transferabletargetspecies.Moreover,bothtreat-mentsfacilitatedtheestablishmentofcryptogamsandprovidedeffectiveerosioncontrol.Also,haytransfer and sowing clearly affected the pathway of succession. Calamagrostis epigejos migratedfrom nearby source populations and became increasingly dominant at sites with spontaneous suc-cession. In contrast, the species-rich grasslands established after hay transfer and sowing werehighlyresistanttoinvasionofCalamagrostisandotherruderals.4. Speciesexchangebetween treatmentsled toincreasingsimilarityinvegetation composition overtime. Nine yearsafter implementation of theexperiment, wedid not findany significantdifferencesbetween treatments in terms of total vegetation cover, species richness and the number of targetspecies. However, the dominance ratio between target and nontarget species differed significantly.Species introduction through hay transfer and sowing led to a permanently higher abundance ofgrassland species and a lower coverage of ruderals compared with spontaneously developed sites.Hence, our results highlight the importance of initial floristic composition and the order of speciesarrivalsforlong-termvegetationdevelopment.5. Synthesis and applications. Hay transfer and sowing of regional Seed Mixtures are appropriaterestoration tools to achieve rapid revegetation when no potential Seed sources of target species areavailable nearby or there are undesirable species that need to be suppressed. Our results show thatintroducedgrasslandspeciesareabletogrowunderpostminingsiteconditionsandcanmigrateintoadjacent spontaneously developing sites. A combination of spontaneous and assisted site recoverycanpromotethedevelopmentofspecies-richgrasslandsinpostmininglandscapes.Key-words: biodiversity, Calamagrostis epigejos, ecological restoration, erosion control,grasslands, hay transfer, mulch Seeding, species introduction, successionIntroduction
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implementation of basic studies in the ecological restoration of surface mined land
Restoration Ecology, 2007Co-Authors: Sabine Tischew, Anita KirmerAbstract:This paper focuses on attempts to encourage a new state of the art in the ecological restoration of surface-mined land in Germany. On most of these sites, the application of traditional recultivation methods often destroys valuable ecological potential by leveling of the surface, ameliorating of nutrient-poor substrates, and Seeding or planting of species not suited to the present habitat conditions. Many studies have shown that even highly disturbed ecosystems, such as large mining areas, can regenerate spontaneously over long-term periods. Colonization processes were influenced by the availability of diaspore sources as well as the suitability of sites for establishment. The predictability of succession could be improved by the identification of switch points in successional pathways depending on age and conditions of the sites. Based on the developmental potential, orientation by nature and biodiversity are selected as main targets for priority areas for nature conservation in mining sites. On priority areas restoration measures must be restricted to the use of near-natural methods (e.g., application of fresh, diaspore-rich plant clipping material, dumping of overburden with Seed bank and vegetative propagules, Seeding of site-specific, local Seed Mixtures) that are very successful in preventing erosion and accelerating vegetation development. Despite the success of these methods, the transfer of knowledge between scientists, practitioners, and administrative organizations has proved to be insufficient. Therefore, one of the main tasks in ecological restoration must be the inclusion of all stakeholders involved in decision-making processes and the establishment of a network of excellence to enhance the exchange of knowledge.
Anita Kirmer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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sowing of low and high diversity Seed Mixtures in ecological restoration of surface mined land
Applied Vegetation Science, 2012Co-Authors: Anita Kirmer, Annett Baasch, Sabine TischewAbstract:Questions What are the differences in speed and pathway of vegetation development on nutrient-poor, unvegetated slopes sown with low-diversity Seed Mixtures of cultivars and high-diversity Seed Mixtures of regional species? And how is the susceptibility of the different sowing treatments to immigration events via Seed rain? We compared differences in using a low-diversity Seed mixture in comparison with a high-diversity Seed mixture, both sown on nutrient-deficient raw soil. We assessed differences of speed and pathway of vegetation development of different variants as well as their susceptibility to immigration events via Seed rain. Location Central German Lignite Mining District. Methods In December 2004, the trial was established in complete block design with four variants: sowing of a low-diversity Seed mixture with three grass cultivars and sowing of a high-diversity Seed mixture with 40 herbs and 11 grasses of local provenance, both with and without an additional mulch layer. Vegetation surveys were made between 2005 and 2010. Using generalized linear models (GLM), we tested for treatment effects on species diversity, above-ground biomass, total coverage of vegetation as well as number and coverage of target grassland species. In addition, we estimated Bray-Curtis distances between treatments using non-metric-multidimensional scaling. Results Sowing of a high-diversity Seed mixture clearly accelerated the vegetation development and led to a significantly higher biomass production in the 1st year. On both variants, the additional mulch layer facilitated the establishment of sown species and led to a higher coverage of the herb layer in the 1st year. After 6 yr, the influence of the mulch layer decreased for the benefit of the Seed mixture. Despite species exchange between sites, sites sown with different Seed Mixtures were still dominated by different sets of species in the final year of our study. Whereas high-diversity Mixtures sped up vegetation development in the direction of highly diverse semi-natural grasslands, low-diversity Mixtures considerably delayed the successional progress. Conclusions In grassland restoration in surface-mined land, high-diversity Mixtures performed similar or even better than low-diversity Mixtures of grass cultivars with respect to ecosystem services such as biomass production and ground cover (erosion control). An additional mulch layer considerably accelerated the vegetation development in the 1st years on both sowing variants. In contrast to sowing of low-diversity Seed Mixtures of grass cultivars, the use of high-diversity Seed Mixtures of local provenance contributes to the enhancement of local biodiversity. Although target grassland species were able to migrate into the low-diversity sites, this process is slow and only possible when appropriate Seed sources are nearby.
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nine years of vegetation development in a postmining site effects of spontaneous and assisted site recovery
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2012Co-Authors: Annett Baasch, Anita Kirmer, Sabine TischewAbstract:Summary1. Highly disturbed areas such as surface-mined land provide a great challenge for ecologicalrestoration. The goal is to identify appropriate restoration approaches in a continuum betweentechnical reclamation and spontaneous succession. In particular, on slopes endangered by erosion,appropriate methods are needed that quickly establish vegetation cover but also take into accountthenaturalpotentialsofthesite.2. IntheminedareaRosbach(Saxony-Anhalt,Germany),weevaluatedtheeffectsofspontaneoussuccessionandassistedsiterecovery(speciesintroductionthroughhaytransferandsowing)duringa 9-year experiment. We asked how rates and pathways of vegetation development differ betweentreatmentsandwhetherspeciescompositionconvergesovertimeowingtospeciesexchange.3. The application of green hay as well as the sowing of regional Seed Mixtures clearly acceleratedvegetation development and led to the rapid establishment of species-rich grasslands. Hay transferwas mostsuccessful owingtothe highamount of transferabletargetspecies.Moreover,bothtreat-mentsfacilitatedtheestablishmentofcryptogamsandprovidedeffectiveerosioncontrol.Also,haytransfer and sowing clearly affected the pathway of succession. Calamagrostis epigejos migratedfrom nearby source populations and became increasingly dominant at sites with spontaneous suc-cession. In contrast, the species-rich grasslands established after hay transfer and sowing werehighlyresistanttoinvasionofCalamagrostisandotherruderals.4. Speciesexchangebetween treatmentsled toincreasingsimilarityinvegetation composition overtime. Nine yearsafter implementation of theexperiment, wedid not findany significantdifferencesbetween treatments in terms of total vegetation cover, species richness and the number of targetspecies. However, the dominance ratio between target and nontarget species differed significantly.Species introduction through hay transfer and sowing led to a permanently higher abundance ofgrassland species and a lower coverage of ruderals compared with spontaneously developed sites.Hence, our results highlight the importance of initial floristic composition and the order of speciesarrivalsforlong-termvegetationdevelopment.5. Synthesis and applications. Hay transfer and sowing of regional Seed Mixtures are appropriaterestoration tools to achieve rapid revegetation when no potential Seed sources of target species areavailable nearby or there are undesirable species that need to be suppressed. Our results show thatintroducedgrasslandspeciesareabletogrowunderpostminingsiteconditionsandcanmigrateintoadjacent spontaneously developing sites. A combination of spontaneous and assisted site recoverycanpromotethedevelopmentofspecies-richgrasslandsinpostmininglandscapes.Key-words: biodiversity, Calamagrostis epigejos, ecological restoration, erosion control,grasslands, hay transfer, mulch Seeding, species introduction, successionIntroduction
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Species introduction in restoration projects-Evaluation of different techniques for the establishment of semi-natural grasslands in Central and Northwestern Europe
Basic and Applied Ecology, 2010Co-Authors: Kathrin Kiehl, Anita Kirmer, Tobias W. Donath, Leonid Rasran, Norbert HölzelAbstract:Abstract During recent decades, many studies have shown that the successful restoration of species-rich grasslands is often Seed-limited because of depleted Seed banks and limited Seed dispersal in modern fragmented landscapes. In Europe, commercial Seed Mixtures, which are widely used for restoration measures, mostly consist of species and varieties of non-local provenance. The regional biodiversity of a given landscape, however, can be preserved only when Seeds or plants of local provenance are used in restoration projects. Furthermore, the transfer of suitable target species of local provenance can strongly enhance restoration success. We review and evaluate the success of currently used near-natural methods for the introduction of target plant species (e.g. Seeding of site-specific Seed Mixtures, transfer of fresh Seed-containing hay, vacuum harvesting, transfer of turves or Seed-containing soil) on restoration sites, ranging from dry and mesic meadows to floodplain grasslands and fens. Own data combined with literature findings show species establishment rates during the initial phase as well as the persistence of target species during long-term vegetation development on restoration sites. In conclusion, our review indicates that Seed limitation can be overcome successfully by most of the reviewed measures for species introduction. The establishment of species-rich grasslands is most successful when Seeds, Seed-containing plant material or soil are spread on bare soil of ex-arable fields after tilling or topsoil removal, or on raw soils, e.g. in mined areas. In species-poor grasslands without soil disturbance and on older ex-arable fields with dense weed vegetation, final transfer rates were the lowest. For future restoration projects, suitable measures have to be chosen carefully from case to case as they differ considerably in costs and logistic effort. Long-term prospects for restored grassland are especially good when management can be incorporated in agricultural systems.
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implementation of basic studies in the ecological restoration of surface mined land
Restoration Ecology, 2007Co-Authors: Sabine Tischew, Anita KirmerAbstract:This paper focuses on attempts to encourage a new state of the art in the ecological restoration of surface-mined land in Germany. On most of these sites, the application of traditional recultivation methods often destroys valuable ecological potential by leveling of the surface, ameliorating of nutrient-poor substrates, and Seeding or planting of species not suited to the present habitat conditions. Many studies have shown that even highly disturbed ecosystems, such as large mining areas, can regenerate spontaneously over long-term periods. Colonization processes were influenced by the availability of diaspore sources as well as the suitability of sites for establishment. The predictability of succession could be improved by the identification of switch points in successional pathways depending on age and conditions of the sites. Based on the developmental potential, orientation by nature and biodiversity are selected as main targets for priority areas for nature conservation in mining sites. On priority areas restoration measures must be restricted to the use of near-natural methods (e.g., application of fresh, diaspore-rich plant clipping material, dumping of overburden with Seed bank and vegetative propagules, Seeding of site-specific, local Seed Mixtures) that are very successful in preventing erosion and accelerating vegetation development. Despite the success of these methods, the transfer of knowledge between scientists, practitioners, and administrative organizations has proved to be insufficient. Therefore, one of the main tasks in ecological restoration must be the inclusion of all stakeholders involved in decision-making processes and the establishment of a network of excellence to enhance the exchange of knowledge.
Owen T. Lewis - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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flower preferences and pollen transport networks for cavity nesting solitary bees implications for the design of agri environment schemes
Ecology and Evolution, 2018Co-Authors: Catherine Gresty, Elizabeth L. Clare, Dion S. Devey, Robyn S. Cowan, Laszlo Csiba, Panagiota Malakasi, Owen T. Lewis, Katherine J. WillisAbstract:Floral foraging resources are valuable for pollinator conservation on farmland, and their provision is encouraged by agri‐environment schemes in many countries. Across Europe, wildflower Seed Mixtures are widely sown on farmland to encourage pollinators, but the extent to which key pollinator groups such as solitary bees exploit and benefit from these resources is unclear. We used high‐throughput sequencing of 164 pollen samples extracted from the brood cells of six common cavity‐nesting solitary bee species (Osmia bicornis, Osmia caerulescens, Megachile versicolor, Megachile ligniseca, Megachile centuncularis and Hylaeus confusus) which are widely distributed across the UK and Europe. We documented their pollen use across 19 farms in southern England, UK, revealing their forage plants and examining the structure of their pollen transport networks. Of the 32 plant species included currently in sown wildflower mixes, 15 were recorded as present within close foraging range of the bees on the study farms, but only Ranunculus acris L. was identified within the pollen samples. Rosa canina L. was the most commonly found of the 23 plant species identified in the pollen samples, suggesting that, in addition to providing a nesting resource for Megachile leafcutter bees, it may be an important forage plant for these species. Higher levels of connectance and nestedness were characteristic of pollen transport networks on farms with abundant floral resources, which may increase resilience to species loss. Our data suggest that plant species promoted currently by agri‐environment schemes are not optimal for solitary bee foraging. If a diverse community of pollinators is to be supported on UK and European farmland, additional species such as R. canina should be encouraged to meet the foraging requirements of solitary bees.
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Flower preferences and pollen transport networks for cavity‐nesting solitary bees: implications for the design of agri‐environment schemes
Ecology and Evolution, 2018Co-Authors: Catherine Gresty, Elizabeth L. Clare, Dion S. Devey, Robyn S. Cowan, Laszlo Csiba, Panagiota Malakasi, Owen T. Lewis, Katherine J. WillisAbstract:Floral foraging resources are valuable for pollinator conservation on farmland, and their provision is encouraged by agri‐environment schemes in many countries. Across Europe, wildflower Seed Mixtures are widely sown on farmland to encourage pollinators, but the extent to which key pollinator groups such as solitary bees exploit and benefit from these resources is unclear. We used high‐throughput sequencing of 164 pollen samples extracted from the brood cells of six common cavity‐nesting solitary bee species (Osmia bicornis, Osmia caerulescens, Megachile versicolor, Megachile ligniseca, Megachile centuncularis and Hylaeus confusus) which are widely distributed across the UK and Europe. We documented their pollen use across 19 farms in southern England, UK, revealing their forage plants and examining the structure of their pollen transport networks. Of the 32 plant species included currently in sown wildflower mixes, 15 were recorded as present within close foraging range of the bees on the study farms, but only Ranunculus acris L. was identified within the pollen samples. Rosa canina L. was the most commonly found of the 23 plant species identified in the pollen samples, suggesting that, in addition to providing a nesting resource for Megachile leafcutter bees, it may be an important forage plant for these species. Higher levels of connectance and nestedness were characteristic of pollen transport networks on farms with abundant floral resources, which may increase resilience to species loss. Our data suggest that plant species promoted currently by agri‐environment schemes are not optimal for solitary bee foraging. If a diverse community of pollinators is to be supported on UK and European farmland, additional species such as R. canina should be encouraged to meet the foraging requirements of solitary bees.
