Variation in Native Bee Faunas and its Implications for Detecting Community Changes

By N. Williams, R. Minckley, F. A. Silveira. 2001

328 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Introduction Methods Comparing studies Levels of spatial and temporal variation Effects of sampling effort and area Predictability of subsampling Results ABSTRACT Changes in flower-visiting insect populations or communities that result from human impacts can be documented by measuring spatial or temporal trends, or by comparing abundance or species composition before and after disturbance. The level of naturally occurring variation in populations and communities over space and time will dictate the sampling effort required to detect human-induced changes. We compiled a set of existing surveys of the bee faunas of natural communities from around the world to examine patterns of abundance and richness. We focused on a subset of these studies to illustrate variation in bee communities among different sites and within sites over different spatial and temporal scales. We used examples from our compilation and other published studies to illustrate sampling approaches that maximize the value of future sampling efforts. Existing studies suggest that bee faunas are locally diverse, highly variable in space and time, and often rich in rare species. All of these attributes indicate that intense sampling among sites and years will be required to differentiate changes due to specific impacts from the natural dynamics of populations and communities. Given the limits on

Subfields: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Insect Science, Nature and Landscape Conservation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/4378a2cce4b9e1f7b9d868ba19110939cfd2656f

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

1. C. Kremen
2. N. Williams
3. R. Winfree
4. S. Potts
5. T. Roulston
6. R. Isaacs
7. M. Aizen
8. Dave Goulson

In Insect Science

1. C. Kremen
2. R. Winfree
3. N. Williams
4. S. Potts
5. R. Isaacs
6. D. P. Vázquez
7. T. Roulston
8. Dave Goulson

In Nature and Landscape Conservation

1. C. Kremen
2. N. Williams
3. R. Winfree
4. S. Potts
5. M. Aizen
6. T. Roulston
7. R. Isaacs
8. Daniel P. Cariveau

Citations in the corpus

• Bee diversity and abundance in an urban setting (2004, result): “Our survey found bee populations to be highly dispersed and dynamic, consistent with the studies reviewed by Williams et al. (2001).”
• LINKING BEES AND FLOWERS: HOW DO FLORAL COMMUNITIES STRUCTURE POLLINATOR COMMUNITIES? (2003, background): “Both models account for ;40–50% of the variation in the composition of the bee community (Tables 4 and 5), which, based purely on floral community characteristics, is large, considering the highly fluctuating and unpredictable nature of many bee communities (reviewed by Williams et al. 2001).”
• A Comparison of Pan Trap and Intensive Net Sampling Techniques for Documenting a Bee (Hymenoptera: Apiformes) Fauna (2007, background): “As is commonly found in bee studies at various intensities and over various periods of time (Williams et al. 2001), most hectare plot.”
• Pollination reservoirs for wild bee habitat enhancement in cropping systems: a review (2017, background): “Research highlights the wide and largely unpredictable interannual variability of wild bee populations (Roubik 2001; Williams, Minckley, and Silveira 2001; Wolda and Roubik 1986).”
• Can green roofs provide habitat for urban bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)? (2009, background): “The sustainability of crop production and native ecosystems requires a diverse and abundant supply of bees (e.g. Cane and Tepedino 2001; Williams et al. 2001).”
• Natural land cover drives pollinator abundance and richness, leading to reductions in pollen limitation in cotton agroecosystems (2016, background): “Because of natural fluctuations in pollinator populations, the diversity of wild pollinator communities is important in providing stable crop pollination service between years (Williams et al., 2001; Garibaldi et al., 2013).”
• Ecological and seasonal patterns in the diversity of a species-rich bee assemblage (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Apiformes) (2005, background): “Intensive sampling keeps the proportion of singletons low, as the number of bee specimens collected and the percentage of singletons are negatively correlated (Williams et al., 2001).”
• A survey of the bees of the Black Rock Forest Preservec New York lHymenopterac Apoidear (2006, background): “…(Hymenoptera: Apoidea) are the single most important animal pollinators of both native and cultivated vegetation in most habitats worldwide (Williams et al. 2001, Michener 2000).”
• A meta-analysis of bees' responses to anthropogenic disturbance. (2009, background): “There is concern that pollinators may be declining at a global scale (Buchmann and Nabhan 1996, Kearns et al. 1998, NRC 2007), but our understanding of potential declines is limited by a lack of long-term data on population trends (Williams et al. 2001, Ghazoul 2005a).”
• How does climate warming affect plant-pollinator interactions? (2009, background): “…studies and simulation approaches Long-term monitoring programmes, specifically designed to track changes in pollination services and pollination interactions in time, are rare, expensive and time-consuming (but see Gordo & Sanz 2005, 2006; Williams et al. 2001; Ghazoul 2005 for some examples).”
• Restoration of Nontarget Species: Bee Communities and Pollination Function in Riparian Forests (2011, background): “Naturally occurring bee populations and communities vary dramatically over space and time (Williams et al. 2001) and inherent variation in edaphic characteristics, disturbance regimes and regional species pools will further affect the composition of restored communities.”