Shining a light on bumblebee foraging strategies: bumblebee species niche partitioning is related to visual sensory traits
(2023) In Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 290(1996).- Abstract
- Local coexistence of bees has been explained by flower resource partitioning, but coexisting bumblebee species often have strongly overlapping diets. We investigated if light microhabitat niche separation, underpinned by visual traits, could serve as an alternative mechanism underlying local coexistence of bumblebee species. To this end, we focused on a homogeneous flower resource—bilberry—in a heterogeneous light environment—hemi-boreal forests. We found that bumblebee communities segregated along a gradient of light intensity. The community-weighted mean of the eye parameter—a metric measuring the compromise between light sensitivity and visual resolution—decreased with light intensity, showing a higher investment in light sensitivity of... (More)
- Local coexistence of bees has been explained by flower resource partitioning, but coexisting bumblebee species often have strongly overlapping diets. We investigated if light microhabitat niche separation, underpinned by visual traits, could serve as an alternative mechanism underlying local coexistence of bumblebee species. To this end, we focused on a homogeneous flower resource—bilberry—in a heterogeneous light environment—hemi-boreal forests. We found that bumblebee communities segregated along a gradient of light intensity. The community-weighted mean of the eye parameter—a metric measuring the compromise between light sensitivity and visual resolution—decreased with light intensity, showing a higher investment in light sensitivity of communities observed in darker conditions. This pattern was consistent at the species level. In general, species with higher eye parameter (larger investment in light sensitivity) foraged in dimmer light than those with a lower eye parameter (higher investment in visual resolution). Moreover, species realized niche optimum was linearly related to their eye parameter. These results suggest microhabitat niche partitioning to be a potential mechanism underpinning bumblebee species coexistence. This study highlights the importance of considering sensory traits when studying pollinator habitat use and their ability to cope with changing environments. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/7e3bb824-a396-4b1c-a982-8fae1ccb54af
- author
- Bartholomée, Océane LU ; Dwyer, Ciara LU ; Tichit, Pierre ; Caplat, Paul ; Baird, Emily and Smith, Henrik G. LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- volume
- 290
- issue
- 1996
- publisher
- Royal Society Publishing
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:37040802
- scopus:85152267642
- ISSN
- 1471-2954
- DOI
- 10.1098/rspb.2022.2548
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 7e3bb824-a396-4b1c-a982-8fae1ccb54af
- date added to LUP
- 2023-04-20 08:27:18
- date last changed
- 2023-04-21 04:00:38
@article{7e3bb824-a396-4b1c-a982-8fae1ccb54af,
abstract = {{Local coexistence of bees has been explained by flower resource partitioning, but coexisting bumblebee species often have strongly overlapping diets. We investigated if light microhabitat niche separation, underpinned by visual traits, could serve as an alternative mechanism underlying local coexistence of bumblebee species. To this end, we focused on a homogeneous flower resource—bilberry—in a heterogeneous light environment—hemi-boreal forests. We found that bumblebee communities segregated along a gradient of light intensity. The community-weighted mean of the eye parameter—a metric measuring the compromise between light sensitivity and visual resolution—decreased with light intensity, showing a higher investment in light sensitivity of communities observed in darker conditions. This pattern was consistent at the species level. In general, species with higher eye parameter (larger investment in light sensitivity) foraged in dimmer light than those with a lower eye parameter (higher investment in visual resolution). Moreover, species realized niche optimum was linearly related to their eye parameter. These results suggest microhabitat niche partitioning to be a potential mechanism underpinning bumblebee species coexistence. This study highlights the importance of considering sensory traits when studying pollinator habitat use and their ability to cope with changing environments.}},
author = {{Bartholomée, Océane and Dwyer, Ciara and Tichit, Pierre and Caplat, Paul and Baird, Emily and Smith, Henrik G.}},
issn = {{1471-2954}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1996}},
publisher = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
series = {{Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences}},
title = {{Shining a light on bumblebee foraging strategies: bumblebee species niche partitioning is related to visual sensory traits}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.2548}},
doi = {{10.1098/rspb.2022.2548}},
volume = {{290}},
year = {{2023}},
}