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Corridors through time : Does resource continuity impact pollinator communities, populations, and individuals?

Nicholson, Charlie C. LU orcid ; J.-M. Hayes, Jen ; Connolly, Samantha and Ricketts, Taylor H. (2021) In Ecological Applications 31(3).
Abstract

Spatial aspects of connectivity have received considerable attention from ecologists and conservationists, yet temporal connectivity, the periodic linking of habitats, plays an equally important, but largely overlooked role. Different biological and biophysical attributes of ecosystems underpin temporal connectivity, but here we focus on resource continuity, the uninterrupted availability of foraging sites. We test the response of pollinators to resource continuity at community, population, and individual levels using a novel natural experiment consisting of farms with either single or sequential cropping systems. We found significant effects at the population level; colony density of an important crop pollinator (Bombus impatiens L.)... (More)

Spatial aspects of connectivity have received considerable attention from ecologists and conservationists, yet temporal connectivity, the periodic linking of habitats, plays an equally important, but largely overlooked role. Different biological and biophysical attributes of ecosystems underpin temporal connectivity, but here we focus on resource continuity, the uninterrupted availability of foraging sites. We test the response of pollinators to resource continuity at community, population, and individual levels using a novel natural experiment consisting of farms with either single or sequential cropping systems. We found significant effects at the population level; colony density of an important crop pollinator (Bombus impatiens L.) was greater when crop floral resources were continuously available. However, we did not find significant effects at the community or individual level; wild bee abundance, diversity and body size did not respond to resource continuity. Raspberry farms with greater early season resources provided by blueberry had greater bumble bee populations, suggesting beneficial effects on resource availability due to crop diversity. Better understanding the impact of resource continuity via crop diversity on broader patterns of biodiversity is essential for the co-management of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

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author
; ; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
keywords
blueberry, native bee, pollination, raspberry, resource continuity, temporal connectivity
in
Ecological Applications
volume
31
issue
3
article number
e02260
pages
11 pages
publisher
Ecological Society of America
external identifiers
  • pmid:33185959
  • scopus:85099354767
ISSN
1051-0761
DOI
10.1002/eap.2260
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
Funding Information: C. C. Nicholson was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship program [Grant DGE‐1451866] and the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture [Grant GNE16‐129]. We thank Anna Clayton, Alex Frayer, Olivia Honigman, Cassidy Motahari, and Kristen Switzer for data collection. We thank Joyce Knoblett, Jamie Strange, and Amber Tripodi at the USDA‐ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit for supplying space and expertise for the population genetic work. We thank Jason Gibbs and Tom Woods for identifying bee specimens. We thank Xin Jing, Mathew Mitchell, Leif Richardson, and Aaron Schwartz for their input on manuscript drafts. Authors’ contributions: C. C. Nicholson and T. H. Ricketts designed the study. C. C. Nicholson, J. J. Hayes, and S. Connolly collected and analyzed data. C. C. Nicholson wrote the manuscript. All authors contributed to the final draft. The authors declare no conflict of interest. Funding Information: C. C. Nicholson was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship program [Grant DGE-1451866] and the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture [Grant GNE16-129]. We thank Anna Clayton, Alex Frayer, Olivia Honigman, Cassidy Motahari, and Kristen Switzer for data collection. We thank Joyce Knoblett, Jamie Strange, and Amber Tripodi at the USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit for supplying space and expertise for the population genetic work. We thank Jason Gibbs and Tom Woods for identifying bee specimens. We thank Xin Jing, Mathew Mitchell, Leif Richardson, and Aaron Schwartz for their input on manuscript drafts. Authors? contributions: C. C. Nicholson and T. H. Ricketts designed the study. C. C. Nicholson, J. J. Hayes, and S. Connolly collected and analyzed data. C. C. Nicholson wrote the manuscript. All authors contributed to the final draft. The authors declare no conflict of interest. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 by the Ecological Society of America
id
9a540ab3-b066-476c-9dc8-8e18b6c5f78e
date added to LUP
2023-02-09 16:39:19
date last changed
2024-04-16 08:26:53
@article{9a540ab3-b066-476c-9dc8-8e18b6c5f78e,
  abstract     = {{<p>Spatial aspects of connectivity have received considerable attention from ecologists and conservationists, yet temporal connectivity, the periodic linking of habitats, plays an equally important, but largely overlooked role. Different biological and biophysical attributes of ecosystems underpin temporal connectivity, but here we focus on resource continuity, the uninterrupted availability of foraging sites. We test the response of pollinators to resource continuity at community, population, and individual levels using a novel natural experiment consisting of farms with either single or sequential cropping systems. We found significant effects at the population level; colony density of an important crop pollinator (Bombus impatiens L.) was greater when crop floral resources were continuously available. However, we did not find significant effects at the community or individual level; wild bee abundance, diversity and body size did not respond to resource continuity. Raspberry farms with greater early season resources provided by blueberry had greater bumble bee populations, suggesting beneficial effects on resource availability due to crop diversity. Better understanding the impact of resource continuity via crop diversity on broader patterns of biodiversity is essential for the co-management of biodiversity and ecosystem services.</p>}},
  author       = {{Nicholson, Charlie C. and J.-M. Hayes, Jen and Connolly, Samantha and Ricketts, Taylor H.}},
  issn         = {{1051-0761}},
  keywords     = {{blueberry; native bee; pollination; raspberry; resource continuity; temporal connectivity}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  publisher    = {{Ecological Society of America}},
  series       = {{Ecological Applications}},
  title        = {{Corridors through time : Does resource continuity impact pollinator communities, populations, and individuals?}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eap.2260}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/eap.2260}},
  volume       = {{31}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}