Shared use of a mass-flowering crop drives dietary niche overlap between managed honeybees and bumblebees
Bernhardsson, Olivia ; Kendall, Liam LU ; Olsson, Ola LU
; Olsson, Peter
LU
and Smith, Henrik G.
LU
(2024)
In Journal of Applied Ecology
61(9).
p.2135-2145
- Abstract
Resource competition between wild pollinators and managed honeybees (Apis mellifera) has the potential to detrimentally impact insect biodiversity as well as wild plant and crop pollination. As honeybees are central place foragers, their competitive impact on wild bees is expected to be structured by hive proximity, in conjunction with foraging decisions related to landscape-level resource availability. Yet, how these factors structure dietary niche overlap between wild bees and managed honeybees remains unclear. We conducted a field experiment in seminatural grasslands, where honeybee foraging densities and niche overlap with buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) were measured at four distances (<100, 500, 1000 and 2000 m) from... (More)
Resource competition between wild pollinators and managed honeybees (Apis mellifera) has the potential to detrimentally impact insect biodiversity as well as wild plant and crop pollination. As honeybees are central place foragers, their competitive impact on wild bees is expected to be structured by hive proximity, in conjunction with foraging decisions related to landscape-level resource availability. Yet, how these factors structure dietary niche overlap between wild bees and managed honeybees remains unclear. We conducted a field experiment in seminatural grasslands, where honeybee foraging densities and niche overlap with buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) were measured at four distances (<100, 500, 1000 and 2000 m) from experimentally placed apiaries, during and after the blooming period of mass-flowering oilseed rape (Brassica napus). We measured honeybee foraging densities using standardized transect surveys, and quantified species diet composition and dietary niche overlap from pollen samples collected from both bee species. Honeybee foraging densities were highest near apiaries and declined sharply beyond 500 m from the apiaries. However, niche overlap was unrelated to hive proximity but positively related to the availability of oilseed rape. Furthermore, there were significant inter- and intraspecific differences in pollen diet composition and breadth throughout the season. Synthesis and applications: Niche overlap between honeybees and bumblebees in agricultural environments was due to resource sharing of mass-flowering oilseed rape. When both honeybees and bumblebees predominantly forage on wild plants, they maintain distinct pollen diets, suggesting there is a low risk of resource competition between these generalist taxa. Conservation actions that promote floral resource availability and diversity in agricultural landscapes are crucial to maintain niche differentiation between managed honeybees and wild bees.
(Less)
- author
- Bernhardsson, Olivia
; Kendall, Liam
LU
; Olsson, Ola
LU
; Olsson, Peter
LU
and Smith, Henrik G.
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024-08-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- crop pollination, ecosystem services, interspecific competition, pollinator management
- in
- Journal of Applied Ecology
- volume
- 61
- issue
- 9
- pages
- 11 pages
- publisher
- John Wiley & Sons Inc.
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85200156909
- ISSN
- 0021-8901
- DOI
- 10.1111/1365-2664.14743
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Applied Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.
- id
- e347ad55-e8d2-4431-bf66-c81375f3202b
- date added to LUP
- 2024-08-09 08:43:37
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 14:05:32
@article{e347ad55-e8d2-4431-bf66-c81375f3202b,
abstract = {{<p>Resource competition between wild pollinators and managed honeybees (Apis mellifera) has the potential to detrimentally impact insect biodiversity as well as wild plant and crop pollination. As honeybees are central place foragers, their competitive impact on wild bees is expected to be structured by hive proximity, in conjunction with foraging decisions related to landscape-level resource availability. Yet, how these factors structure dietary niche overlap between wild bees and managed honeybees remains unclear. We conducted a field experiment in seminatural grasslands, where honeybee foraging densities and niche overlap with buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) were measured at four distances (<100, 500, 1000 and 2000 m) from experimentally placed apiaries, during and after the blooming period of mass-flowering oilseed rape (Brassica napus). We measured honeybee foraging densities using standardized transect surveys, and quantified species diet composition and dietary niche overlap from pollen samples collected from both bee species. Honeybee foraging densities were highest near apiaries and declined sharply beyond 500 m from the apiaries. However, niche overlap was unrelated to hive proximity but positively related to the availability of oilseed rape. Furthermore, there were significant inter- and intraspecific differences in pollen diet composition and breadth throughout the season. Synthesis and applications: Niche overlap between honeybees and bumblebees in agricultural environments was due to resource sharing of mass-flowering oilseed rape. When both honeybees and bumblebees predominantly forage on wild plants, they maintain distinct pollen diets, suggesting there is a low risk of resource competition between these generalist taxa. Conservation actions that promote floral resource availability and diversity in agricultural landscapes are crucial to maintain niche differentiation between managed honeybees and wild bees.</p>}},
author = {{Bernhardsson, Olivia and Kendall, Liam and Olsson, Ola and Olsson, Peter and Smith, Henrik G.}},
issn = {{0021-8901}},
keywords = {{crop pollination; ecosystem services; interspecific competition; pollinator management}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{08}},
number = {{9}},
pages = {{2135--2145}},
publisher = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
series = {{Journal of Applied Ecology}},
title = {{Shared use of a mass-flowering crop drives dietary niche overlap between managed honeybees and bumblebees}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14743}},
doi = {{10.1111/1365-2664.14743}},
volume = {{61}},
year = {{2024}},
}