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Updated: Jun 20, 2026

In Vitro Rearing of Solitary Bees: A Tool for Assessing Larval Risk Factors

In Vitro Rearing of Solitary Bees: A Tool for Assessing Larval Risk Factors

Published on: July 16, 2018

Habitat conversion, extinction thresholds, and pollination services in agroecosystems.

Timothy H Keitt¹

¹Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712, USA. tkeitt@mail.utexas.edu

Ecological Applications : a Publication of the Ecological Society of America

|September 23, 2009

Summary

Protecting wild pollinators and plants in farms requires understanding habitat loss thresholds. Optimal pollination services are achieved with specific habitat patch sizes and spacing, but this may not conserve wild plants.

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Area of Science:

Agroecology
Conservation Biology
Ecological Modeling

Background:

Wild pollinators and pollinator-dependent plants are declining, threatening pollination services in agricultural systems.
A spatially explicit approach is crucial for designing agricultural landscapes to support wild pollinators.

Purpose of the Study:

To model pollination services in agroecosystems using simulation and difference equation models.
To investigate the impact of habitat conversion and spatial patterns on wild pollinator communities and pollination services.

Main Methods:

A stochastic individual-based simulation model of wild pollinators, plants, and crop pollination was developed.
A pair of models, including coupled difference equations, captured spatial and non-spatial dynamics.
Five spatially explicit habitat conversion scenarios were simulated and compared.

Main Results:

A critical threshold of habitat loss was identified, leading to pollinator and plant extinction (cusp).
Crop resources could prevent pollinator extinction but not plant extinction.
Spatial factors like foraging and dispersal significantly influenced model outcomes, sometimes causing extinction.

Conclusions:

Conservation requires careful management of habitat conversion thresholds, spatial patterns, and scales.
Maximizing pollination services is often in conflict with conserving wild pollinator-dependent plants.
Optimal pollination services are predicted with specific habitat island configurations matching pollinator foraging distances.