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Effects of suburbanization on forest bee communities.
Adrian L Carper1, Lynn S Adler, Paige S Warren
1Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, 78 College St., Hanover, NH 03755, USA.
Environmental Entomology
|February 19, 2014
Summary
Suburban development can increase bee abundance and diversity by providing more flowering plants. This highlights opportunities for conserving native bees in urban environments.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Urban Ecology
- Conservation Biology
Background:
- Urbanization significantly alters species distributions and diversity.
- While many species decline, some, like bees, may benefit from development.
- Suburbanization's impact on bees and the underlying mechanisms require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess how suburbanization affects bee abundance and diversity.
- To identify the ecological mechanisms driving these effects.
- To explore the potential for native bee conservation in urban settings.
Main Methods:
- Bee surveys conducted in suburban and natural forests in North Carolina (2008-2009).
- Sampling utilized bee bowls and hand-netting techniques.
- Analysis correlated bee metrics with local floral availability and landscape development.
Main Results:
- Higher bee abundance observed in suburban forests compared to natural forests.
- Observed species richness was greater in suburban areas, but rarefied richness and evenness showed no significant differences.
- Bee abundance and richness positively correlated with flowering species abundance and richness locally.
- Landscape-scale analysis revealed developed open areas as strong positive predictors of bee abundance and richness.
Conclusions:
- Suburban open habitats and floral resources support abundant and diverse bee communities.
- These findings suggest that urban environments can be managed to benefit native bees.
- The study underscores the potential for native bee conservation within urbanized landscapes.
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