Bumble bees and honey bee abundances collected in agricultural landscapes with and without flower strips and honey bee hives

SND-ID: 2021-285-1. Version: 1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5878/s2bx-3j34

Citation

Creator/Principal investigator(s)

Riccardo Bommarco - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecology orcid

Research principal

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences - Department of Ecology rorId

Principal's reference number

SLU.ekol.2021.4.4.IÄ-10

Description

Wild bee declines in agricultural landscapes have led farmers to supplement crops with honey bees. Simultaneously, environmental subsidy and conservation programmes have incentivized farmers to establish flower strips to support wild and managed pollinators. To find out if flower strips enhance, and competition from honey bees suppresses, wild bees in the landscape and across seasons, we surveyed bumble bee and honey bee abundances in 16 sites in Sweden in summer 2018 and spring 2019. The centre of each site (2 km radius) was with or without an annual flower strip, and with or without added honey bee hives. We surveyed bees in each flower strip and in linear habitats in the landscape around each site, such as field edges and road verges. In the following spring, we surveyed bumble bee queen abundance in each site. We show that adding flower strips benefits bumble bee queen abundance the following year, but this effect is diminished if honeybee hives are added. In sites with flower strips, added honey bee hives reduced male bumble bee abundance. Our relatively small flower strip areas bolstered

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Wild bee declines in agricultural landscapes have led farmers to supplement crops with honey bees. Simultaneously, environmental subsidy and conservation programmes have incentivized farmers to establish flower strips to support wild and managed pollinators. To find out if flower strips enhance, and competition from honey bees suppresses, wild bees in the landscape and across seasons, we surveyed bumble bee and honey bee abundances in 16 sites in Sweden in summer 2018 and spring 2019. The centre of each site (2 km radius) was with or without an annual flower strip, and with or without added honey bee hives. We surveyed bees in each flower strip and in linear habitats in the landscape around each site, such as field edges and road verges. In the following spring, we surveyed bumble bee queen abundance in each site. We show that adding flower strips benefits bumble bee queen abundance the following year, but this effect is diminished if honeybee hives are added. In sites with flower strips, added honey bee hives reduced male bumble bee abundance. Our relatively small flower strip areas bolstered bumble bee population growth across seasons, probably by relieving a resource bottleneck. Adding honey bee hives in combination with flower strips to landscapes with few floral resources should be avoided as it cancelled the positive effect of flower strips. Show less..

Data contains personal data

No

Language

Method and outcome

Time period(s) investigated

2018-04-01 – 2019-05-29

Data format / data structure

Data collection
Geographic coverage

Geographic spread

Geographic location: Skåne County, Scania Province

Geographic description: Scania, Sweden

Administrative information

Responsible department/unit

Department of Ecology

Contributor(s)

Ola Lundin - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecology orcid

Sandra A.M. Lindström - Swedish Rural Economy Society, Swedish Rural Economy Society orcid

Chloé A. Raderschall - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecology orcid

Vesna Gagic - Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Ecoscience precinct orcid

Funding

  • Funding agency: Swedish university of agricultural sciences EkoForsk
Topic and keywords

Research area

Natural sciences (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

Ecology (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

Agriculture, forestry and fisheries (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

Agricultural science (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

Farming (INSPIRE topic categories)

Environment (INSPIRE topic categories)

Publications

Bommarco R., S.A.M. Lindström, C.A. Raderschall, V. Gagic, O. Lundin (2021). Flower strips enhance abundance of bumble bee queens and males in landscapes with few honey bee hives. Biological Conservation, 263, 109363.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109363

If you have published anything based on these data, please notify us with a reference to your publication(s). If you are responsible for the catalogue entry, you can update the metadata/data description in DORIS.

Versions

Version 1. 2021-11-24

Version 1: 2021-11-24

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5878/s2bx-3j34

Contact for questions about the data

Riccardo Bommarco

riccardo.bommarco@slu.se

Published: 2021-11-24
Last updated: 2024-03-19