Abstract
The ecological services of insect pollinators are well established; therefore, the documented decline in pollinator biodiversity is of great global and local concern. Using two survey methods, our study provides baseline pollinator community data at two conservation sites in Northwest Iowa. In September of 2023, we used three colors (blue, yellow, and white) and two depths (shallow and deep) of bowl traps to investigate pollinator communities at a small prairie restoration site (Buena Vista County Park) and a nearby native prairie (The Nature Conservancy Glacial Hills Preserve). Employing modifications of the protocol suggested by the Bumble bee Atlas to collect and identify bumblebees, we used nonlethal mark-recapture methods to evaluate their richness and abundance at the same locations. Abundance and morphospecies richness in our traps did not differ significantly between the two locations. At both sites, total pollinator abundance and morphospecies richness were significantly higher in shallow versus deep traps. The effect of color on pollinator abundance and morphospecies richness varied with location and pollinator taxa. We recovered only 2 species and 4 total bumble bees from 84 bowl traps. In contrast, we collected six species and 68 total bumblebees during our mark and recapture efforts. We conclude that both survey methods provide useful, but different, baseline data. Bowl traps provide valuable information regarding pollinator communities and are widely used. However, we found that these traps are not particularly useful for bumble bees. Given concerns about declining bumblebee populations, we advocate for nonlethal mark and recapture surveys for bumble bee studies.
NOTE: This poster was also presented at 45th Winchell Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Included in
Assessment of Bumblebee Populations Using Bee-bowls and Mark-recapture Methods
The ecological services of insect pollinators are well established; therefore, the documented decline in pollinator biodiversity is of great global and local concern. Using two survey methods, our study provides baseline pollinator community data at two conservation sites in Northwest Iowa. In September of 2023, we used three colors (blue, yellow, and white) and two depths (shallow and deep) of bowl traps to investigate pollinator communities at a small prairie restoration site (Buena Vista County Park) and a nearby native prairie (The Nature Conservancy Glacial Hills Preserve). Employing modifications of the protocol suggested by the Bumble bee Atlas to collect and identify bumblebees, we used nonlethal mark-recapture methods to evaluate their richness and abundance at the same locations. Abundance and morphospecies richness in our traps did not differ significantly between the two locations. At both sites, total pollinator abundance and morphospecies richness were significantly higher in shallow versus deep traps. The effect of color on pollinator abundance and morphospecies richness varied with location and pollinator taxa. We recovered only 2 species and 4 total bumble bees from 84 bowl traps. In contrast, we collected six species and 68 total bumblebees during our mark and recapture efforts. We conclude that both survey methods provide useful, but different, baseline data. Bowl traps provide valuable information regarding pollinator communities and are widely used. However, we found that these traps are not particularly useful for bumble bees. Given concerns about declining bumblebee populations, we advocate for nonlethal mark and recapture surveys for bumble bee studies.
NOTE: This poster was also presented at 45th Winchell Undergraduate Research Symposium.