Evidence for Biodiversity Insurance Hypothesis: More Species Are Indeed Beneficial
A multi-year study of wild bee species pollinating fruit crops finds significant variance year-to-year in the species mix and more species needed to maintain threshold pollination levels over multiple years than in any single year. The analysis offers clear evidence that greater biodiversity yields greater ecosystem resilience.
Counting Bees: How Mark-Recapture Methods Can Validate Wild Bee Sampling Protocols
Monitoring wild bee populations is a tricky proposition, with common methods all having inherent biases. A new study uses mark-recapture to get a better picture of how various bee sampling methods measure up.
Do Pollinators Prefer Dense Flower Patches? Sometimes Yes, Sometimes No
A study looking at floral density and pollinators finds that some types of pollinating insects prefer dense flower patches more than others, but that preference can also vary by flower species, too. The complicated findings offer clues to how multiple pollinator species co-exist and compete for floral resources.
In a New Study, Spring Forest Bees Get Their Due
Wild bees that live primarily in forests are an understudied group, but new research sheds light on the ecology of bee species that do much of the spring pollination work in woodlands.