Year: 2015
Type: dissertation
Abstract: I investigated how landscape modification impacts bee communities and how two common insects influence bee foraging behavior in human modified habitat. I surveyed bee communities in 32 remnant grasslands and used multivariate generalized mixed models to evaluate community and genus level responses to landscape elements at scales from 200m to 3200m. Bee communities responded to topography at the 3200m scale, the area of intensive agriculture at the 1600m scale, and the area of roadside edge at the 400m scale. I then conducted two behavioral experiments in a garden that simulated roadside edge. I manipulated the presence of a common predator (Phymata americana) and competitor (Chauliognathus basilis) on sunflower blooms (Helianthus petiolaris) to assess bees’ responses to these insects. Randomized paired observations of occupied and unoccupied flowers were analyzed using Χ2 contingency tests and generalized linear mixed models. On average, competitor presence on a bloom reduced visit duration by 1.68 seconds.
Author: Collin Schwantes
Language: English
Topic: Plant and animal studies
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2521289673