Work

The effect of field size on the number of bumble bees.

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: Bumble bees are important pollinators in agricultu ral and natural ecosystems. In recent decades their numbers have been declining du e to the intensification of agriculture and establishment of large homogenous fields. Our goal was to study the effect of the field size on the abundance of bumble bees in Estonia. The data was collected from 66 farms located in different regions of the country. Bumble bees were counted along the field transect of each farm. The relationship between field size and numbe r of bumble bees present was calculated. We found a negative correlation between the field s ize and the abundance of bumble bees: as the field area increased the number of bees decreas ed.

Source: Agronomy Research