Bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) diversity within apple orchards and old fields in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada

2012 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory S. Sheffield ◽  
Peter G. Kevan ◽  
Alana Pindar ◽  
Laurence Packer
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Old Fields ◽  
Apple Orchards ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Bee Communities ◽  
Annapolis Valley ◽  
Agricultural Regions

AbstractBees are important within terrestrial ecosystems, providing pollination, which facilitates plant reproduction. Agricultural regions are large landscapes containing varying proportions of cropland, natural, and semi-natural habitats. Most bees are not restricted to any of these and move freely throughout, exploiting food and nesting resources in favourable locations. Many factors affect bee diversity, and knowledge of these is crucial for promoting healthy bee communities. The main objectives of this study were to compare diversity and guild structure of bee communities across a range of land disturbance levels within the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada, in habitats ranging from managed apple orchards to old fields. The two habitat extremes differed significantly; intensely managed orchards had significantly lower species richness (∼50%) than observed/estimated in old fields, but orchards with intermediate levels of adjacent natural/semi-natural habitat showed affinities to either extreme depending on the metrics used for estimating species richness. Species assemblages in orchards had lower proportions of several guilds, particularly cavity-nesters, bumble bees, and cleptoparasites, than other habitats. These guilds accounted for over 30% of bees collected in old fields but only 3–10% in orchards, increasing with habitat complexity. The use of guilds for assessing the health of bee communities is discussed.

scholarly journals Diversity of cavity-nesting bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) within apple orchards and wild habitats in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada

2008 ◽  
Vol 140 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory S. Sheffield ◽  
Peter G. Kevan ◽  
Sue M. Westby ◽  
Robert F. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Apple Orchards ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Cavity Nesting ◽  
Trap Nests ◽  
Compositional Patterns ◽  
Annapolis Valley

AbstractSolitary cavity-nesting bees, especially trap-nesting Megachilidae, have great potential as commercial pollinators. A few species have been developed for crop pollination, but the diversity, abundance, and potential pollination contributions of native cavity-nesting bees within agricultural systems have seldom been assessed. Our objectives were to compare the diversity and fecundity of cavity-nesting bees in Nova Scotia in natural ecosystems with those in apple orchards under three levels of management, using trap nests, and to determine whether any native bees show promise for development as pollinators. Our results show that species richness and numbers of bees reared from trap nests in commercially managed orchards, abandoned orchards, and natural habitats were similar, and species’ compositional patterns were not unique to specific habitats. Trap nests can be used to increase and maintain cavity-nesting bee populations within Nova Scotia apple orchards. Osmia tersula Cockerell (Megachilidae), which accounted for almost 45% of all bees captured and was the most abundant species nesting in all habitats evaluated, should be assessed for potential as a commercial pollinator of spring-flowering crops. The influence of natural cavities on bee species richness in trap-nesting surveys is also discussed.

scholarly journals Family graveyards form underappreciated local plant diversity hotspots in China's agricultural landscapes

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Gong ◽  
Liangtao Li ◽  
Jan C. Axmarcher ◽  
Zhenrong Yu ◽  
Yunhui Liu
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Landscape Features ◽  
Habitat Islands ◽  
Local Plant ◽  
Ecological Functioning

AbstractIn the intensively farmed, homogenous agricultural landscape of the North China Plain, family graveyards form distinct cultural landscape features. In addition to their cultural value, these graveyards represent semi-natural habitat islands whose potential roles in biodiversity conservation and ecological functioning has remained poorly understood. In this study, we investigated plant species richness on 199 family graveyards of different ages and sizes. In accordance with biogeography theory, both overall and insect-pollinated plant species richness increased with area and age of graveyards. Even small graveyards show a strong potential for conserving local plant richness, and a mosaic of both large and small family graveyards could play an important role in the conservation of farmland biodiversity and related ecosystem functions. The launch of agri-environmental measures that conserve and create semi-natural habitats, in turn benefitting agricultural biodiversity and ecological functioning, has proven difficult in China due to the shortage of dispensable arable land. Given the great value of family graveyards as semi-natural habitats reflected in our study, we propose to focus preliminary efforts on conserving these landscape features as existing, widespread and culturally important semi-natural habitat islands. This would represent an effective, complementary policy to a subsequent re-establishment of other semi-natural habitats for the conservation of biodiversity and ecological functioning in agricultural landscapes.

scholarly journals Environmental filtering and spillover explain multi-species edge responses across agricultural boundaries in a biosphere reserve

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. van Schalkwyk ◽  
J. S. Pryke ◽  
M. J. Samways ◽  
R. Gaigher
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Environmental Filtering ◽  
Biosphere Reserve ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Habitat Specificity ◽  
Induced Changes

Abstract To ensure integrity of protected areas we need to understand how species respond to anthropogenic borders. We investigate, from a metacommunity perspective, the direct and indirect mechanisms by which transformed areas affect distribution patterns of ground-living arthropod assemblages inhabiting an extensive protected area adjacent to fruit orchards in an important biosphere reserve. Arthropods and environmental variables were sampled along transects perpendicular to natural-orchard edges. Influence of distance from orchard boundary, degree of impermeability of the boundary, orchard habitat quality (local scale land-use intensity), and edge-induced changes in local environmental variables on arthropod species richness and composition in non-crop habitats were assessed. Arthropod groups were assessed in terms of habitat fidelity: species associated with natural habitat (stenotopic species), those within crop habitat (cultural species), and those showing no preference for either habitat (ubiquitous species). Spillover resulted in higher cultural species richness near edges, but not higher overall species richness. Environmental filtering was important for stenotopic species composition, which was influenced by edge-induced changes in environmental variables. Ubiquitous species composition was determined by orchard impermeability. Increased orchard habitat quality was associated with higher cultural and ubiquitous species richness. The effects of orchards on assemblages in natural habitats can be variable, but predictable when using species habitat specificity in conjunction with a metacommunity framework. High intensity orchards may act as sink habitats, especially for species that readily disperse between crop and natural habitats. Here we recommend that local buffer strips are > 85 m wide, which will reduce the influence of cultural species spillover on sensitive natural ecosystems.

scholarly journals Diversified Floral Resource Plantings Support Bee Communities after Apple Bloom in Commercial Orchards

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Heller ◽  
Neelendra K. Joshi ◽  
Timothy Leslie ◽  
Edwin G. Rajotte ◽  
David J. Biddinger
Keyword(s):  
Flowering Plant ◽  
Apple Orchards ◽  
Beneficial Arthropods ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Additional Food ◽  
Pollinator Species ◽  
Tree Fruit ◽  
Nesting Resources ◽  
Floral Resource ◽  
Bee Communities

AbstractNatural habitats, comprised of various flowering plant species, provide food and nesting resources for pollinator species and other beneficial arthropods. Loss of such habitats in agricultural regions and in other human-modified landscapes could be a factor in recent bee declines. Artificially established floral plantings may offset these losses. A multi-year, season-long field study was conducted to examine how wildflower plantings near commercial apple orchards influenced bee communities. We examined bee abundance, species richness, diversity, and species assemblages in both the floral plantings and adjoining apple orchards. We also examined bee community subsets, such as known tree fruit pollinators, rare pollinator species, and bees collected during apple bloom. During this study, a total of 138 species of bees  were collected, which included 100 species in the floral plantings and 116 species in the apple orchards. Abundance of rare bee species was not significantly different between apple orchards and the floral plantings. During apple bloom, the known tree fruit pollinators were more frequently captured in the orchards than the floral plantings. However, after apple bloom, the abundance of known tree fruit pollinating bees increased significantly in the floral plantings, indicating potential for floral plantings to provide additional food and nesting resources when apple flowers are not available.

scholarly journals EFFECT OF NATURAL HABITAT ON DIVERSITY OF HEMIPTERAN PREDATOR IN OIL PALM PLANTATION

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Akhmad Rizali ◽  
Toto Himawan ◽  
Ima Fitriani ◽  
Bambang Tri Rahardjo ◽  
Sri Karindah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Natural Enemies ◽  
Oil Palm ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Research Result ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Observation Time ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Central Kalimantan ◽  
Oil Palm Plantation

Effect of Natural Habitat on Diversity of Hemipteran Predator in Oil Palm Plantation. Utillization of natural enemies in controlling oil palm pests still encounters obstacles, in particular, how natural enemies can survive and establish in oil palm plantations. The existence of natural habitats around oil palm plantations can allegedly support the occurence of natural enemies. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of the presence of natural habitats on diversity of hemipteran predators in oil palm plantations. Field research was conducted in oil palm plantations located in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan. The plots were oil palm plantations with different distances from natural habitat i.e. near (less than 200 m), medium (about 2 km) and far (about 5 km). Each plot was selected six trees for fogging using insecticide with active ingredient lamda cyhalothrin. Based on research result, diversity of hemipteran predator in oil palm plantion was found 19 species belong to 2 families. The most dominant hemipteran predator was Sycanus sp., Eocanthecona sp. and Reduviidae sp5. The distance of oil palm plantation from natural habitat did not affect species richness, abundance and composition as well as recolonization of hemipteran predator in oil palm plantation. Abundance of hemipteran predator tend to decrease in different observation time, except Sycanus sp. Sycanus sp was likely has ability to rapidly recolonized and their occurrence were influenced by flowering vegetation in oil palm plantation.

Comparisons of the composition of foliage-dwelling spider assemblages in apple orchards and adjacent deciduous forest

2008 ◽  
Vol 140 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.E. Sackett ◽  
C.M. Buddle ◽  
C. Vincent
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Apple Orchards ◽  
Physical Disturbance ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Spider Species ◽  
Annual Crops ◽  
Structural Disturbance ◽  
Forest Habitats

AbstractPrevious studies have shown that annual crops have different spider (Araneae) assemblages than adjacent relatively natural habitats, suggesting that spider recolonization of crops occurs via long-distance ballooning and that spider species in crops are mainly agrobionts. However, in perennial crops, e.g., apple (Malus domestica Borkhausen (Rosaceae)), which are subject to less physical disturbance than annual crops, overlap in spider species has been observed between tree foliage and adjacent habitats, suggesting that spiders colonize orchards from adjacent vegetation. The objective of this study was to compare the species composition of assemblages of foliage-dwelling spiders in apple orchards with that in adjacent deciduous forest and to determine whether spider assemblages in orchards are dominated by agrobiont species. Spiders were collected from four apple orchards and adjacent deciduous forest in southern Quebec from May until August 2004. The similarity of assemblages between the orchard and forest habitats was evaluated using nonmetric multidimensional scaling and multiresponse permutation procedures and spider species richness in the two habitat types was compared using rarefaction. Although spider species richness was higher in the forest than in the orchards, the composition of the spider assemblages in apple orchards was not significantly different from that in adjacent deciduous forest at three of the four sites. Therefore, adjacent deciduous forest, which is similar to orchards in vegetation structure and frequency of structural disturbance, is likely the main source of spiders found in apple orchards.

Control of the Apple Sucker, Psylla mali Schmidb., by the Fungus Entomophthora sphaerosperma (Fresenius)

1962 ◽  
Vol 94 (8) ◽  
pp. 818-825 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. P. Jaques ◽  
N. A. Patterson
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Apple Orchards ◽  
General Increase ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Annapolis Valley

The apple sucker, Psylla mali Schmidb., was first noticed in large numbers in Nova Scotia in 1919 and within a few years populations were dense in apple orchards throughout the Annapolis Valley (Dustan, 1924a). Dustan (1924b) and Gilliatt (1924) reported that a disease caused by Entomophthora sphaerosperma (Fresenius) was prevalent among adult apple suckers during this infestation. A decline in numbers followed this early infestation due, it was thought, to the fungus. However, about the time that this early infestation declined sulphur was introduced as a fungicide. General use of sulphur continued until about 1950 and the insect was not a serious pest during this period. This association of low density of the apple sucker with the use of sulphur and the general increase in numbers of the apple sucker after the organic fungicides, ferbam, captan, glyodin, etc. became common in Nova Scotia, led to the belief that sulphur rather than E. sphaerosperma had been largely responsible for the decline of the early infestation in the 1920's.

scholarly journals Bees support farming. Does farming support bees?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Preeti S. Virkar ◽  
Ekta Siddhu ◽  
V. P. Uniyal
Keyword(s):  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
Doon Valley ◽  
Bee Diversity ◽  
Specialist Species ◽  
Bee Communities ◽  
The Tropics

AbstractTropical regions are subjected to rapid land use changes altering species composition and diversity in communities. The non-Apis bees are vital invertebrates continued to be highly neglected in the tropics. We compared their diversity status, richness and composition across natural areas and agroecosystems in Doon valley, a subtropical-temperate landscape situated at the foothills of outer Himalayas in India. We investigated how two major habitats relate to non-Apis bee diversity, specifically seeking answers to (1) Whether natural habitat is a refuge to richer and rarer bee communities than agroecosystems? (2) Are natural habitats important for supporting wild bee populations in agroecosystems? (3) Do polyculture farms behave similar to natural habitats and therefore support richer bee communities than monoculture? Observation and pantrap sampling were used to collect data. We recorded 43 species belonging to bees of five families. The findings of our investigation demonstrate the importance of natural habitats as a potential refuge for non-Apis bees. The findings highlighted that Doon valley harboured twenty-five rare species of non-Apis bees, and natural habitats are a refuge to 11 rare specialist species (clamtest; Specialization threshold K = 2/3, Alpha level = 0.005). Natural habitat diversity in Doon valley supports bee communities in nearby agroecosystems (R2 = 0.782, SE = 0.148, P = 0.004). Polyculture practices in agroecosystems (<100m from forest H’ = 2.15; >100m from forest = 2.08) in the valley mimic natural habitats (H’ = 2.37) and support diverse non-Apis bee communities (2.08) in comparison to monocultures (<100m from forest H’ = 2.13; >100m from forest =1.56). Bees evolved with flowering plants over 120 million years and they suffice an ever-growing anthropogenic nutrition needs with their services through enhanced agricultural production in pursuit of forage. We finally recommend similar assessments of bee diversity and plants they support in different habitats and vice versa.

scholarly journals Pollinator enhancement in agriculture: comparing sown flower strips, hedges and sown hedge herb layers in apple orchards

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivien von Königslöw ◽  
Felix Fornoff ◽  
Alexandra-Maria Klein
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Apple Orchards ◽  
Wild Bees ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Flower Visitation ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Pollinator Community ◽  
Main Driver

AbstractIn intensive agricultural landscapes semi-natural habitats for pollinators are often limited, although willingness to establish pollinator habitat is increasing among farmers. A common pollinator enhancement measure is to provide flower strips, but existent or improved hedgerows might be more effective. In this study, we compare the effectiveness of three pollinator enhancement measures at edges of conventional apple orchards: (i) perennial flower strips, (ii) existent hedgerows, and (iii) existent hedgerows complemented with a sown herb layer. We used orchard edges without any enhancement as control. The study took place over three consecutive years in Southern Germany. Wild bee abundance and species richness were highest in flower strips followed by improved hedges. Hoverflies were also most abundant in flower strips, but not more species rich than at control sites. Wild bee but not hoverfly community composition differed between control and enhancement sites. The overall pollinator community included only few threatened or specialized species. Flower abundance was the main driver for wild bee diversity, whereas hoverflies were largely unaffected by floral resources. Pollinator enhancement had neither an effect on the abundance or species richness within the orchards nor on apple flower visitation. Perennial flower strips seem most effective to enhance wild bees in intensive agricultural landscapes. Additionally, flower-rich hedgerows should be promoted to complement flower strips by extending the flowering period and to increase connectivity of pollinator habitat in agricultural landscapes.

A COMPARISON OF EPIGAEIC COLEOPTERA ASSEMBLAGES IN ORGANIC, CONVENTIONAL, AND ABANDONED ORCHARDS IN NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA

1995 ◽  
Vol 127 (5) ◽  
pp. 641-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isobel A. Pearsall ◽  
Sandra J. Walde
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
Weed Control ◽  
Apple Orchards ◽  
Total Abundance ◽  
Generic Composition ◽  
Control Disease ◽  
Annapolis Valley ◽  
General Care ◽  
Organic Orchards

AbstractThe beetle fauna of conventional, organic, and abandoned apple orchards was monitored in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, between May and September 1991. Treatment in the three types of orchards differed with respect to weed control, disease control, fertilization, and general care. The most commonly captured beetles in all three types of orchards were carabids, in particular, Carabus nemoralis Müller, Carabus granulatus Linné, Harpalus rufipes (DeGeer), and Pterostichus coracinus (Newman). In general, abundance of predaceous beetles was highest in the conventional orchards and lowest in the abandoned orchards. Generic composition of predaceous beetles was similar among orchards, although the abandoned orchards were characterized by high proportions of the larger carabids, C. nemoralis and C. granulatus, whereas the organic and conventional orchards were dominated by the smaller carabids, H. rufipes and P. coracinus. Although there were no significant differences among orchard type in the total abundance of non-predaceous beetles, the abandoned orchards displayed the greatest diversity of non-predaceous beetles, with the lowest diversity found in the organic orchards.

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