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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Logan, Utah » Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #350929
Title: Wild bees of Grand Stairscase-Escalante National Monument: richness, abundance, and spatio-temporal beta-diversity

Author
item MESSINGER-CARRIL, OLIVIA - Utah State University
item Griswold, Terry
item HAEFNER, JAMES - Utah State University
item WILSON, JOSEPH - Utah State University

Submitted to: PeerJ
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/3/2018
Publication Date: 11/7/2018
Citation: Messinger-Carril, O., Griswold, T.L., Haefner, J., Wilson, J.S. 2018. Wild bees of Grand Stairscase-Escalante National Monument: richness, abundance, and spatio-temporal beta-diversity. PeerJ. 6:e5867. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5867.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5867

Interpretive Summary: Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah is home to a very diverse bee fauna. A total of 648 species of native bees have been found in the monument, almost one-fifth of all bee species known from the entire United States. Fifty-three genera and all bee families found in North America are present in the monument. The study conducted from 2000 to 2003 discovered new species as well as species thought to only be found in the hot deserts to the south. While some species were common and widespread, many bee species were localized and in low numbers. Bees visit a wide variety of plants in flower, but a few “magnet” plants attract a disproportionate number and diversity of bees. GSENM protects one of the richest bee faunas in the west. The exceptional diversity of bees is the result of differences in elevation, soil types, the many kinds of flowering plants, and the many habitats and landscape types.

Technical Abstract: A comprehensive study of the bees of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was conducted between 2000 and 2003; over that period 648 species of bees were discovered representing 53 genera, and all bee families found in North America. Our study included intensive surveys in forty-eight plots, sampled with nets bi-weekly for the duration of the flowering season, and revealed a robust population of native bees including ground-nesters, twig-nesters, cleptoparasites, narrow specialists, broad generalists, solitary, semi-social, and eusocial species. The fauna is at its richest in the spring (May), but experiences a second peak in diversity in late July, following monsoonal rains. A large portion of the flora of GSENM is visited by bees, though a few plants are magnets, attracting an inordinate number of species and individuals. The bee fauna includes several species that are both widespread and super-abundant, but the majority of the bees are highly localized and occur in low numbers where they are found. GSENM protects one of the richest bee faunas in the west; the large elevation gradient, incredible number of flowering plants, and the mosaic of habitat and landscape types all contribute to support and maintain this richness.