Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Insect Genetics and Biochemistry Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #354545
Title: Bees in the City: Benefits of urban prairies for pollinators

Author
item PARK, MIA - North Dakota State University
item OLIVERAS, VINCENT - University Of Idaho
item Rinehart, Joe
item BOWSHER, JULIA - North Dakota State University
item GREENLEE, KENDRA - North Dakota State University

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/25/2018
Publication Date: 11/11/2018
Citation: Park, M.G., Oliveras, V.A., Rinehart, J.P., Bowsher, J.H., Greenlee, K.J. 2018. Bees in the City: Benefits of urban prairies for pollinators [abstract]. 2018 Entomology Society of America/Entomology Society of Canada Joint Annual Meeting. Nov 11-14, 2018. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Paper No. 0454.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Global pollinator declines raise both conservation and food security concerns. Inadequate forage, due to habitat loss, directly impacts pollinators and exacerbates a myriad of other stressors. Pollinator habitat enhancements are designed to provide a diverse and abundant forb community to sustain pollinators throughout their active season. While wild pollinator communities and managed honey bees respond positively to habitat enhancements in agricultural landscapes, few studies have examined whether such benefits are realized in urban settings and whether these benefits extend to other managed pollinators. This study aims to assess whether prairie restoration in urban parks increases 1) abundance and diversity of visiting and stem-nesting wild pollinators and 2) reproductive success of the alfalfa leaf-cutter bee (Megachile rotundata). In 2018, we surveyed a total of 8 sites (4 control and 4 enhanced) in Fargo, ND and Moorehead, MN for floral resources, as well as pollinator visitation and nesting. We monitored nesting success of 20 female M. rotundata established at each site. We predict increased availability and temporal stability of floral rewards will benefit pollinator communities visiting and nesting within restored sites, as well as increased nest performance and decreased parasitism rates of M. rotundata at enhanced sites compared to control sites.