Article
Ecology
Jeremy A. A. Hemberger, Nick M. M. Rosenberger, Neal M. M. Williams
Summary: Heatwaves have a negative impact on bumblebee foraging behavior and plant rewards, which can have serious consequences for bumblebee colonies and pollination services.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Ida M. Conflitti, Mohammad Arshad Imrit, Bandele Morrison, Sapna Sharma, Sheila R. Colla, Amro Zayed
Summary: With the increase in urbanization, it is crucial to design cities in a way that supports and improves biodiversity and ecosystem services. Native bees, such as the Common Eastern Bumblebee, have experienced significant declines and there is a growing interest in protecting pollinators and their habitats in cities. However, there is limited research on specific features of urban environments that can enhance the survival of pollinators. This study carried out a detailed investigation in Toronto to understand the landscape parameters that provide high-quality habitat for bumblebees and suggests planning strategies to enhance habitat quality for bumblebees and other pollinators in cities.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Abigail Lowe, Laura Jones, Georgina Brennan, Simon Creer, Natasha de Vere
Summary: By using an innovative DNA metabarcoding approach, researchers investigated the foraging preferences of four groups of pollinators in a diverse horticultural and agricultural landscape. They found differences in plant utilization between different pollinators and observed that seasonal changes significantly influenced floral resource use by pollinators. The study also highlighted the varying value of native and non-native plants for pollinators.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Daniel Kenna, Samraat Pawar, Richard J. Gill
Summary: This study focused on the effects of environmental temperature on the flight performance of Bumblebees and found that temperature significantly impacted flight endurance and capabilities. Additionally, the study revealed that there were variations in flight capacity based on worker size, highlighting the importance of considering body mass distribution in understanding colony foraging success under variable thermal environments. The findings suggest that smaller-bodied insects may benefit disproportionately more from warming in terms of flight performance.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Megan O'Connell, Zachariah Jordan, Erin McGilvray, Hamutahl Cohen, Heidi Liere, Brenda B. Lin, Stacy M. Philpott, Shalene Jha
Summary: This study found that urban gardens with greater plant species richness and higher levels of urbanization impact bee pollen collection behavior, with bees preferring ornamental plants over crops. Landscapes supporting plant diversity have a positive effect on within-garden pollen collection in urban gardens.
Article
Ecology
Liam K. Kendall, John M. Mola, Zachary M. Portman, Daniel P. Cariveau, Henrik G. Smith, Ignasi Bartomeus
Summary: The size and sociality of species have an effect on their potential and realized foraging ranges. Larger body size corresponds to larger potential and realized ranges. Highly eusocial species have larger realized foraging ranges than primitively eusocial or solitary taxa.
Article
Ecology
Manu E. E. Saunders, Liam K. K. Kendall, Jose B. B. Lanuza, Mark A. A. Hall, Romina Rader, Jamie R. R. Stavert
Summary: Understanding how climate influences plant-pollinator interactions is crucial. This study found that climate strongly affects the roles of different pollinator taxa within networks, with non-bee taxa playing central roles across most climate zones.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rodney T. Richardson, Tyler D. Eaton, Chia-Hua Lin, Garrett Cherry, Reed M. Johnson, Douglas B. Sponsler
Summary: Metagenetic pollen analysis was used to study the foraging ecology of honeybee colonies in urban, suburban, mixed suburban-agricultural, and rural agricultural sites in central Ohio. Results showed that agricultural sites had lower taxonomic diversity and temporal turnover compared to urban and suburban sites, while urban sites exhibited higher forage diversity and compositional turnover, indicating fine-grain heterogeneity and high beta diversity in urban floral landscapes. This study demonstrates the potential of honeybees as environmental samplers for distinguishing floral community composition associated with different land uses and provides insight for future research on the relationship between urbanization and pollinator health.
Article
Ecology
Kara G. Leimberger, Adam S. Hadley, Sarah J. K. Frey, Matthew G. Betts
Summary: This study used a simulated extinction of a hummingbird-pollinated plant to investigate the effects of species loss on plant-pollinator interactions. The results showed that hummingbird behavior and plant-pollinator interactions were resistant to the loss of the plant species, but further research is needed to understand how hummingbirds persist after resource removal.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Vincent M. P. Bouchet, Laurent Seuront, Akira Tsujimoto, Julien Richirt, Fabrizio Frontalini, Masashi Tsuchiya, Misako Matsuba, Hidetaka Nomaki
Summary: Plastic has become a widespread and environmentally threatening source of pollution. It carries harmful chemicals and only a small fraction of studies have investigated its effects on benthic foraminifera. Therefore, it is important to consider the role of foraminifera in plastic pollution studies, as they can provide insights into the effects of microplastics and nanoplastics, and serve as indicators of pollution.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nicola Tommasi, Paolo Biella, Davide Maggioni, Luca Fallati, Giulia Agostinetto, Massimo Labra, Paolo Galli, Andrea Galimberti
Summary: This study found that moderate landscape fragmentation of green areas shapes many aspects of the pollination ecosystem service, where despite interactions being less complex and mediated by pollinator body size, pollinator insect biodiversity and potential plant reproduction are supported.
Article
Ecology
Alex Salas-Lopez, Cyrille Violle, Francois Munoz, Florian Menzel, Jerome Orivel
Summary: This study investigated the resource-based ant community structure in a tropical ecosystem. The findings suggest that competition for resources and habitat filtering have significant effects on the composition of local ant assemblages, with niche partitioning and niche filtering playing important roles.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
cagan H. Sekercioglu, Melissa J. Fullwood, Thure E. Cerling, Federico Oviedo Brenes, Gretchen C. Daily, Paul R. Ehrlich, Page Chamberlain, Seth D. Newsome
Summary: Understanding how human modification of habitats affects tropical bird feeding patterns is crucial for conserving bird biodiversity. Traditional methods of diet analysis are difficult for investigating tropical bird diets, but stable isotope analysis provides a cost-effective and efficient alternative. In our study in southern Costa Rica, we compared stable isotope values of four bird species in different habitats and found that habitat choice significantly influenced diet composition. Coffee plantations were found to be deficient in invertebrates preferred by forest generalist birds, indicating the importance of forest remnants for native birds in agricultural landscapes.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Tsunashi Kamo, Aoi Nikkeshi, Tomoya Tawaratsumida, Yoshihiro Tanaka, Shoko Nakamura, Shigeki Kishi
Summary: This study investigated the species composition and pollination efficiency of pollinators in delayed-start cultivation of kabocha squash in southwestern Japan. The results showed that bumblebees were more efficient pollinators at the individual level, but the numerous visits by honeybees compensated for their lower efficiency and resulted in fruit set. In addition, this study reported for the first time that a lepidopteran, the hummingbird hawkmoth, can also pollinate squash.
APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY AND ZOOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Elizabeth N. Hane, Karl F. Korfmacher
Summary: Pollination services in urban ecosystems are often overlooked but are gaining more attention as cities strive to become more sustainable. Educating the public about the habitat and foraging needs of urban pollinators is becoming increasingly important. In a college-level Urban Ecology class, a structured classroom activity is used to teach students about pollinator needs and the value of urban landscapes, while also highlighting the importance of evaluating sources of information.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kiah Tasman, Sergio Hidalgo, Bangfu Zhu, Sean A. Rands, James J. L. Hodge
Summary: Neonicotinoids, the most widely used insecticides globally, have detrimental effects on beneficial insects. Field-relevant concentrations of banned neonicotinoids disrupt memory, circadian rhythms, and sleep in Drosophila, potentially leading to far-reaching negative impacts on beneficial insects in the field.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kiah Tasman, Sean A. Rands, James J. L. Hodge
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Michael J. M. Harrap, Sean A. Rands
Summary: Background floral temperature is crucial for plant biology, and thermography is increasingly used to measure floral temperature. However, there is a lack of published estimates of floral emissivity. Researchers often rely on emissivity estimates from vegetative plant tissue, but it is unclear how appropriate and accurate these estimates are for floral tissue.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sean A. Rands
Summary: Blinking behavior is influenced by the ecological environment of a species, with arboreal species blinking the least and ground-living species blinking the most. The study also found that blink rate is best described by the locomotion mode of a species.
Correction
Ecology
Michael J. M. Harrap, Natalie Hempel de Ibarra, Heather M. Whitney, Sean A. Rands
Summary: A correction to the paper has been published.
ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS
(2021)
Review
Physiology
Kiah Tasman, Sean A. Rands, James J. L. Hodge
Summary: This review focuses on the potential of using fruit flies to model the sublethal effects of neonicotinoids on pollinators, highlighting the genetic tools available in Drosophila melanogaster for mechanistic characterization. Comparing the effects between fruit flies and pollinators, as well as utilizing genetic tools, can lead to rapid discovery and testing of more specific insecticides in the future.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Plant Sciences
Sean A. Rands
Article
Biology
Michael J. M. Harrap, Natalie Hempel de Ibarra, Henry D. Knowles, Heather M. Whitney, Sean A. Rands
Summary: Floral humidity can impact pollinator behavior by attracting generalist pollinators such as bumblebees and enabling them to differentiate between rewarding and non-rewarding flowers. This additional sensory cue from floral humidity may have a more significant effect on pollinator behavior than previously thought.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Hannah F. R. Hereward, Richard J. Facey, Alyssa J. Sargent, Sara Roda, Matthew L. Couldwell, Emma L. Renshaw, Katie H. Shaw, Jack J. Devlin, Sarah E. Long, Ben J. Porter, Jodie M. Henderson, Christa L. Emmett, Laura Astbury, Luke Maggs, Sean A. Rands, Robert J. Thomas
Summary: Custom-built Raspberry Pi cameras are popular in research for their flexibility and cost-effectiveness. A new camera system described in this study is fully portable, weatherproof, and paired with a passive infrared sensor. The system was successfully deployed in monitoring storm-petrel species, showing potential for a wide range of wildlife monitoring applications.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biology
E. Nicholls, S. A. Rands, C. Botias, N. Hempel de Ibarra
Summary: Bees have evolved immune responses and hygienic behaviors to prevent disease transmission in their nests. Recent research shows that flowers can also serve as transmission hubs for pathogens and parasites. Understanding the behavioral mechanisms and strategies of foraging bees can help reduce disease exposure and transmission risks at flowers.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Michael J. M. Harrap, Sean A. Rands
Summary: By using petrolatum gel as an antitranspirant on the flowers, the study confirms the significant contribution of transpiration to floral humidity generation, and the contribution may vary among different species.
Article
Entomology
Amy S. Harrison, Sean A. Rands
Summary: Flowers produce local humidity that can help insect pollinators locate suitable flowers, but the detectability of floral humidity may be affected by environmental humidity. This study found that bumblebees had difficulty detecting humid flowers in highly saturated environments, suggesting that floral humidity may be more useful for pollinators in arid environments.
ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Zeke W. Rowe, Joseph H. Robins, Sean A. Rands
Summary: Most animals need to be vigilant for predators, but group-living animals can benefit from shared vigilance efforts. This study suggests that measuring an animal's blinking rate can provide a meaningful measure of vigilance. The study on captive red deer shows that as group size increases, individuals increase their blink rate, confirming the prediction that vigilance decreases.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Kiah Tasman, Sean A. Rands, James J. L. Hodge
Summary: This study illustrates how individual locomotor activity monitoring and colony wide radio frequency identification tracking can be used to analyze the effects of agrochemicals like neonicotinoids on bumblebees. The design aspects highlighted in the study can be adapted for broader application with other invertebrates or agrochemicals. For more details, please refer to Tasman et al. (2020).
Article
Biology
Sean A. Rands, Michael J. M. Harrap
Summary: Floral structures may be warmer than their surroundings, with thermal patterning across their surfaces. Research suggests that there is some phylogenetic signal with certain plant families showing similarities in floral surface temperature differences, while others do not, indicating that floral temperature patterns may be influenced by pollinators and the environment.
BMC RESEARCH NOTES
(2021)
