The local and landscape effects on bee communities in urban gardens Open Access

Abstract

Abstract
The local and landscape effects on bee communities in urban gardens
By Evan S. Crane

Despite their ecological and economic importance we have little knowledge of how bees in urban environments respond to anthropogenic influences. I examined how bee richness and abundance responded to local and landscape factors in 30 urban gardens in Atlanta, GA. I sampled each site 4-5 times over the course of a 3-month period, using a standard netting protocol. I found that bee abundance is related to the garden area, floral density, floral richness, and surrounding canopy cover. Bee species richness was marginally negatively related to canopy cover. It appears that urban gardens can be managed to benefit bee communities even if seemingly isolated within developed areas. Efforts should be made to increase floral density within urban gardens with an emphasis on native plants. On a landscape level, urban planners should strive for greater connectivity between urban green spaces and peripheral areas to lessen the dominance of just a few synathropic species. Given the continuing trend of urbanization, it is imperative more ecological studies focus on urban environments so that we can begin forming better conservation strategies for metropolitan areas.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
1. Introduction...2
2. Methods and Materials...4

Study Area
Site Selection
Bee Sampling
Specimen Processing and Identification
Measuring Garden Attributes
Data Analysis

3. Results...7

Overview
Community Composition
Bee Richness and Abundance

4. Discussion...8
5. References...12

List of Tables and Figures

Table 1: Summary data of bee sampling by site...18
Table 2: Species summary list...19
Table 3: Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient for explanatory variables...20
Table 4: Garden characteristics and bee relative abundance and species richness...21
Table 5: Garden characteristics and bee relative abundance and species richness...21
Table 6: Garden Characteristics and Xylocopa abundance and bee abudance excluding Xylocopa...21
Figure 1: Map of spatial orientation of sites...22
Figure 2: Relationships between bee abundance and garden characteristics...23
Figure 3: Bee richness and canopy cover...24

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Environmental Studies
Degree	BS
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Biology, Ecology Environmental Sciences
Keyword	urban ecology bees pollinators community gardens
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Brosi, Berry J, Emory University
Committee Members	Beck, Christopher, Emory University Yandle, Tracy, Emory University

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