Pollination is an essential ecosystem service that supports the production of crops across the globe, contributing to the global economy and our quality of life. In addition to supporting crops, pollination is a critical ecological process and essential to the fitness of many native flowering plants (Biesmeijer et al. 2006; Fontaine et al. 2006). Many groups of organisms provide pollination services, including both managed and wild bees. Both honeybees and many species of wild bees are in decline in different regions across the globe (Potts et al. 2010). With growing concern over honeybee losses, wild bees are increasingly viewed as a resilient alternative to reliance on managed bees (Winfree et al. 2007). However, there is little known about the status of wild bees and their contribution to pollination services for most areas of the world (Allen-Wardell et al. 1998). The lack of rigorous information on the distribution, abundance, and habitat requirements of wild bees is a major barrier to implementing effective policy mechanisms and optimizing the economics of crop production.
In the prairies, pollinators function in two important agro-systems: native rangeland and canola fields (Figures 2 and 3). Canola is a dominant flowering crop grown across Alberta’s grasslands and parklands, covering a large geographic area and contributing billions of dollars to the provincial economy each year. Canola fields provide a pulse of abundant forage for wild bees, and pollination maximizes yield, increasing seed production by 10-30% (Morandin and Winston 2005). Rangelands are used for cattle production in Alberta and provide two important resources for native bees: 1) Undisturbed nesting habitat, and 2) A more reliable and continuous food source throughout the growing season relative to mass-flowering crops like canola. Native rangelands provide a potential reference condition for the current status of wild bee communities in areas with relatively low human disturbance. In comparison, canola fields experience fairly high levels of human activity and rely on pollination services often provided by nearby undisturbed areas, including rangelands. Both canola fields and tracts of rangeland are widely dispersed and intermixed across the agriculturally productive zone of Alberta, which dominates certain regions of the province.
In the prairies, pollinators function in two important agro-systems: native rangeland and canola fields (Figures 2 and 3). Canola is a dominant flowering crop grown across Alberta’s grasslands and parklands, covering a large geographic area and contributing billions of dollars to the provincial economy each year. Canola fields provide a pulse of abundant forage for wild bees, and pollination maximizes yield, increasing seed production by 10-30% (Morandin and Winston 2005). Rangelands are used for cattle production in Alberta and provide two important resources for native bees: 1) Undisturbed nesting habitat, and 2) A more reliable and continuous food source throughout the growing season relative to mass-flowering crops like canola. Native rangelands provide a potential reference condition for the current status of wild bee communities in areas with relatively low human disturbance. In comparison, canola fields experience fairly high levels of human activity and rely on pollination services often provided by nearby undisturbed areas, including rangelands. Both canola fields and tracts of rangeland are widely dispersed and intermixed across the agriculturally productive zone of Alberta, which dominates certain regions of the province.
In Alberta, the largest ecologically mapped units are the natural regions and sub-regions (Table 1; Natural Regions Committee 2006). These units classify regions of Alberta based on climatic, physiographic, vegetation, soil, wildlife and land use attributes. Agricultural production of canola and/or cattle occurs across all areas of the Grassland and Parkland natural regions, and in select areas of the Boreal, Foothills, and Rocky Mountains. While the plant and vertebrate communities in these different regions are fairly well known, the variation in bee diversity and abundance between regions is poorly understood. Bees have been found to vary across latitudinal and climatic gradients (Abrahamczy et al. 2011). These variations in bee communities across agro-climatic zones are also influenced by biotic factors, primarily the availability and diversity of floral resources. The goal of this project is to understand differences in the diversity and abundance of wild bee communities in different natural regions and sub-regions of the agriculturally active portion of the province. In particular, this study will focus on common groups of bees and which regions of the province they tend to be found in. Specific questions include: 1) Are bee communities different between rangeland and canola sites? 2) Are bee communities different between different natural regions and sub-regions? and 3) Are particular genera of bees strongly associated with particular regions or habitats?