Combined impacts of pesticide and resource stressors on wild bees: Multi-scale challenges and mitigation

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

2:30 PM – 2:50 PM PT

Location: Vancouver Convention Centre, Meeting Room 203

Presenting Author(s)

Neal M. Williams

Professor
University of California
Davis, California

Co-author(s)

Clara Stuligross

Postdoctoral Scholar
University of California
Davis, California

Co-Author(s)

MR

Maj Rundlöf

Researcher
Lund University
Lund, Skane Lan, Sweden
Eric V. Lonsdorf

Lead Scientist
University of Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Co-author(s)

RM

Rosemary Malfi

Northeast Organic Farming Association
Florence, Massachusetts

Co-Author(s)

Charlie C. Nicholson

Postdoctoral scholar
Lund University
Lund, Skane Lan, Sweden

Wild and managed bee populations face a range of anthropogenic stressors that affect their populations and compromise their pollination ability. Agricultural landscapes often expose bees to multiple stressors simultaneously. The causes and potential solutions to these stressors operate across different scales. The scales of greatest impact vary among bee species based on differences in their life history. We integrate data from coordinated studies designed to quantify the impact of resource and pesticide stressors on the mason bee Osmia lignaria and the western bumble bee Bombus vosnesenskii. We also consider how flower-rich habitats designed to provide “clean” forage may mitigate resource and pesticide stressors. Resource limitation and pesticide exposure strongly impacted offspring production. Habitat plantings benefited bees, but the effects differed based on bee traits. Finally, whole-landscape models of forage and pesticides reveal locations that present the greatest risk and also opportunities for coordinated action to benefit bee populations and communities.