Quantifying Nectar Resources in Bumble Bee Visited Plants

Abstract

Native bumble bees play key roles in their ecosystems as pollinators, but little is known about the quantity and quality of floral resources on which they depend in natural areas across a season. Additionally, how those resources might be affected by abiotic factors, many of which are being altered under climate change, is poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we quantified nectar resources for bumble bee visited plant species in subalpine meadows. Specifically, we (1) examined interspecific variation in nectar resources, (2) compared nectar resources across wet and dry meadow conditions, and (3) examined intraspecific variation in nectar resources between years. Nectar volume, sugar concentration, and sugar content (“nectar traits”) were variable across species, within species, and in response to both local and annual water availability. This research clarifies the relative contributions of plant species to the resource landscape available for bumble bees, and how this resource landscape may respond to variation in abiotic conditions.

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