PARENT SESSION
Thursday, August 10, 5:00-6:30 pm
Poster Session 22 - Invertebrate and pollination ecology
Exhibit Hall, Ballroom Level, Cook Convention Center

The value of roadside restorations in the conservation of native bees.

Hopwood, Jennifer^*,1, ¹ University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

ABSTRACT- Animal pollination is crucial to the life history of flowering plants and to the maintenance of natural ecosystems around the world, but a global decline in pollinators is becoming apparent. Habitat fragmentation and loss have been labeled as serious threats to pollinators such as native bees. In Kansas, only a small percentage of native prairie remains, and what is present is highly fragmented. Thousands of miles of roads crisscross Kansas, and recently several counties have initiated efforts to reseed certain sections of roadsides with native grasses and forbs, for the purpose of weed and erosion control. Roadsides with native prairie vegetation may also benefit wildlife by adding habitat and providing habitat connectivity. These roadsides may provide more valuable foraging and nesting habitats for native bees than traditionally managed (annual mowing, pesticide application) weedy roadsides, and therefore may support a greater abundance and richness of bees. This study assessed the potential of roadsides restored to native vegetation to sustain native bees by examining bee abundance and richness along seven northeastern Kansas roadside sites that have been restored to native vegetation and seven roadsides predominated by non-native vegetation. In addition, site characteristics, floral richness, and floral abundance were measured at each site in an effort to determine the factors that most influence bee diversity. Preliminary results suggest that roadside restorations significantly increased bee abundance, but that bee abundance was also strongly influenced by geographical location. It also appears that bee richness was increased by roadside restoration.

Key words: bees, grasslands, restoration