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UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Bees in urban landscapes: An investigation of habitat utilization Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0gp9j2q7 Author Wojcik, Victoria A. Publication Date 2009 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Bees in urban landscapes: An investigation of habitat utilization By Victoria Agatha Wojcik A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science, Policy, & Management in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Joe R. McBride, Chair Professor Gregory S. Biging Professor Louise A. Mozingo Fall 2009 Bees in urban landscapes: An investigation of habitat utilization © 2009 by Victoria Agatha Wojcik ABSTRACT Bees in urban landscapes: An investigation of habitat utilization by Victoria Agatha Wojcik Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science, Policy, & Management University of California, Berkeley Professor Joe R. McBride, Chair Bees are one of the key groups of anthophilies that make use of the floral resources present within urban landscapes. The ecological patterns of bees in cities are under further investigation in this dissertation work in an effort to build knowledge capacity that can be applied to management and conservation. Seasonal occurrence patterns are common among bees and their floral resources in wildland habitats. To investigate the nature of these phenological interactions in cities, bee visitation to a constructed floral resource base in Berkeley, California was monitored in the first year of garden development. The constructed habitat was used by nearly one-third of the locally known bee species. Bees visiting this urban resource displayed distinct patterns of seasonality paralleling those of wildland bees, with some species exhibiting extended seasons. Differential bee visitation patterns are common between individual floral resources. The effective monitoring of bee populations requires an understanding of this variability. To investigate the patterns and trends in urban resource usage, the foraging of the community of bees visiting Tecoma stans resources in three tropical dry forest cities in Costa Rica was studied. Substantial variability was noted between individual T. stans resources in each of the three populations. The observed variability is driven by the quality of the food resource as measured by the number of individual flowers available. Additionally, the regional landscape plays a role in general species occurrence patterns at a resource. The urban landscape presents a heterogeneous mosaic patchwork of habitat resources. To investigate the influence of this local variability on resource usage, the foraging patterns of bees in tropical and temperate landscapes were examined. In the dry forest of Costa Rica, bee foraging on T. stans was studied in the cities of Bagaces, Cañas, and Liberia. In the coastal grassland region of California, bee foraging on California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) was studied in the cities of Berkeley, Emeryville, and Oakland. In both regions, resource abundance and spatial distribution were the main drivers of bee visitation in all taxon groups. Land use and uniquely urban landscape variables influenced the occurrence of certain bee taxa. 1 DEDICATION To Sean Fine, Maria and Christopher Wojcik, and all of the busy bees out there helping to keep everything as it should be. i TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION I TABLE OF CONTENTS II LIST OF FIGURES V LIST OF TABLES VIII LIST OF APPENDICES X ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS XIII GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 References.........................................................................................................................................................6 CHAPTER 1 – THE CURRENT STATUS OF URBAN BEE ECOLOGY: A LITERATURE REVIEW 9 Introduction....................................................................................................................................................10 Materials and Methods..................................................................................................................................12 Results .............................................................................................................................................................12 Discussion.......................................................................................................................................................14 References.......................................................................................................................................................19 Figures, Tables, and Appendices.................................................................................................................25 CHAPTER 2 – SEASONALITY IN BEES AND THEIR FLORAL RESOURCE PLANTS AT A CONSTRUCTED URBAN BEE GARDEN IN BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA. 36 Abstract...........................................................................................................................................................37 Introduction....................................................................................................................................................38 Materials and Methods..................................................................................................................................39 Results .............................................................................................................................................................41 Discussion.......................................................................................................................................................43 References.......................................................................................................................................................46 Figures, Tables, and Appendices.................................................................................................................49 CHAPTER 3 – PATTERNS AND DYNAMICS OF BEES VISITING TECOMA STANS RESOURCES IN TROPICAL URBAN LANDSCAPES: A MICRO SCALE ANALYSIS OF BEE RESOURCE USAGE IN CITIES. 56 Abstract...........................................................................................................................................................57 ii Introduction....................................................................................................................................................58 Material and Methods ...................................................................................................................................59 Results .............................................................................................................................................................62 Discussion.......................................................................................................................................................65 References.......................................................................................................................................................70 Figures, Tables, and Appendices.................................................................................................................74 CHAPTER 4 – A MESO-SCALE ANALYSIS OF BEE FORAGING IN URBAN LANDSCAPES: RESOURCE QUANTITY AND DISTRIBUTION AS THE MAJOR DRIVERS OF BEE VISITATION IN THREE TROPICAL DRY FOREST CITIES. 92 Abstract...........................................................................................................................................................93 Introduction....................................................................................................................................................94 Materials and Methods..................................................................................................................................95 Results .............................................................................................................................................................99 Discussion.....................................................................................................................................................102 References.....................................................................................................................................................107 Figures, Tables, and Appendices...............................................................................................................110 CHAPTER 5 – DRIVERS OF BEE VISITATION TO PATCHES OF URBAN AND WILDLAND CALIFORNIA POPPIES, ESCHSCHOLZIA CALIFORNICA: THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN RESOURCE CHARACTERISTICS AND LANDSCAPE CONTEXT. 130 Abstract.........................................................................................................................................................131 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................132 Materials and Methods................................................................................................................................133 Results ...........................................................................................................................................................137