Monitoring, Assessing and Evaluating the Pollinator
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MONITORING, ASSESSING AND EVALUATING THE POLLINATOR SPECIES (HYMENOPTERA: APOIDEA) FOUND ON A NATIVE BRUSH SITE, A REVEGETATED SITE AND AN URBAN GARDEN A Dissertation by CARRIE ANN CATE Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2007 Major Subject: Entomology MONITORING, ASSESSING AND EVALUATING THE POLLINATOR SPECIES (HYMENOPTERA: APOIDEA) FOUND ON A NATIVE BRUSH SITE, A REVEGETATED SITE AND AN URBAN GARDEN A Dissertation by CARRIE ANN CATE Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, S. Bradleigh Vinson Committee Members, Marvin Harris Stephan L. Hatch Steven G. Whisenant Head of Department, Kevin M. Heinz May 2007 Major Subject: Entomology iii ABSTRACT Monitoring, Assessing and Evaluating the Pollinator Species (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) Found on a Native Brush Site, a Revegetated Site and an Urban Garden. (May 2007) Carrie Ann Cate, B. S., West Texas State University; M. S., Midwestern State University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. S. Bradleigh Vinson This research presents the findings of a pollinator diversity study that took place at three study sites. Although variation in pollinator diversity occurred between the three sites, fewer pollinators than expected were recorded from the La Joya Tract (revegetated site). Numerous genera and species were recorded from the Havana Tract (native site) as well as the Valley Nature Center (urban garden). In contrast, the La Joya Tract had a comparatively depauperate pollinator fauna. The numbers of pollinator genera and species recorded from the three study sites were decreased in comparison to the total number of genera and species recorded from Hidalgo County. Hidalgo County has 35 known genera and 75 species of bees documented to date. About 40% of the genera and 23% of the species recorded from Hidalgo County were recorded from the Havana Tract in this study, while a mere 8.5% of the genera and 4% of the species were reported from the La Joya Tract and 34% of the genera and 16% of the species were reported from the Valley Nature Center. Although the vascular plant species identified from these study sites were iv diverse, the floral rewards they provided yielded an insight as to what was going on in terms of pollinator diversity. Plants may yield nectar or pollen floral rewards or both in some cases to pollinators. The current study provides evidence that revegetation of land with plants that primarily provide nectar rewards will result in fewer observed bee taxa than from land revegetated with plants that provide a mix of nectar and pollen floral rewards. v DEDICATION Johnathan Nathan Cate beloved child vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my committee for their understanding, encouragement, input and endurance throughout this project. I would like to thank Dr. Marvin Harris, Dr. Stephan Hatch and Dr. Steven Whisenant for all of their support and knowledge. Above all, I owe a great deal of thanks to my chairman, Dr. S. Bradleigh Vinson. He always believed in me and kept pushing me to see this project come to fruition. Many thanks for all his time and efforts spent on my behalf. This gave me the strength and perseverance to press forward. One professor who had a lot of influence over my career choice of Entomology was Dr. Horace Burke. He provided plenty of challenges while encouraging me throughout every aspect of taxonomy. My sincere thanks are extended to Dr. Burke. Thanks are given to my good friends, Allen and Susan Dean, who have helped me in so many ways throughout the years. They edited the manuscript, provided technical support, map scans and moral support throughout this entire endeavor. The Texas A&M University Entomology Collection, curated by Ed Riley, provided much needed background information on the genera and species of bees anticipated to be encountered at the onset of this work. Thanks to the Entomology Department for such excellent resources. Thanks are given to Dr. Frank Eishen with the USDA Honey Bee Lab facility in Weslaco for allowing access and usage of their high powered microscope to determine preliminary bee identifications. vii Dr. Jack Neff with the Central Texas Melittological Institute in Austin performed the final bee species identifications. He also provided the county records for bee species found in Hidalgo County. He gave of his time and expertise freely and I am indebted to him. POPAL, the pollen listserv, provided an excellent forum for much needed information as well as useful references and resources. Thanks to all who responded to my questions and requests. The director of the Valley Nature Center, Martin Hagne, gave me full access to the nature park (urban garden) during the period of study. Many thanks are given to him and the staff at the VNC. United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) cooperated completely with this project by allowing two of their tracts to be used in this study. Ken Merritt encouraged biological research to be performed on refuge lands. Dave Blankinship helped shape this research with his biological knowledge. Jeff Rupert toured me through a number of prospective sites and gave of his time. Chris Best provided much knowledge with regards to the revegetation efforts and data of the La Joya tract. Thanks to USFWS for being such a great partner in this endeavor. Dr. Norman Horner and Dr. Rodney Cate of Midwestern State University must be given credit for instilling in me the need to know more and to go the distance. Thanks to them for all they gave to me. Thanks to my good friend and colleague, Dr. Frank Benton, who encouraged me to finish this work. There were numerous stumbling blocks and Dr. Benton was always viii quick to provide moral support when I felt like giving up. He also gave suggestions and edited my earlier drafts. My family has always been a source of great strength and support. Many thanks are extended to them just for being there. Last but not least, I would not be finishing this project but for the grace of God and his strength. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT....................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................................................. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................ xi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................. xiii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 1 II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ................................................ 6 Pollinators and Pollination Ecology – Significance and Importance.................................................................................. 6 Bee Taxa: Overview (Condensed from Michener, 2000) .......... 10 Restoration Ecology and Land Mosaics..................................... 13 Biotic Communities of South Texas .......................................... 18 III MATERIALS AND METHODS.................................................... 20 Habitat Measurements................................................................ 35 Bee Sampling Protocol............................................................... 36 IV RESULTS ....................................................................................... 37 Observational Data..................................................................... 65 V DISCUSSION................................................................................. 66 VI CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS........................... 73 LITERATURE CITED ...................................................................................... 75 x TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Page APPENDIX A .................................................................................................... 79 APPENDIX B .................................................................................................... 82 VITA .................................................................................................................. 91 xi LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE Page 1 Overview Map of the South Texas Study Sites....................................... 21 2A Location Map of the Havana and La Joya Tracts.................................... 23 2B Location Map of the Valley Nature Center (VNC)................................. 25 3A Satellite Image of Havana Tract (between Arrows)................................ 27 3B Satellite Image of La Joya Tract (between Arrows)................................ 29 3C Satellite Image of Valley Nature Center (between Arrows) ................... 30 4A Representation of Typical Vegetation of the Havana Tract.................... 32 4B Representation of Typical Vegetation of the La Joya Tract.................... 33 4C Representation of Typical Vegetation of the Valley Nature Center ....... 34 5A Havana Site Observations 1999-2000..................................................... 54 5B Havana Site Observations 2000-2001..................................................... 55 5C Havana Site Observations 2001-2002....................................................