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Niche overlap and diet breadth in bumblebees; are rare species more specialized in their choice of flowers?

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posted on 2023-06-08, 19:00 authored by Dave GoulsonDave Goulson, Ben Darvill
The ecology of all bumblebees (Bombus spp.) is similar, yet some species have declined greatly while others remain abundant. We examine whether abundance is related to diet breadth. The floral visits of bumblebees were examined on Salisbury Plain, UK. All of the species examined gathered pollen mostly from Fabaceae. All species gathered nectar from a broader range of flowers than they did pollen, and longer-tongued bees had a narrower diet breadth when collecting nectar. B. hortorum (the species with the longest tongue) specialized on Trifolium pratense. As predicted, abundant species had a broader diet than rare species. Species with similar-length tongues visiting similar flowers. However, interspecific competition did not appear to be important since species with similar tongue lengths and high niche overlap co-occurred at high abundance. We suggest that the rare species may be those with short colony cycles, in which dependence on high quality food to rear larvae quickly forces specialization.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Apidologie

ISSN

0044-8435

Publisher

EDP Sciences

Issue

1

Volume

35

Page range

55-63

Department affiliated with

  • Evolution, Behaviour and Environment Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2014-11-25

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2014-11-25

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2014-11-25

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