Roads may act as barriers to flying insects : Species composition of bees and wasps differs on two sides of a large highway
| Autor: | Victor Johansson, Anna Koffman, N. Erik Sjödin, Petter Andersson |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Ekologi Infrastructure Habitat fragmentation lcsh:QH1-199.5 Ecology 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology Aculeata Characteristics of common wasps and bees Biology lcsh:General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution wild bees 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences barrier effects lcsh:QH540-549.5 medicine Species richness lcsh:Ecology habitat fragmentation medicine.symptom Vegetation (pathology) Nature and Landscape Conservation |
| Zdroj: | Nature Conservation 18: 47-59 Nature Conservation, Vol 18, Iss, Pp 47-59 (2017) |
| Popis: | Roads may act as barriers to animal movements, but direct barrier effects on insects have rarely been studied. In this study we collected data on bees and wasps along two sides of a large road in Sweden using yellow pan traps. We then analyzed if the species composition differed between the two sides of the road; first for the whole community, and then only for the smallest species (which typically are poorer dispersers). As a complement, we analyzed if different vegetation variables differed between the two sides of the road, as this may also affect differences in species composition. Finally, we analyzed if species richness and abundance in general differed between the two sides and how these two response variables were explained by the vegetation variables. There was a significant difference in species composition between the eastern and the western side of the road when analyzing the whole community, and this relationship became even stronger when the largest species were excluded. The vegetation variables did not strongly differ between the two sides, and there was no difference in species richness and abundance of bees and wasps either. Abundance was, however, explained by the number of flowering plants in the surroundings of the trap. Even though using a rather limited data set, our results indicate that large roads may act as barriers on the movement of bees and wasps, especially for small species with poor dispersal ability. On the other hand, road verges may be important habitat for many species, which leads to a potential conflict that is important to consider in the planning of green infrastructure. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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