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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Roderick Hale, Dr Roy SandersonORCiD
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Bumblebees are major pollinators of crops and wildflowers in northern temperate regions. Knowledge of their ecology is vital for the design of effective management and conservation strategies but key aspects remain poorly understood. Here we employed microsatellite markers to estimate and compare foraging range and nest density among four UK species: Bombus terrestris, Bombus pascuorum, Bombus lapidarius, and Bombus pratorum. Workers were sampled along a 1.5-km linear transect across arable farmland. Eight or nine polymorphic microsatellite markers were then used to identify putative sisters. In accordance with previous studies, minimum estimated maximum foraging range was greatest for B. terrestris (758 m) and least for B. pascuorum (449 m). The estimate for B. lapidanus was similar to B. pascuorum (450 m), while that of B. pratorum was intermediate (674 m). Since the area of forage available to bees increases as the square of foraging range, these differences correspond to a threefold variation in the area used by bumblebee nests of different species. Possible explanations for these differences are discussed. Estimates for nest density at the times of sampling were 29, 68, 117, and 26/km2 for B. terrestris, B. pascuorum, B. lapidarius and B. pratorum, respectively. These data suggest that even among the most common British bumblebee species, significant differences in fundamental aspects of their ecology exist, a finding that should be reflected in management and conservation strategies. © 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Author(s): Knight ME, Martin AP, Bishop S, Osborne JL, Hale RJ, Sanderson RA, Goulson D
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Molecular Ecology
Year: 2005
Volume: 14
Issue: 6
Pages: 1811-1820
Print publication date: 01/05/2005
ISSN (print): 0962-1083
ISSN (electronic): 1365-294X
Publisher: Wiley
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02540.x
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02540.x
PubMed id: 15836652
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