Assessing the relationship between floral blossom density, type and floral visitation activity of bees in southeast Portland involving community scientists
Pollinator populations have been declining over the past few decades; scientists are unsure of the cause of decline but have attributed it primarily to habitat fragmentation, pesticide use, and climate warming (Potts et al., 2010 - Trends in Ecology & Evolution 25: 345-353) which are all exacerbated in cities. The loss of global pollinators would be devastating to the economic market; 35% of global crop-based food production requires pollination services (Brown et al., 2009 - Apidologie 40: 410-416). Due to the threat of losing our pollinators, there are many conservation actions such as “pollinator friendly” areas being constructed in cities around the globe. Because of this there is a need for a greater understanding of the relationship between bees, and floral resources at a local landscape level. I assessed the relationship between blossom density, inflorescence type, cover, frequency, density and numbers of bees observed at three different “pollinator friendly” areas in southeast Portland. This project utilized community science members to gather observational monitoring data at Johnson Creek Commons Rain Garden, SE Yukon Bioswales and Beyer Court Rain Garden in Lents, Oregon. I hypothesize several significant findings from my research, such as the relationship between small scale vegetation metrics and floral visitor activity, and a relationship between diversity and richness of sites and morpho-species groupings. The results of this study will be utilized in developing a deeper understanding of the relationship between pollinators and floral resources at a local landscape level, and in addition will provide recommendations for floral resources used in “pollinator friendly” projects in conservation areas in southeast Portland
