Wild bee larval food composition in five European cities.
Ecology 2022;
103:e3740. [PMID:
35488300 PMCID:
PMC9541566 DOI:
10.1002/ecy.3740]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Urbanization poses threats and opportunities for the biodiversity of wild bees. At the same time, cities can harbour diverse wild bee assemblages, partily due to the unique plant assemblages providing resources. While bee dietary preferences have been investigated in different studies, bee dietary studies have been done mostly in non urban ecosystems and data based on plant visitation observations or palynological techniques. This data set describes the larval food preferences four wild bee species (i.e. Chelostoma florisomne, Hylaeus communis, Osmica bicornis and Osmia cornuta) common in urban areas in five different European cities (i.e. Antwerp, Paris, Poznan, Tartu and Zurich). In addition, this data set also describes the larval food preferences from individuals of three wild bee genera (i.e. Chelostoma sp., Hylaeus sp, and Osmia sp.) that cloud not be identified to the species level. This data results from a European-level study aimed at understanding the effects of urbanization on biodiversity across different cities and cityscapes, and a Swiss project aimed at understanding the effects of urban ecosystems in wild bee feeding behaviour. Wild bees were sampled using standardized trap-nests in 80 sites (32 in Zurich and 12 in each of the remaining cities), selected following a double gradient of available habitat at local and landscape scales. Larval pollen was obtained from the bee nests and identified using DNA metabarcoding. The data provide the plant composition at species or genus level preferred by each bee. This unique data can be used for a wide array of research questions, including urban ecology (e.g. diversity of food sources along urban gradients), bee ecology (characterisation of bee feeding preferences) or comparative studies on urban evolution of behavioural traits between urban and non-urban sites. In addition, the data can be applied for informing urban planning and conservation strategies, particularly concerning the flower resources (e.g. importance of exotic species and thus management activities). This data set can be freely used for non-commercial purposes and this data paper should be cited if you use the data; we request collaboration with the data set contact person be considered if this data set represents an important part of the data analyzed in a study.
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