Crone Elizabeth E, Williams Neal M
Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
Entomology Department, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
Ecol Lett. 2016 Apr;19(4):460-8. doi: 10.1111/ele.12581. Epub 2016 Feb 23.
Bumble bee (Bombus) species are ecologically and economically important pollinators, and many species are in decline. In this article, we develop a mechanistic model to analyse growth trajectories of Bombus vosnesenskii colonies in relation to floral resources and land use. Queen production increased with floral resources and was higher in semi-natural areas than on conventional farms. However, the most important parameter for queen production was the colony growth rate per flower, as opposed to the average number of available flowers. This result indicates the importance of understanding mechanisms of colony growth, in order to predict queen production and enhance bumble bee population viability. Our work highlights the importance of interpreting bumble bee conservation efforts in the context of overall population dynamics and provides a framework for doing so.
熊蜂（Bombus）物种是具有重要生态和经济意义的传粉者，许多物种数量正在减少。在本文中，我们建立了一个机理模型，以分析沃氏熊蜂（Bombus vosnesenskii）蜂群的生长轨迹与花卉资源和土地利用的关系。蜂王产量随花卉资源增加，且在半自然区域高于传统农场。然而，对于蜂王产量而言，最重要的参数是每朵花的蜂群生长速率，而非可用花的平均数量。这一结果表明，理解蜂群生长机制对于预测蜂王产量和提高熊蜂种群生存能力至关重要。我们的工作强调了在总体种群动态背景下解读熊蜂保护工作的重要性，并提供了一个这样做的框架。
