Native bee species diversity and abundance: West Eugene Wetlands Jennifer Bergh Mentor: Dr. Sujaya Rao Crop & Soil Science Department HHMI Research Program Summer 2008 Agapostemon sp.

West Eugene Wetlands Wetland prairie restoration site Variety of habitat types:  Wet prairie  Upland prairie  Oak savanna Past and ongoing research:  Site preparation  Plant successional dynamics  Management of native & invasive plant communities

Insect Fauna of the WEW Butterflies  49 species Dragonflies & Damselflies  44 species Native bees  Incomplete fauna American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana)

Flora of the WEW 350 species of plants Rare plants  Lomatium bradshawii  Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii  Erigeron decumbens  Aster curtus  Horkelia congesta

NW American Native Bees Natural history  10% social and semi-social  10% parasitic  80% solitary Nest provisioning Contact between mother and offspring Emergence  Continuum: semi-social intermediaries (Stephen 1969)

Why study native bees? Ecosystem parameters Identification of rare plant-pollinator interactions Restoration planning Community education

Darwin’s Cats, Bees & Clover The identification of complex relationships clover → bumblebees → mice → cats The misnomer of doing “just one thing” (Darwin 1866)

Objectives Catalog native bee populations at WEW Determine if two threatened Bombus species are present  Bombus occidentalis  Bombus franklini Identify associations between specific pollinators and native plant hosts

Hypotheses Hypothesis #1  The West Eugene Wetlands flora and bee fauna are representative of Willamette Valley flora and bee fauna. Hypothesis #2  The West Eugene Wetlands flora and bee fauna are more diverse than those of the majority of the Willamette Valley.

Research Products Preliminary bee fauna Preliminary phenology data Reference collections for WEW and OSU

Methods Trapping Sweep netting Two minute counts Observation Blue fluorescent trap

Bees of the West Eugene Wetlands Preliminary counts  Total bees collected, all methods: 562 June – September 2008  Seasonal weather Spring-Summer collection patterns  Seasonal population dynamics  Collection locations

Bees of the West Eugene Wetlands Apidae  Bombus spp.: 81 Bumblebees  Apis mellifera: 4 Honeybees  Anthophorine bees: 1 Anthophora ssp.  Eucerine bees: 2 Long-horned bees Melissodes spp., Synhalonia ssp., Xenoglossa ssp.  Xylocopinae bees: 10 Carpenter bees

Bees of the West Eugene Wetlands Halictidae  Sweat bees: 165 Agapostemon spp. Halictus ssp. Lasioglossum ssp. Dialictus ssp. Megachilidae  Leaf cutter and mason bees: 20  Osmia ssp., Megachile ssp., Coelioxys ssp.

Bees of the West Eugene Wetlands Identification process Steps for the future Class: Insecta on the West Eugene Wetlands

Summary-to-Date Data analysis pending positive identifications Rare plant-pollinator relationships Non-native invasives Margins Reference collection

Continuing Work Ongoing collection to build bee fauna Define rare plant- pollinator relationships Monitor native bee populations

Acknowledgements Dr. Sujaya Rao, OSU Dr. Bill Stephen, OSU Dr. Kevin Ahern, OSU Howard Hughes Medical Institute Sally Villegas, BLM The Nature Conservancy