Catalog of Bee Abundance and Diversity at the Kalamazoo College Lillian Anderson Arboretum
Abstract
Bees play a critical role in maintaining balance within many
natural and managed ecosystems. However, recent studies report
a decrease in bee species diversity. To help prevent the decrease
in bee populations, bees must be provided with safe nesting sites
and abundant food sources. Both nesting and food availability
can be increased by planting a mix of flowering native plant
species. A project to bring more native plant species to the
Lillian Anderson Arboretum is planned. To assess the effects of
this pollinator habitat enhancement project, this study used two
different collecting methods to gather a baseline data set on bee
abundance and biodiversity at the future enhancement site and a
control site. The data collected in this study will be used to
compare bee populations after a pollinator habitat enhancement
takes place. Furthermore, this project gives insight into the
effectiveness of different sampling methods.