Native bee diversity of Pierce Cedar Creek Institute in Southwest Michigan

Abstract

The role of native bees as pollinators is essential to ecosystem stability and economic prosperity. Without bees, two-thirds of all angiosperms and over one-third of the world food supply would disappear. Recently, scientists suspect plausible declines in native bee populations due to disappearing bumble bee and honey bee colonies; however, most native bee populations are unmanaged and therefore have not been monitored. The purpose of this study was to develop a baseline survey of native bee diversity at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute (PCCI) and to gain insight on effects of different habitat types, temporal changes, and human disturbance on native bee diversity