Bumblebee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Visitation Frequency Drives Seed Yields and Interacts with Site-Level Species Richness to Drive Pollination Services in Sunflower.

Understanding whether pollinator behaviors and species richness drive crop yields is a key area of investigation in pollination ecology. Using sunflower as a study species we describe variation in mean floral visitation times among bee taxa and test how interactions between bee richness and the proportion of bumblebees in localized communities impact seed yield. Seven bee genera commonly visited sunflower including Agapostemon, Bombus, Halictus, Lasioglossum, Megachile, Melissodes, and Svastra.

Livestock grazing is associated with seasonal reduction in pollinator biodiversity and functional dispersion but cheatgrass invasion is not: Variation in bee assemblages in a multi-use shortgrass prairie.

Livestock grazing and non-native plant species affect rangeland habitats globally. These factors may have important effects on ecosystem services including pollination, yet, interactions between pollinators, grazing, and invasive plants are poorly understood. To address this, we tested the hypothesis that cattle grazing and site colonization by cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) impact bee foraging and nesting habitats, and the biodiversity of wild bee communities, in a shortgrass prairie system.

Macrofungal diversity in community-managed sal () forests in central Nepal.

Macrofungi constitute a group of the high-value forest resources worldwide. In this paper, we report species richness and composition of the macrofungi in sal () forests of mid-hill central Nepal, which were managed for 4-29 years by the local communities. The sal forests were rich in macrofungi (115 species) with Polyporaceae being the largest family followed by Clavariaceae.