Advancing bee conservation in the US: gaps and opportunities in data collection and reporting
IntroductionBee conservation in the US is currently hindered by challenges associated with assessing the status and trends of a diverse group of >3000 species, many of which are rare, endemic to small areas, and/or exhibit high inter-annual variationin population size. Fundamental information...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.1346795/full |
| _version_ | 1797253806859223040 |
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| author | Josée S. Rousseau S. Hollis Woodard Sarina Jepsen Brianne Du Clos Alison Johnston Bryan N. Danforth Amanda D. Rodewald Amanda D. Rodewald |
| author_facet | Josée S. Rousseau S. Hollis Woodard Sarina Jepsen Brianne Du Clos Alison Johnston Bryan N. Danforth Amanda D. Rodewald Amanda D. Rodewald |
| author_sort | Josée S. Rousseau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionBee conservation in the US is currently hindered by challenges associated with assessing the status and trends of a diverse group of >3000 species, many of which are rare, endemic to small areas, and/or exhibit high inter-annual variationin population size. Fundamental information about the distribution of most species across space and time, thus, is lacking yet urgently needed to assess population status, guide conservation plans, and prioritize actions among species and geographies.MethodsUsing wild bee data from two public data repositories representing the contiguous US, we evaluated the availability and sufficiency of data for use in species assessments of wild bees. We also examined the number of bee species recorded in each US state and the proportion of species with recent records (2012–2021).ResultsAlthough efforts to monitor bees continue to grow, there remains a massive paucity of data. Exceedingly few records (0.04%)reported both sampling protocol and effort, greatly limiting the usefulness of the data. Few species or locations have adequate publicly available data to support analyses of population status or trends, and fewer than half of species have sufficient data to delineate geographic range. Despite an exponential increase in data submissions since the 2000s, only 47% of species were reported within the last decade, which may be driven by how data are collected, reported, and shared, or may reflect troubling patterns of local or large-scale declines and extirpations.DiscussionBased on our analysis, we provide recommendations to improve the quality and quantity of data that can be used to detect, understand, and respond to changes in wild bee populations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T21:39:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e0ac3ddaa9c04c19ad5f11f92d41ade6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T21:39:55Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-e0ac3ddaa9c04c19ad5f11f92d41ade62024-03-21T11:45:35ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2024-03-011210.3389/fevo.2024.13467951346795Advancing bee conservation in the US: gaps and opportunities in data collection and reportingJosée S. Rousseau0S. Hollis Woodard1Sarina Jepsen2Brianne Du Clos3Alison Johnston4Bryan N. Danforth5Amanda D. Rodewald6Amanda D. Rodewald7Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United StatesDepartment of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United StatesEndangered Species Program, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Portland, OR, United StatesDepartment of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United StatesCentre for Research into Ecological & Environmental Modelling, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, United KingdomDepartment of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United StatesCornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United StatesDepartment of Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United StatesIntroductionBee conservation in the US is currently hindered by challenges associated with assessing the status and trends of a diverse group of >3000 species, many of which are rare, endemic to small areas, and/or exhibit high inter-annual variationin population size. Fundamental information about the distribution of most species across space and time, thus, is lacking yet urgently needed to assess population status, guide conservation plans, and prioritize actions among species and geographies.MethodsUsing wild bee data from two public data repositories representing the contiguous US, we evaluated the availability and sufficiency of data for use in species assessments of wild bees. We also examined the number of bee species recorded in each US state and the proportion of species with recent records (2012–2021).ResultsAlthough efforts to monitor bees continue to grow, there remains a massive paucity of data. Exceedingly few records (0.04%)reported both sampling protocol and effort, greatly limiting the usefulness of the data. Few species or locations have adequate publicly available data to support analyses of population status or trends, and fewer than half of species have sufficient data to delineate geographic range. Despite an exponential increase in data submissions since the 2000s, only 47% of species were reported within the last decade, which may be driven by how data are collected, reported, and shared, or may reflect troubling patterns of local or large-scale declines and extirpations.DiscussionBased on our analysis, we provide recommendations to improve the quality and quantity of data that can be used to detect, understand, and respond to changes in wild bee populations.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.1346795/fullbee (Apoidea)conservationspecies assessmentsdata qualitydata quantitygeographic range |
| spellingShingle | Josée S. Rousseau S. Hollis Woodard Sarina Jepsen Brianne Du Clos Alison Johnston Bryan N. Danforth Amanda D. Rodewald Amanda D. Rodewald Advancing bee conservation in the US: gaps and opportunities in data collection and reporting Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution bee (Apoidea) conservation species assessments data quality data quantity geographic range |
| title | Advancing bee conservation in the US: gaps and opportunities in data collection and reporting |
| title_full | Advancing bee conservation in the US: gaps and opportunities in data collection and reporting |
| title_fullStr | Advancing bee conservation in the US: gaps and opportunities in data collection and reporting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Advancing bee conservation in the US: gaps and opportunities in data collection and reporting |
| title_short | Advancing bee conservation in the US: gaps and opportunities in data collection and reporting |
| title_sort | advancing bee conservation in the us gaps and opportunities in data collection and reporting |
| topic | bee (Apoidea) conservation species assessments data quality data quantity geographic range |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2024.1346795/full |
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