Current Research

This research is currently in review for publication. Articles in the Journal of Insect Conservation, Biological Conservation, and Northeastern Naturalist should be available in the coming year.

The focus of my M.S. thesis research was the response of wild bee assemblages to management of restored wetlands. Very little is known about what kinds of bees live in wetlands, and the unique ecological interactions they have with wetland flowers. Many wetlands that were once drained and farmed have been restored, and are managed through a seasonal flooding and drying regime. This drawdown process, controlled by land managers, influences available habitat by deciding what plants grow in each wetland. Wetland plants all tolerate different water depths and inundation periods (how long it is wet), and so changing the depth, speed, and timing of these drawdowns results in completely different plant communities. Scientists know well how this management impacts wildlife like birds, which is usually the target group for wetland restoration. However, many mysteries remain about how pollinators use these habitats.

My study sought to answer two fundamental questions:

1) What do wetland bee assemblages look like?

2) How do different drawdowns create unique bee habitat?

To answer these questions, I surveyed pollinators (bees, syrphid flies, and wasps), floral resources, and environmental conditions over the course of two years in restored wetlands in Central New York - the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, Northern Montezuma Wildlife Management Area, and Seneca Meadows Wetlands Preserve. I characterized bee assemblages in terms of species richness, relative abundance, and composition, to compare pollinators between three types of drawdowns, and how they changed over the course of the season with shifting flower availability.

The two field seasons yielded over 10,000 pollinators, including 9,046 bees of 113 species. These ranged from widespread, common species, to scarce and declining ones. Of note were:

Bombus fervidus (golden northern bumblebee), which has suffered severe declines in the northeastern portion of its range
Hylaeus nelumbonis (Nelumbo masked bee, pictured), a poorly known wetland specialist
Dufourea novaeangliae (pickerelweed shortface), a scarce specialist on Pontederia cordata (pickerelweed)
Lasioglossum nelumbonis (waterlily sweat bee, pictured)
Two rare species of syrphid fly: Parhelophilus divisus (pictured) and P. integer

nate green lasioglossum nelumbonis 1.png

nate green parhelophilus divisus male 2.png

The results of this study will be influential in pollinator conservation and wetland management. Showing how bees use wetlands expands our understanding of what habitats they need, and how a diverse landscape is necessary to protect our pollinators. This will help us direct our conservation efforts most effectively. It will also allow land managers to make more informed and nuanced decisions when restoring and managing wetlands, to benefit a wider range of species. Lastly, the importance of wetlands to pollinators is significant justification for preservation of more wetlands in years to come, which will help all wildlife.