Bee nesting resources: the missing element of sustainable crop pollination

背景与挑战：水果作物的产量、质量和商业价值至少在一定程度上依赖于授粉服务。包括WFL的一些项目在内的几个项目已经证明，果园里花朵丰富的带状植物可以增加传粉昆虫的食物。虽然还需要对这些系统进行微调，但基本原理和应用程序已经建立。然而，支持更多的传粉者并不总是转化为授粉服务和生产的实际提升。缺少了一个关键元素。水果作物的主要传粉者是蜜蜂（尤其是为苹果在地面筑巢的蜜蜂），因此，为了可持续地提供传粉者，除了饲料外，还需要提供居住的地方。机会：我们对为水果作物授粉的蜜蜂的筑巢要求有一些基本的了解，WFL和Reading正在进行一项试点研究，探索一种简单的管理干预措施，以增加野生蜜蜂筑巢的裸地面积。然而，有许多方法可以创建嵌套资源，需要对这些方法进行探索，以便将它们的有效性和可行性纳入现有的管理实践。我们有一个由网站和专家组成的网络来支持博士生确定最有效和可行的最佳实践。研究计划（<300字）：总体方法：我们将调查果园并记录栖息地条件，以确定地面筑巢蜜蜂最喜欢的区域。我们将与种植者一起测试各种不同的方法（如刮痕、浅沟、小堤），通过小规模的田间试验来重现这些条件，这些方法与正常的果园管理相兼容。成本效益分析将评估授粉服务的建立、维持和潜在提升的成本以及每种干预措施的商业分级。具体方法:1。巢群调查，测量巢群土壤、坡向、坡度、植被参数。这将与文献综述相结合，以确定最有利的（和范围）筑巢条件（第1年）。模拟蜜蜂种群。来自现有群落的数据（自建立以来的年龄和寄生虫负荷）将用于评估群落的健康状况如何随时间（第2-3年）而变化。当地殖民实验。将记录与已建立的群落相邻的新创建栖息地的定殖率（基于在1.中确定的特征）（第2-3年）。制定和测试干预措施。在没有目标蜂种筑巢聚集的地点，我们将制定干预措施以增加当地种群。干预措施的类型将基于产出1-3。我们将使用BACI设计，在有和没有干预的成对地点监测我们引入的筑巢基质的占用情况，以及我们的目标物种的当地丰度（pantraps和定时样带行走）。成本：收益分析将评估干预的成本（本奖学金）和授粉的收益（来自正在进行的BBSRC项目的数据）（第3-4年）。预期成果：(1)可持续提高授粉服务和生产的行之有效的工具。(2)强有力的证据支持一种廉价的创新，这种创新可以改造到任何商业果园。(3)种植者最佳实践指南。

Project motivation and aims (<300 words):Background and challenge: Fruit crops depend, at least in part, on pollination services for yield, quality and commercial value. Several projects, including some with WFL, have demonstrated that flower-rich strips in orchards can boost food for pollinators. There is still some work to fine tune these systems, but the basic principles and applications are established. However, supporting more pollinators doesn't always translate in to actual uplifts in pollination services and production. A key element is missing. The main pollinators of fruits crops are bees (especially ground-nesting bees for apples), therefore to sustainably supply pollinators requires the provision of a place to live in addition to forage.Opportunity: We have some basic knowledge on the nesting requirements of the bees that pollinate fruit crops, and WFL and Reading have a pilot study exploring a simple management intervention to increase the area of bare ground for wild bees to nest in. However, there are many ways to create nesting resources and these need to be explored for their effectiveness and feasibility to be incorporated into existing management practices. We have a network of sites and experts to support a PhD student to identify the most effective and feasible best practices.Programme of research(<300words):Overall approach: We will survey orchards and record habitat conditions to characterise the areas which ground nesting bees most favour. We will work with growers to test a variety of different approaches (e.g. scrapes, shallow ditches, small banks) to re-create these conditions using small scale field trials which are compatible with normal orchard management. A cost:benefit analysis will assess the cost of establishment, maintenance and potential uplift in pollination services and commercial grading of each intervention.Specific methods:1. Surveys of nesting aggregations to measure soil, aspect, slope, vegetation parameters from >30 aggregations. This will be combined with a literature review to identify the most favoured (and range of) conditions preferred for nesting (year 1).2. Modelling bee populations. Data from existing aggregations (age since establishment and parasite loads) will be used to assess how the health of aggregations changes over time (years 2-3).3. Local colonisation experiments. Colonisation rates of newly created habitats (based on characteristics identified in 1.) adjacent to established aggregations will be recorded (years 2-3).4. Developing and testing interventions. In sites without nesting aggregations of the target bee species, we will develop interventions to enhance local populations. The type of intervention will be based on outputs 1-3. We will use a BACI design with pairs of sites with and without the intervention(s) to monitor the occupancy of our introduced nesting substrates, and the local abundance of our target species (pantraps and timed transect walks). A cost:benefit analysis will assess the costs of the intervention (this studentship) and benefits to pollination (data from ongoing BBSRC project) (years 3-4).Expected Outcomes: (1) A proven tool to sustainably enhance pollination services and production. (2) Robust evidence to underpin a cheap to establish innovation which can be retrofitted to any commercial orchard. (3) A best practice guide for growers.