Phenology of reproduction in bumble bee colonies

近年来，许多植物和动物种群已经改变了生命周期事件的时间。早季事件，如果树的开花和蝴蝶的出现，比过去发生得早，而晚季事件，如鸟类的秋季迁徙和树叶颜色的变化，比过去发生得晚。这些物候变化（生命周期事件发生的时间）被认为是气候变化对动植物种群最显著的影响之一。这个研究项目将调查大黄蜂群落的物候随时间变化的方式。虽然我们倾向于把大黄蜂当作一个单一的物种，但实际上在美国有40多种大黄蜂，这些物种可能以不同的方式对气候变化做出反应。了解这些变化尤其重要，因为大黄蜂是野生和农作物最重要的传粉者之一。如果大黄蜂的生命周期发生变化，或者大黄蜂的种类减少，可能会对粮食安全产生负面影响，并导致野生植物群落的连锁下降。研究人员将为科学家和保护专家组织研讨会，并分享他们将开发的研究大黄蜂的方法。该项目将吸引公众参与传粉媒介园艺和传粉媒介保护的活动。这个项目将比较两种大黄蜂的物候。凤仙花蜂是一种常见的东部大黄蜂，它的生命周期很长，从早春一直持续到深秋。棕带大黄蜂的生命周期很短，在仲夏结束。在20世纪70年代和80年代，理论生态学家开发了一个模型来解释为什么大黄蜂在繁殖时转向繁殖。这项研究将通过监测这两个物种的物候学来测试这些模型，这些物候学与一年中的温度变化以及大黄蜂可以觅食的花朵的可用性和时间有关（这可能取决于温度和干旱）。研究人员还将利用公民科学家的数据来评估不同地理区域和不同生长季节长度的时间段内不同大黄蜂物种物候的纬度和时间变化。该项目将测试关于大黄蜂群体繁殖的经典理论的预测，包括一年中生命周期较长的物种对年份变化更敏感的预测。该项目将提供关于大黄蜂筑巢和冬眠栖息地需求的新知识，为保护工作做出重要贡献。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

In recent years, many plant and animal populations have changed the timing of life cycle events. Early season events, like flowering of fruit trees and emergence of butterflies, are occurring earlier than they did in the past, and late season events, like fall migration of birds and changing leaf colors, are happening later than they did in the past. These changes in phenology (the timing of life cycle events) are considered one of the most conspicuous effects of climate change on plant and animal populations. This research project will investigate the ways in which the phenology of bumble bee colonies is changing through time. Although we tend to treat bumble bees as a single species, there are actually more than 40 species of bumble bees in the United States, and these species might respond in different ways to climate change. Understanding these changes is especially important because bumble bees are one of the most important groups of pollinators of wild and crop plants. If bumble bee life cycles change, or if bumble bee species decline, there are likely to be negative consequences for food security, as well as cascading declines in wild plant communities. The researchers will organize workshops for scientists and conservation specialists and share the methods they will develop for studying bumble bees. The project will engage the general public with activities for pollinator gardening and pollinator conservation.This project will compare the phenology of two bumble bee species. Bombus impatiens, the common eastern bumble bee, has a long-life cycle that lasts from early spring to late fall. Bombus griseocollis, the brown-belted bumble bee, has a short life cycle ending in mid-summer. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, theoretical ecologists developed models about why bumble bees switch to reproduction when they do. This research will test these models by monitoring the phenology of both species in relation to among-year variation in temperature and the availability and timing of flowers that bumble bees can forage on (which is likely to depend on temperature and drought). The researchers will also use citizen scientist data to evaluate latitudinal and temporal changes in phenology of different bumble bee species in geographic regions and time periods with different growing season lengths. The project will test predictions of the classical theories of bumble bee colony reproduction, including the prediction that species with longer life cycles during the year are more sensitive to variation among years. This project will provide new knowledge about nesting and hibernation habitat needs of bumble bees as an important contribution to conservation efforts.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.