Bumblebee conservation in agricultural landscapes - the role of landscape structure and the Environmental Land Management Scheme

这个博士项目将研究景观结构、栖息地网络以及人工传粉者和野生传粉者之间的竞争对农业景观中野生大黄蜂保护的作用。这项研究将探讨一个广泛的研究问题：“景观结构对大黄蜂种群的影响是什么？”回答这个问题将告诉我们当前的环境土地管理计划和国际上关于传粉媒介保护的建议如何更有效地帮助维持和恢复大黄蜂种群。这项研究将在英国剑桥郡的自然保护区和农场一级的实验景观中进行，在那里将进行涉及实验室饲养的大黄蜂和蜜蜂的实地调查和实验。使用实验室饲养的野生捕获的黄尾大黄蜂（Bombus terrestris），将调查大黄蜂使用各种景观特征，如林地，裸露的土壤和树篱的群体适应性。大黄蜂的资源利用将通过跟踪它们在景观中的运动，通过花粉分析和一种新的eDNA分析方法来跟踪。此外，还将测量包括觅食成功和群体大小在内的群体适应度指标。数据将被整理以形成大黄蜂、饲料植物和景观特征相互作用的网络，从而得出栖息地恢复力和稳健性的结论。这些数据将揭示农业景观所需的栖息地恢复规模。为了补充这一点，将通过在不同放养密度的大黄蜂和蜂巢中重复的实地实验来检查与其他传粉媒介（如管理蜜蜂）的竞争。本研究的结果将填补野生传粉媒介景观利用以及野生传粉媒介与人工传粉媒介之间竞争的研究空白，并将用于为国家和区域尺度的循证土地管理政策提供政策相关建议。

This PhD project will examine the role of landscape structure, networks ofhabitats and the competition between managed and wild pollinators on wildbumblebee conservation in agricultural landscapes. This research willexamine the broad research question: "What is the effect of landscapestructure on bumblebee populations?" Answering this question will inform howcurrent Environmental Land Management Schemes and internationalrecommendations for pollinator conservation can be more effective in helpingmaintain and restore bumblebee populations. The research will be set in acollection of nature reserves and a farm level experimental landscape inCambridgeshire, the United Kingdom, where field surveys and experimentsinvolving lab-reared bumblebees and honeybees will take place. Using lab-reared Buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) from wild-caught queens,colony fitness will be investigated alongside bumblebee use of variedlandscape features such as, woodlands, bare soil, and hedgerows.Bumblebee resource use will be tracked by following their movement throughthe landscape, via pollen analysis, and a novel eDNA analysis method. Inaddition, indicators of colony fitness, including foraging success and colonysize, will be measured. Data will be collated to shape networks ofbumblebees, forage plants, and landscape feature interactions to drawconclusions on habitat resilience and robustness. This data will reveal thescale of habitat restoration that is needed in agricultural landscapes. Tocomplement this, competition with other pollinators, such as managedhoneybees, will be examined through replicated field experiments withbumblebees and honeybee hives in varying stocking densities. The outcomesof this research will fill a research gap on wild pollinator landscape use, andthe competition between wild and managed pollinators, and it will be utilisedto produce policy-relevant recommendations for evidence-based landmanagement policies at national and regional scales.