Landscape effects on pollinator abundance differ among taxonomic groups

Abstract

AbstractUnderstanding how landscape composition affects pollinator abundance is crucial for conserving the sustainability of the symbiotic relationship between plants and pollinators. However, field evidence on the effect of landscape composition and spatial scales on the abundance of each pollinator group is biased toward bee pollinators, and non‐bee pollinators tend to be excluded. This study aims to evaluate the effect of landscape composition at various spatial scales on diverse taxonomic groups of pollinators, including non‐bee pollinators. We selected 22 grasslands with varying landscape compositions in Shiroi City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. We recorded the abundance of pollinators and floral resource availability at these sites. The effects of landscape composition within a 100–1000 m radius and the floral resource availability were analyzed using Bayesian generalized linear mixed models to determine whether these factors affected the abundance of each pollinator group. As a result, the difference in important factors among the pollinator groups was detected; Scoliidae, Lycaenidae, Stomorhina obsoleta, and Sphaerophoria were influenced by the landscape composition, whereas Bombus diversus and Hesperiidae were not. Scoliidae was affected by the proportion of agri‐field and forest areas within a 500–1000 m radius. St. obsoleta and Sphaerophoria showed different response patterns to the proportion of urban land within a 100 m radius. B. diversus and Hesperiidae were influenced by floral resource availability. Our study suggests that considering the spatial scales of landscape composition on the target species is essential to plan effective conservation measures.