Native bee abundance and floral resource availability in an Oregon wetlands system

Native wetland ecosystems provide critical food resources and nesting habitats for native bees, which supply valuable pollination services. The West Eugene Wetlands in western Oregon is a 3,000-acre restoration and conservation project with a mosaic of fragmented savanna and ephemeral wet prairies. These wetlands are host to a number of rare plant and insect populations. The objective of this 3-year study was to examine the relationship between the presence of native bees and the availability of floral resources. A survey of bee diversity was conducted using visual attractant traps and timed observations; floral resources were characterized and scored by percentage in bloom. Native bee diversity was found to be correlated with forage plant diversity, most notably with ubiquitous “weed” plant species. Data on phenological relationships between diversity of bees, rare plant species, and invasive plant species will be presented along with the implications of these findings for restoration land management.