The impact of prescribed burning on native bee communities in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) savannas in the North Carolina Sandhills

The interest in the status of North American bees (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) and how they are impacted by land-use has grown over the past quarter-century. Historically, very few North American bee populations have been monitored; only a limited number of quantitative studies on native populations have been completed, leaving ecologists with insufficient baseline data with which to compare current population trends. In an effort to better inform land management decisions and conservation efforts we must investigate how changes across ecological gradients caused by human mediated disturbance influence community composition. In this study we seek to identify how native bee communities in the longleaf pine savannas in the Sandhills ecoregion are impacted by the presence of prescribed burning and if there is any significant effect of time within the 3 year burn rotation.