Bumble bee (Bombus spp.) responses to prairie restoration, management with fire, and the amount of semi-natural habitat in the surrounding broad-scale landscape

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Presenting Author(s)

Jade M. Kochanski (she/her/hers)

University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin

Co-Author(s)

Claudio Gratton

University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
SM

Stephanie L. McFarlane

University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
ED

Ellen I. Damschen

University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin

Bumble bees (Bombus spp.) are important pollinators and can be indicators of an ecosystem’s ability to support beneficial insects. Many bumble bee species have experienced worldwide population declines. Habitat loss at local and broad scales is thought to be a main cause and therefore conservation practices that restore habitat can be a means of mitigating these declines.
We evaluated bumble bee responses to prairie restoration and management on 33 Natural Resources Conservation Service Wetland Reserve Easements in Wisconsin. These easements had one of three upland restoration categories: (1) control grasslands (no seeding or burning); (2) prairie seeding only; (3) seeding with subsequent prescribed fire.
Bumble bee communities overall responded positively to restoration, despite the fact that these restorations were not specifically created for insect pollinator conservation. Bumble bee abundance, richness, and diversity more than doubled in restorations when compared to controls. Additionally, species community composition in restorations differed greatly from controls. However, there was no measurable difference between restorations that were only seeded when compared to restorations that were additionally managed with prescribed fire. This suggests that, from the perspective of bumble bee conservation, the restoration of the local-scale plant community is beneficial regardless of management with fire as it was quantified in this study.