title: Bumble bee colony dynamics: quantifying the importance of land use and floral resources for colony growth and queen production.
abstract: Bumble bee (Bombus) species are ecologically and economically important pollinators, and many species are in decline. In this article, we develop a mechanistic model to analyse growth trajectories of Bombus vosnesenskii colonies in relation to floral resources and land use. Queen production increased with floral resources and was higher in semi-natural areas than on conventional farms. However, the most important parameter for queen production was the colony growth rate per flower, as opposed to the average number of available flowers. This result indicates the importance of understanding mechanisms of colony growth, in order to predict queen production and enhance bumble bee population viability. Our work highlights the importance of interpreting bumble bee conservation efforts in the context of overall population dynamics and provides a framework for doing so.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Crone
authors.affiliation: Entomology Department, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Neal M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000502:physiology*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D035264:Flowers; D008954:Models, Biological; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011158:Population Growth
keywords: Bombus vosnesenskii; colony growth; floral resources; life history; population viability; reproduction; social insects