Native bee communities in wetlands are poorly described and the recognized loss of wetlands in the United States adds to the need to better understand these communities. In particular, wetlands in the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) have declined >50% during the past 70 years. Loss of wetlands and intensification of the region's agriculture are thought to be putting native bee communities at risk. We sampled palustrine emergent wetlands being restored through either active or passive management in the Arkansas portion of the LMAV to assess how those management practices related to bee species richness and diversity. During the 2015 and 2016 growing seasons, we captured 17,860 individual bees representing 5 families, 83 species, and 31 genera; 17 species of which were singletons. Thirteen species were unique to actively managed stands, and 15 species were unique to passively managed stands. Neither species richness nor diversity differed between actively and passively managed wetland sites. Although management type did not have a strong impact on bee communities, we maintain that these restored wetlands have created attractive patches of habitat for native bees.
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14 July 2020
Bee Communities of Emergent Wetlands under Restoration in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley of Arkansas
Phillip L. Stephenson,
Ashley P.G. Dowling,
David G. Krementz
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Southeastern Naturalist
Vol. 19 • No. 3
September 2020
Vol. 19 • No. 3
September 2020