TY - JOUR

T1 - Synergistic effects of non-Apis bees and honey bees for pollination services

AU - Brittain, Claire

AU - Williams, Neal

AU - Kremen, Claire

AU - Klein, Alexandra-Maria

PY - 2013/3/7

Y1 - 2013/3/7

N2 - In diverse pollinator communities, interspecific interactions may modify the behaviour and increase the pollination effectiveness of individual species. Because agricultural production reliant on pollination is growing, improving pollination effectiveness could increase crop yield without any increase in agricultural intensity or area. In California almond, a crop highly dependent on honey bee pollination, we explored the foraging behaviour and pollination effectiveness of honey bees in orchards with simple (honey bee only) and diverse (non-Apis bees present) bee communities. In orchards with non-Apis bees, the foraging behaviour of honey bees changed and the pollination effectiveness of a single honey bee visit was greater than in orchards where non-Apis bees were absent. This change translated to a greater proportion of fruit set in these orchards. Our field experiments show that increased pollinator diversity can synergistically increase pollination service, through species interactions that alter the behaviour and resulting functional quality of a dominant pollinator species. These results of functional synergy between species were supported by an additional controlled cage experiment with Osmia lignaria and Apis mellifera. Our findings highlight a largely unexplored facilitative component of the benefit of biodiversity to ecosystem services, and represent a way to improve pollinator-dependent crop yields in a sustainable manner.

AB - In diverse pollinator communities, interspecific interactions may modify the behaviour and increase the pollination effectiveness of individual species. Because agricultural production reliant on pollination is growing, improving pollination effectiveness could increase crop yield without any increase in agricultural intensity or area. In California almond, a crop highly dependent on honey bee pollination, we explored the foraging behaviour and pollination effectiveness of honey bees in orchards with simple (honey bee only) and diverse (non-Apis bees present) bee communities. In orchards with non-Apis bees, the foraging behaviour of honey bees changed and the pollination effectiveness of a single honey bee visit was greater than in orchards where non-Apis bees were absent. This change translated to a greater proportion of fruit set in these orchards. Our field experiments show that increased pollinator diversity can synergistically increase pollination service, through species interactions that alter the behaviour and resulting functional quality of a dominant pollinator species. These results of functional synergy between species were supported by an additional controlled cage experiment with Osmia lignaria and Apis mellifera. Our findings highlight a largely unexplored facilitative component of the benefit of biodiversity to ecosystem services, and represent a way to improve pollinator-dependent crop yields in a sustainable manner.

KW - Biology

KW - Biodiversity

KW - Blue orchard bee

KW - Ecosystem service

KW - Interspecific interactions

KW - Osmina lignaria

KW - Wild bees

KW - Ecosystems Research

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84872232149&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2012.2767

DO - 10.1098/rspb.2012.2767

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 23303545

VL - 280

SP - 2012

EP - 2767

JO - Proceedings of the Royal Society B

JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society B

SN - 1471-2954

IS - 1754

M1 - 20122767

ER -