The effect of repeated, lethal sampling on wild bee abundance and diversity

摘要

1. Bee pollinators provide a critical ecosystem service to wild and agricultural plants but are reported to be declining world-wide due to anthropogenic change. Long-term data on bee abundance and diversity are scarce, and the need for additional quantitative sampling using repeatable methods has been emphasized. Recently, monitoring programmes have begun using a standardized method that employs a combination of pan traps and sweep netting, resulting in lethal sampling of bees. This standardized method can remove a large number of bees from sites during each sampling day, raising concern that the sampling itself could have a negative effect on bee populations.