Using total abundance as a proxy for wild bee species richness: A practical tool for non‐experts

作者：Lorenzo Marini, Elena Gazzea, Matthias Albrecht, Andràs Báldí, Péter Batáry, Ígnasi Bartomeus, Riccardo Bommarco, Hans Henrik Bruun, Andree Cappellari, Lorna J. Cole, Cristina Craioveanu, Guillaume Decocq, Imre Demeter, Martin Diekmann, Róbert Gallé, Michael P. D. Garratt, Costanza Geppert, Andrea Holzschuh, Reet Karise, Annette Kolb, Anina Knauer, Anikó Kovács‐Hostyánszki, Audrey Labonté, Klara Leander Oh, Egle Liiskmann, Toshko Ljubomirov, Ola Lundin, Corina Maurer, Francisco P. Molina, Nerea Montes‐Pérez, Sonja Mudri‐Stojnić, Erik Öckinger, Imre Sándor Piross, Simon G. Potts, Willem Proesmans, Snežana Radenković, Chloé A. Raderschall, Jeroen Scheper, Anja Schmidt, Oliver Schweiger, Deepa Senapathi, Josef Settele, Fabien Spicher, Douglas B. Sponsler, Ingolf Steffan‐Dewenter, Viktor Szigeti, Giovanni Tamburini, Natalia Timuş, Edina Török, Adam J. Vanbergen, Elena Velado‐Alonso, Kris Verheyen, Ante Vujić, Marie Winsa, Monika Wulf, Niklaus E. Zimmermann, David Kleijn · 发表于：Journal of Applied Ecology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1111/1365-2664.70167 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Plant and animal studies、Insect and Pesticide Research、Plant Parasitism and Resistance

Abstract As there is growing interest among non‐specialists in participating in pollinator conservation initiatives, developing proxies for wild bee species richness that could be potentially used by non‐experts can aid conservation, decision support systems for managers and policymakers, and create entry points for future taxonomists. We used data from 63 independent studies in which wild bees were sampled, covering all main European habitats and climates. We tested two proxies for wild bee species richness: abundance of all wild bees (excluding the honeybee) and abundance of bumblebees. These proxies require basic taxonomic training and have the potential for routine implementation by non‐experts. Within‐region, the abundance of wild bees was a strong predictor of wild bee species richness at the local scale, with an average correlation exceeding 0.80. Bumblebee abundance was a poorer proxy for total wild bee species richness (correlation coefficient of ~0.55) and was unsuitable for warm‐temperate and Mediterranean climates. Observed abundance‐richness correlations were consistent across climates, habitats and sampling methods, suggesting that, after a simple training, counting all bee individuals in transect walks provides a non‐lethal, robust estimate of wild bee species richness. We observed a weak negative relationship between sample coverage and the strength of the abundance‐richness correlation. Synthesis and applications. The use of a simple but effective proxy could...