Tag Archives: field size

357-360 R. Muljar, E. Viik, R. Marja, E. Svilponis, K. Jõgar, R. Karise, M. Mänd
The effect of field size on the number of bumble bees
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The effect of field size on the number of bumble bees

R. Muljar¹, E. Viik¹², R. Marja³, E. Svilponis¹, K. Jõgar¹, R. Karise¹, M. Mänd¹

¹Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 1a, 51014 Tartu, Estonia; e-mail: riin.muljar@emu.ee
²Agricultural Research Centre, Riia 24D, 51010 Tartu, Estonia.
³Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, 51014 Tartu, Estonia.

Abstract:

Bumble  bees  are  important  pollinators  in  agricultural  and  natural  ecosystems.  In recent decades their numbers  have been declining due to the intensification of agriculture and establishment of large homogenous fields. Our goal was to study the effect of the field size on the  abundance  of  bumble  bees  in  Estonia.  The  data  was  collected  from  66  farms  located  in different  regions  of  the  country.  Bumble  bees  were  counted  along  the  field  transect  of  each farm.  The  relationship  between  field  size  and  number  of  bumble  bees  present  was  calculated. We found a negative correlation between the  field  size and the abundance of bumble bees: as the field area increased the number of bees decreased.

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