Keywords
pollinator; pollinators; urban; environment; ucf; university of central florida
Abstract
Urbanization has a dramatic influence on biodiversity due to a replacement of native habitats by the built environment, landscaped areas, and gardens. Pollinators, such as bees and other insects, are receiving attention due to concern over their decline, and it is important to understand how urban environments influence their distribution and activity. In this study, I am investigating the influence of different urban landscapes on the distribution and diversity of bees and other pollinators on the UCF campus. The general survey includes a characterization of landscape beds and their ability to support pollinator activity. The experimental approach includes a survey of bee diversity in three different campus habitat types (formal landscape beds, specialty gardens, and wild edges), and a phytometer to measure standardized flower visitation rates in the different habitats. The habitat study includes sampling five plots in each of the three different habitat types for a total of 15 sampling plots. Plots in landscape beds and wild edges were randomly selected from the available habitats on campus. Specialty gardens were more limited in distribution, and were divided into five different sampling plots. Flower visitation rates in each sampling plot will be evaluated visually, and bee diversity will be measured by collecting bees from the plots and identifying them in the laboratory. Results from my study will help determine whether campus landscapes support local pollinator diversity, and may suggest ways to make our campus more pollinator-friendly by modifying the design and management of campus landscapes.
Date Created
April 2017
STARS Citation
Raymond, Yvelande, "Urbanization is a buzz kill" (2017). EGS Content. 420.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/egs_content/420
https://works.bepress.com/yvelande-raymond2/1/download/