PNAS:生物燃料作物与商业养蜂
美国地质调查局北美大草原野生生物研究中心一项研究提出，北美大平原转向生物燃料作物种植可能让该地区的商业养蜂适应性减小。得到充分记录的蜜蜂托管和原产种群的衰退不断威胁着依赖于传粉昆虫的全球食品供应、生态系统和农业综合企业。在美国，商业蜂群的40%以上——大约100万个商业蜂群——位于北美大平原(NGP)，这在很大程度上是由于这种地形为蜜蜂在整个生长季节提供了丰富的采集食物。 Clint Otto及其同事审视了随着围绕着许多养蜂场的土地使用转变为种植生物燃料作物从而利用不断上升的大宗商品价格和不断增加的联邦补贴，目前的农业趋势是否可能影响北美大平原的商业养蜂。这组作者使用2006年到2014年的生物燃料作物生产数据以及一个计算机模型，揭示出了哪些特征对北达科他和南达科他的养蜂场地点选择的影响最大，这组作者发现，养蜂者珍视的草原正在减少。与此同时，诸如玉米和大豆等生物燃料作物正在增加，这是选择养蜂场地点的时候要积极避免的特征。这组作者说，此外，为原产蜂种群提供天然栖息地的草原的流失可能对传粉昆虫网络和自然保护举措产生长期后果。
原文链接：
Land-use change reduces hABItat suitability for supporting managed honey bee colonies in the Northern Great Plains
原文摘要：
human reliance on insect pollination services continues to increase even as pollinator populations exhibit global declines. increased commodity crop prices and federal subsidies for biofuel crops, such as corn and soybeans, have contributed to rapid land-use change in the US Northern Great Plains (NGP), changes that may jeopardize habitat for honey bees in a part of the country that supports >40% of the US colony stock. We investigated changes in biofuel crop production and grassland land covers surrounding ∼18,000 registered commercial apiaries in North and South Dakota from 2006 to 2014. We then developed habitat selection models to identify remotely sensed land-cover and land-use features that influence apiary site selection by Dakota beekeepers. Our study demonstrates a continual increase in biofuel crops, totaling 1.2 Mha, around registered apiary locations in North and South Dakota. Such crops were avoided by commercial beekeepers when selecting apiary sites in this region. Furthermore, our analysis reveals how grasslands that beekeepers target when selecting commercial apiary locations are becoming less common in eastern North and South Dakota, changes that may have lasting impact on pollinator conservation efforts. Our study highlights how land-use change in the NGP is altering the landscape in ways that are seemingly less conducive to beekeeping. Our models can be used to guide future conservation efforts highlighted in the US national pollinator health strategy by identifying areas that support high densities of commercial apiaries and that have exhibited significant land-use changes.
作者：Clint R.V. Otto
