Urban Pollinators

Urban Pollinators: ecology and conservation

For information on garden surveys please see our Urban Pollinators Project: Garden Survey 2012 page.

Background

Bumblebee on tricolorUrban environments are growing across the UK, and perhaps surprisingly, flower rich oases in otherwise uninviting city habitats can support large numbers of pollinators. For example, 35% of British hoverfly species were found in a single Leicester garden and honeybees produce more honey in urban Birmingham than in the surrounding countryside. Pollinators supply a crucial ecological service, and finding ways to improve their lot is a major challenge.

Aims

The project will answer three questions:

  1. Where exactly is the pollinator biodiversity in the UK – urban habitats, farmland or nature reserves?
  2. Where are the hot-spots of pollinator biodiversity in cities?
  3. What can we do to improve their diversity and abundance in cities?

To answer the first two questions we will look at whole communities of bees, flies, butterflies and beetles that visit flowers, constructing food webs that describe the patterns of flower-insect interactions.

To answer the third question we will add flower mixtures high in nectar and pollen to selected city habitats in Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds and Reading and test whether this increases pollinator species richness and abundance.

The research will provide the data that conservation practitioners working in urban habitats need to conserve pollinators. Seven practitioners are collaborators on the project and the research team will convey their results to the rest of the UK practitioner community via a fully funded practitioners’ conference at the end of the project.

Project Progress

In 2011 our four regional field teams sampled pollinators across 36 sites in the UK to enable us to answer Question 1. We sampled three sites (urban, farmland and nature reserve) in each of 12 towns and cities across the UK: Bristol, Cardiff, Swindon, Reading, London, Southampton, Leeds, Sheffield, Hull, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee.

We are very grateful to all garden owners, landowners and reserve managers who gave us access to their land for sampling. Currently the insects sampled during this phase of the project are being identified by taxonomists at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. Once all species have been identified we will fully analyse the data and provide details of our findings.

In 2012 project teams will be sampling a range of urban habitats in Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds and Reading to investigate which types of urban habitats are good for bees and other pollinating insects. Urban habitats to be sampled include gardens, parks, allotments, road verges and cemeteries & churchyards. We will be seeking permission to access all of these habitats in the four cities so please help if you can! If you are a garden owner who has received one of our leaflets through your letterbox, please visit our Garden Survey page.

In spring 2012 we are also sowing large flower meadows in Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds and Reading, in preparation for Phase 3 of the project. Flower meadows are being sown in public parks, schools and road verges in partnership with local councils. Two types of meadows are being sown. Meadows sown with a perennial flower mix will grow during 2012 and be in full bloom in 2013. Meadows sown with an annual flower mix will flower in 2012 and be resown to flower again in 2013. The meadows will be sampled in 2013 to investigate whether the addition of floral resources rich in pollen and nectar is beneficial for urban pollinator populations.

Project Team

Follow our progress on Twitter!

Bristol team: @BrisUrbPolls

Leeds team: @LdsUrbPolls

Reading team: @ReadingUrbPolls

Edinburgh team: @EdinUrbPolls

This study is funded by the BBSRC, NERC, The Wellcome Trust, Defra and the Scottish Government as part of the UK’s Insect Pollinators Initiative and is a collaborative study between the University of Bristol, University of Edinburgh, University of Leeds and University of Reading.

Honeybee on lavender