The Importance Of Surface Mining As A Landscape Variable In Shaping Wild Bee Communities In Central Appalachian Forests

<p>Anthropogenic disturbance has led to widespread losses in biodiversity. Native bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) provide essential pollination services and have been declining in abundance dramatically in recent years. One potential cause of these declines is anthropogenic disturbance. Eleven sites were established in Southeastern Kentucky, U.S.A. where surface mining for coal is common. Data was analyzed using generalized linear mixed-effect models to detect the most important landscape scale variables, including mining, in shaping bee communities. Bee species richness was significantly lower on sites that contained surface mines, but abundance was similar between mined and unmined sites. The proportion of each nesting group from each site was not significantly influenced by landscape variables in most cases. Cavity nesting bees, however, were most strongly influenced by the presence of a mine as well as the percent herbaceous cover and percent forest cover. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biological Sciences

Grantor dc:publisher

Eastern Kentucky University

Year

2020

Author dc:creator

• Dunaway, Amanda Sheryl

• Apoidea
• Appalachia
• bees
• ecology
• land use
• Surface mining
• Biodiversity
• Entomology
• Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2020 Amanda Sheryl Dunaway

Repository record dc:identifier

https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/657

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:encompass.eku.edu:etd-1655