Many bumble bee species (Bombus spp.), are declining, yet drivers of their abundance remain partially understood. In the southeastern United States, historically open habitats have shifted towards closed-canopy conditions via fire suppression, deforestation and afforestation, altering ecosystems that once supported diverse pollinator communities. Because of these changes, the American bumble bee (Bombus pensylvanicus) is now of conservation concern. Habitat loss has also affected culturally and economically significant upland game birds. To asses whether restoration for upland game birds also benefit B. pensylvanicus, I modeled catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) predictors across 31 transects on seven East Texas properties spanning forests to grasslands. I modeled CPUE variables from local vegetation structure, landscape composition and configuration, and management history. Habitat openness consistently emerged as the strongest predictor: canopy cover reduced CPUE, while pasture/grassland cover and restoration increased it, indicating that management emphasizing open structure can jointly support upland game birds and imperiled bumble bees.
","abstract_html":"<p>Many bumble bee species (<em>Bombus</em> spp.), are declining, yet drivers of their abundance remain partially understood. In the southeastern United States, historically open habitats have shifted towards closed-canopy conditions via fire suppression, deforestation and afforestation, altering ecosystems that once supported diverse pollinator communities. Because of these changes, the American bumble bee (<em>Bombus pensylvanicus</em>) is now of conservation concern. Habitat loss has also affected culturally and economically significant upland game birds. To asses whether restoration for upland game birds also benefit <em>B. pensylvanicus</em>, I modeled catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) predictors across 31 transects on seven East Texas properties spanning forests to grasslands. I modeled CPUE variables from local vegetation structure, landscape composition and configuration, and management history. Habitat openness consistently emerged as the strongest predictor: canopy cover reduced CPUE, while pasture/grassland cover and restoration increased it, indicating that management emphasizing open structure can jointly support upland game birds and imperiled bumble bees.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Birrer, Kimberly F","Antoniazzi, Reuber","Bennett, Daniel","Andrade-Ponce, Gabriel","Glasscock, Jessica","Schalk, Christopher"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science - Forestry","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Forestry","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Reuber Antoniazzi","Daniel Bennett"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-12-11T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-12-11T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:49Z","subjects":["Bombus","habitat management","restoration","native bees","bumble bees","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/623","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Reuber Antoniazzi","Daniel Bennett"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Birrer, Kimberly F","Antoniazzi, Reuber","Bennett, Daniel","Andrade-Ponce, Gabriel","Glasscock, Jessica","Schalk, Christopher"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2027-12-12T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Forestry"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science - Forestry"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Bombus","habitat management","restoration","native bees","bumble bees","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/623"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Many bumble bee species (Bombus spp.), are declining, yet drivers of their abundance remain partially understood. In the southeastern United States, historically open habitats have shifted towards closed-canopy conditions via fire suppression, deforestation and afforestation, altering ecosystems that once supported diverse pollinator communities. Because of these changes, the American bumble bee (Bombus pensylvanicus) is now of conservation concern. Habitat loss has also affected culturally and economically significant upland game birds. To asses whether restoration for upland game birds also benefit B. pensylvanicus, I modeled catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) predictors across 31 transects on seven East Texas properties spanning forests to grasslands. I modeled CPUE variables from local vegetation structure, landscape composition and configuration, and management history. Habitat openness consistently emerged as the strongest predictor: canopy cover reduced CPUE, while pasture/grassland cover and restoration increased it, indicating that management emphasizing open structure can jointly support upland game birds and imperiled bumble bees.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["PATTERNS OF AMERICAN BUMBLE BEE (BOMBUS PENSYLVANICUS) ABUNDANCE ACROSS RESTORED HABITATS IN EAST TEXAS ECOSYSTEMS"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Reuber Antoniazzi","Daniel Bennett"],"dc:creator":["Birrer, Kimberly F","Antoniazzi, Reuber","Bennett, Daniel","Andrade-Ponce, Gabriel","Glasscock, Jessica","Schalk, Christopher"],"dc:date.available":["2027-12-12T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Many bumble bee species (Bombus spp.), are declining, yet drivers of their abundance remain partially understood. In the southeastern United States, historically open habitats have shifted towards closed-canopy conditions via fire suppression, deforestation and afforestation, altering ecosystems that once supported diverse pollinator communities. Because of these changes, the American bumble bee (Bombus pensylvanicus) is now of conservation concern. Habitat loss has also affected culturally and economically significant upland game birds. To asses whether restoration for upland game birds also benefit B. pensylvanicus, I modeled catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) predictors across 31 transects on seven East Texas properties spanning forests to grasslands. I modeled CPUE variables from local vegetation structure, landscape composition and configuration, and management history. Habitat openness consistently emerged as the strongest predictor: canopy cover reduced CPUE, while pasture/grassland cover and restoration increased it, indicating that management emphasizing open structure can jointly support upland game birds and imperiled bumble bees.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/623"],"dc:subject":["Bombus","habitat management","restoration","native bees","bumble bees","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"],"dc:title":["PATTERNS OF AMERICAN BUMBLE BEE (BOMBUS PENSYLVANICUS) ABUNDANCE ACROSS RESTORED HABITATS IN EAST TEXAS ECOSYSTEMS"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Forestry"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science - Forestry"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:49Z"}