Date of Award
Spring 5-2016
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Program
Biological Sciences
Department
Biological Sciences
Major Professor
Dr. Jerome Howard
Second Advisor
Dr. Shalene Jha
Third Advisor
Dr. Philip DeVries
Abstract
Processes structuring bee communities in agricultural landscapes are well-documented compared to those in other anthropogenic landscapes, like production forests. Forests across the temperate zone have historically been under-sampled, in part due to the perception that they provide little habitat to support diverse bee communities. While research suggests that early successional habitats support high levels of bee species richness and abundance, little empirical evidence exists to support the notion that forests, in turn, do not. To understand the relationship between forest successional age and major elements of the bee community, I sampled bees in a southern production pine forest in Hancock County, MS across 2012 and 2013. I found that while bee abundance declines with successional age, species richness does not. Combining this work with other recent research, I propose a generalized framework for understanding the role of disturbance and forest structure in structuring bee communities of southern forests.
Recommended Citation
Sudan, Robinson, "The effects of forest age and management on bee communities of production forests in the southern United States" (2016). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 2184.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/2184
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.