Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Flowering Resources Distract Pollinators From Crops: Model Predictions From Landscape Simulations, Charlie C. Nicholson, Taylor H. Ricketts, Insu Koh, Henrik G. Smith, Eric V. Lonsdorf, Ola Olsson

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Enhancing floral resources is a widely accepted strategy for supporting wild bees and promoting crop pollination. Planning effective enhancements can be informed with pollination service models, but these models should capture the behavioural and spatial dynamics of service-providing organisms. Model predictions, and hence management recommendations, are likely to be sensitive to these dynamics. We used two established models of pollinator foraging to investigate whether habitat enhancement improves crop visitation; whether this effect is influenced by pollinator foraging distance and landscape pattern; and whether behavioural detail improves model predictions. The more detailed central place foraging model better predicted variation in bee …