Project Grant F24AP02388

MANY ANIMALS ADJUST THEIR MOVEMENT BEHAVIOR TO MOVE MORE SLOWLY, AND SEARCH MORE CAREFULLY FOR NEST OR FORAGE RESOURCES, IN HIGHER-QUALITY HABITAT. WE CAN ANALYZE MOVEMENT BEHAVIOR AS AN INDICATOR OF HABITAT QUALITY, A TECHNIQUE THAT IS WIDELY USED TO IDENTIFY RESOURCE PATCHES FOR MANY TAXA, SUCH AS MARINE ANIMALS AND BUTTERFLIES. QUANTIFYING MOVEMENT BEHAVIOR IN DIFFERENT HABITATS CAN BE A MORE POWERFUL INDICATOR OF ANIMAL HABITAT SELECTION THAN OBSERVATIONS OF ANIMAL ABUNDANCES BECAUSE ABUNDANCE IS AFFECTED BY OVERALL LANDSCAPE CONTEXT IN ADDITION TO THE LOCAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HABITAT PATCHES. FOR EXAMPLE, LOCAL BEE ABUNDANCE MAY BE HIGH IN SUB-OPTIMAL HABITATS DUE TO NESTS IN ADJACENT HIGH-QUALITY HABITAT. IN ADDITION, HABITAT USE MEASURED BY ABUNDANCE IS NOT ALWAYS POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH HABITAT QUALITY AS MEASURED BY REPRODUCTIVE OUTPUT. FOR EXAMPLE, WE OFTEN SEE HIGH NUMBERS OF BEES FORAGING ON WEEDY FLORAL RESOURCES IN CROP FIELD MARGINS OR ROADSIDES, BUT THESE HABITATS MAY NOT CONTRIBUTE TO POPULATION GROWTH DUE TO POOR NUTRITIONAL CONTENT, SEASONAL GAPS IN FLORAL AVAILABILITY, OR LACK OF APPROPRIATE NESTING SITES. IN THIS PROJECT, WE WILL MONITOR BUMBLE BEE MOVEMENTS (WITH EMPHASIS ON THE RUSTY PATCHED BUMBLE BEE, BOMBUS AFFINIS) TO MEASURE THEIR HABITAT PREFERENCES DURING THREE LIFE STAGES: QUEEN NEST SEARCHING, QUEEN FORAGING, AND WORKER FORAGING. WE ANTICIPATE THAT THE PROJECT RESULTS WILL INFORM HABITAT MANAGEMENT FOR B. AFFINIS AND OTHER DECLINING BUMBLE BEE SPECIES BY QUANTIFYING HABITAT PREFERENCES DURING THESE THREE IMPORTANT STAGES IN THE BUMBLE BEE LIFE CYCLE.