Graduation Year
2022
Date of Submission
4-2022
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Award
Best Senior Thesis in Biological Sciences
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Biology
Reader 1
Dr. Diane Thomson
Reader 2
Dr. Elise Ferree
Terms of Use & License Information
Abstract
Over 1,500 of the 4000 bee species found in North America inhabit California. Native bees are declining however, largely due to climate change and agricultural intensification. Previous research shows that cities can sustain diverse bee communities, due to the diversity of ornamental flowers. Urban green space represents an opportunity for native bee conservation. Residential gardens provide lots of green space and are urban pollinator hotspots. Managing yards for increased floral resources and nesting habitat can benefit native bee communities. Turfgrass provides few floral or nesting resources and negatively correlates with bee diversity. The 2011-2017 California drought caused many homeowners to reduce turf cover, potentially benefiting pollinator habitat. We assessed the current status of pollinator habitat in residential yards of Claremont California and evaluated how the quality of habitat changed due to re-landscaping since 2011. Although in yards where changes were made, turfgrass decreased by a third of its original cover (
Recommended Citation
Proctor, Max, "Effects of Drought on Habitat Quality for Native Bees in Residential Gardens of Claremont, CA" (2022). CMC Senior Theses. 3066.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/3066
