Student 10-Minute Presentation
Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity
Student
Student Competition
Kelsie Lauren Phelps
Texas State University
San Marcos, Texas
Robinson Sudan
Texas State University
Lockhart, Texas
The Madrean sky islands of the southwest US are distinguished by the dramatic stratification of habitat types along an elevational gradient. This gradient, along with the topographic variation of these isolated mountain ranges, creates environmental heterogeneity, making the region a biodiversity hotspot where bees (Apoidea) reach peak species richness. As plant community composition among sky island habitats can vary considerably, these same factors that shape plant community composition may have important effects on bee communities there. In this research we asked how elevation, habitat type, and environmental heterogeneity affect bee composition across three US sky island mountain ranges: the Chiricahua Mountains in southeastern Arizona, and the Davis and Chisos Mountains of west Texas. Bees were sampled May-October 2016 using blue vane traps. 10 high-elevation sampling sites and 10 low-elevation sites were established at each mountain range. In the Chiricahua and Davis Mountains, high-elevation sites were located in pine-oak woodlands and low-elevation sites in pinyon-juniper-oak woodland. In the Chisos Mountains, both high- and low-elevation sites were located in pinyon-juniper-oak woodland. Understanding how bee communities vary both within and among distinct sky islands will offer insights into how their composition is influenced by elevation, habitat type, and environmental heterogeneity as well as how species richness is distributed across part of this bee biodiversity hotspot. Sky island habitats are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and developing a deeper knowledge of how important pollinators like bees might be impacted by changes to these habitats will help inform conservation for both.