Pursuing best practices for minimizing wild bee captures to support biological research

Authors: MONTERO-CASTANO, ANA - University Of Guelph; Koch, Jonathan; Lindsay, Tien; Love, Byron; MOLA, JOHN - Us Geological Survey (USGS); NEWMAN, KIERA - University Of Guelph; SHARKEY, JANEAN - University Of Guelph

Submitted to: Conservation Science and Practice
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/10/2022
Publication Date: 6/3/2022
Citation: Montero-Castano, A., Koch, J., Lindsay, T.T., Love, B.G., Mola, J.M., Newman, K., Sharkey, J. 2022. Pursuing best practices for minimizing wild bee captures to support biological research. Conservation Science and Practice. 4(7). Article e12734. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12734.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12734

Interpretive Summary: Over the last 30 years, an increasing number of scientific articles have been published on the ecology, genetics, and conservation of wild bees. In our study, we evaluated a random sample of the last 30 years of scientific research on wild bees. Across 1426 surveyed publications, 536 reported the lethal take of wild bees. We found 61% of these studies lethally captured wild bees primarily for species identification. Furthermore, we determined passive sampling of wild bees resulted in substantially more lethal collections than active methods per study. However, combined approaches of passive and active collection resulted in the greatest lethal take of wild bees. Finally, we determined that 64% of the studies did not provide deposition information for their samples, hindering additional research that could be done with them. Given our results, we present a timely discussion on alternative routes and potentially new best practices in bee research. We mainly focus the discussion on alternative methods for minimizing lethal captures for identification purposes and through passive methods, and for maximizing the utility of the data collected. We aim to provide a framework for continued engagement among researchers and managers to develop strategies that can contribute to reduce our impact on wild bee communities.

Technical Abstract: Bees are important pollinators of wild and domesticated flowering plant species. Over the last 30 years, an increasing number of scientific articles have been published on the ecology, genetics, and conservation of wild bees. To achieve research goals, many studies have pursued the lethal take of wild bees. Although the impact of lethal take for scientific pursuits is likely negligible compared to the negative impacts of human-mediated phenomena such as climate change, urbanization, and agricultural intensification, it is important to evaluate the history of lethal take for scientific endeavors. In our study, we evaluated a random sample of the last 30 years of scientific research on wild bees. Across 1426 surveyed publications, 536 reported the lethal take of wild bees. We found 61% of these studies lethally captured wild bees primarily for species identification. Furthermore, we determined passive sampling of wild bees resulted in substantially more lethal collections than active methods per study. However, combined approaches of passive and active collection resulted in the greatest lethal take of wild bees. Finally, we determined that 64% of the studies did not provide deposition information for their samples, hindering additional research that could be done with them. Given our results, together with the increasing availability of video and photographic devices and artificial intelligence approaches to identification, the development of low and non-invasive molecular methods, and the ease to share information, we present a timely discussion on alternative routes and potentially new best practices in bee research. We mainly focus the discussion on alternative methods for minimizing lethal captures for identification purposes and through passive methods, and for maximizing the utility of the data collected. We aim to provide a framework for continued engagement among researchers and managers to develop