URBAN POLLINATORS
Understanding Urban Pollinators through Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Scientists are studying the habitats and preferences of urban pollinators throughout Chicago and other urban areas. By collecting information about pollinators, scientists can create and compare GIS maps to understand what these pollinators need to survive in a big city. Combining layers of information on these maps can identify healthy habitat patches that need to be protected in urban areas. Using GIS technology to understand what attracts pollinators to a particular habitat and learning how they move between habitat patches can help city planners protect these important urban pollinators when they make management and development decisions in the Chicago area.
Comparing Bee Communities of Chicago Green Roofs, Parks, and Prairies
Rebecca Tonietto • Jeremie Fant • John Ascher • Katherine Ellis • Daniel Larken
Landscape and Urban Planning, 2011
Because diversity of floral resources is important to attracting pollinators in urban areas, green space for those flowering plants to grow is also an important resource. Tonietto et al. (2011) studied bee diversity in different green spaces including natural prairies, city parks, and green roofs throughout Chicago. They discovered that the composition and structure of urban green spaces affects which pollinators are present. Pollinator populations seem to flourish where plant diversity is high. The prairies provided habitat for the greatest diversity and abundance of bees followed by city parks (excluding turf cover). Green roofs still attracted pollinators, but in lower numbers. Providing native plants within urban green spaces improves the likelihood of attracting a greater diversity and abundance of pollinators.
Humans, Bees, and Pollination Services in the City
David M. Lowenstein • Kevin C. Matteson • Iyan Xiao • Alexandra M. Silva • Emily S. Minor
Biodiversity and Conservation, 2014
To better understand the relationship between flowering plants and urban pollinators, Lowenstein et al. (2014) surveyed pollinators’ response to floral resources in vegetated areas along urban sidewalks in 25 neighborhoods throughout Chicago, IL. The researchers mapped their field-collected data about pollinator community composition along with land cover data and socioeconomic factors for each neighborhood using GIS software. Surprisingly, they found a positive relationship between human population density and pollinator abundance because human populations influenced the available diversity of flowering plants. Other important factors for pollinator abundance included the amount of plant cover and available sunlight.
Effects of Urbanization on Pollination Services
Emily S. Minor • Kevin C. Matteson
AtLAS, Winter 2011
A complementary study involving some of the same researchers as the previously listed study dispatched a “mobile garden” containing floral and food crops on the back of a truck through Chicago neighborhoods to observe the effects of urbanization on pollinator behavior (Leventhal, 2011). They used GIS to track trends between the environmental factors and socioeconomic factors influencing pollinator-plant relationships within Chicago neighborhoods. From the GIS created through this research, they aim to find patterns to predict good pollinator habitats. The information can then be used to more effectively incorporate urban agriculture into city planning.
