Bee Tracker-an open-source machine learning-based video analysis software for the assessment of nesting and foraging performance of cavity-nesting solitary bees

Temporal insights into ecological community: Advancing waterbird monitoring with dome camera and deep learning

Biodiversity monitoring is critical for conservation and management. However, efficient species monitoring is often hindered by the complexities of ecological dynamics and the constraints of conventional techniques. This study presents an automated observation system by integrating dome camera with cascade neural networks (CNNs) to map the dynamics of waterbird communities across a semi-enclosed wetland in Dianchi Lake, southwestern China, a well-known important bird habitat. The trained model achieved performance with a Top-1 accuracy of 96.83 %, a Top-5 accuracy of 99.55 %, an F1 score of 93.54 %, a recall rate of 93.38 % and precision of 93.44 %, demonstrating its reliability for precise and well-balanced classification performance. Automatic and manual monitoring performed simultaneously showed highly significant correlations for community abundance (R2 = 0.89, n = 68, p < 0.0001), underscoring the value of this system as a tool for waterbird communty monitoring. Analysis of the monitoring results showed significant differences in species richness (n = 595, p < 0.0001) and community abundance (n = 595, p < 0.05) between morning and afternoon sessions, suggesting the need to consider ecological community changes across different time scales when conducting biodiversity surveys. In 2023, the system identified 17 species of birds in 5 orders, 6 families. By analyzing the data obtained from this system, the community composition, diversity changes, the arrival and departure times of waterbirds were revealed. Enabling high-frequency, continuous, and long-term monitoring at a lower cost, this system provides a reliable, alternative tool for developing species conservation and habitat management strategies.

Increased overwintering temperature reduces reproductive success of the solitary bee species Osmia bicornis

Solitary wild bees play a key role as pollinators of wild plants and crops, but they are increasingly at risk from anthropogenic global change, such as climate warming. However, how warmer temperature during overwintering affects reproductive success of those bees remains largely unknown. In a semi-field experiment we assessed individual life-long reproductive success of 144 females of the solitary bee species Osmia bicornis that had been wintered at three different temperatures. Overwintering mortality of bees was on average 32% higher at winter temperatures of 8 °C compared to 4.5 °C-0 °C, at which almost all bees successfully emerged. After wintering at 4.5 °C and 8 °C females produced less offspring than after overwintering at 0 °C (26% or 36% less offspring, respectively). Although longevity and daily offspring production rate were not significantly affected, nesting duration of females wintered at 0 °C tended to be longer (+ 2.5 days) than that of bees wintered at 4.5 °C, which likely contributed to the higher offspring production at colder overwintering temperatures. Mortality and sex ratio of offspring was not significantly affected. While future studies should also consider climatic variation during winter, these findings indicate that increasing mean overwintering temperatures could threaten O. bicornis and potentially other solitary bee populations.

A Brazilian native bee (Tetragonisca angustula) dataset for computer vision

Jataí is a pollinator of some crops; therefore, its sustainable management guarantees quality in the ecosystem services provided and implementation in precision agriculture. We acquired videos of natural and artificial hives in urban and rural environments with a camera positioned at the hive entrance. In this way, we obtained videos of the entrance of several colonies for multiple bee tracking and removed images from the videos for bee detectors. This data, their respective labels, and metadata make up the dataset. The dataset displays potential for utilization in computer vision tasks such as comparative studies of deep learning models. They can also integrate intelligent monitoring systems for natural and artificial hives.

Emerging threats and opportunities to managed bee species in European agricultural systems: a horizon scan

Managed bee species provide essential pollination services that contribute to food security worldwide. However, managed bees face a diverse array of threats and anticipating these, and potential opportunities to reduce risks, is essential for the sustainable management of pollination services. We conducted a horizon scanning exercise with 20 experts from across Europe to identify emerging threats and opportunities for managed bees in European agricultural systems. An initial 63 issues were identified, and this was shortlisted to 21 issues through the horizon scanning process. These ranged from local landscape-level management to geopolitical issues on a continental and global scale across seven broad themes-Pesticides & pollutants, Technology, Management practices, Predators & parasites, Environmental stressors, Crop modification, and Political & trade influences. While we conducted this horizon scan within a European context, the opportunities and threats identified will likely be relevant to other regions. A renewed research and policy focus, especially on the highest-ranking issues, is required to maximise the value of these opportunities and mitigate threats to maintain sustainable and healthy managed bee pollinators within agricultural systems.

Nutritional stress exacerbates impact of a novel insecticide on solitary bees' behaviour, reproduction and survival

Pesticide exposure and food stress are major threats to bees, but their potential synergistic impacts under field-realistic conditions remain poorly understood and are not considered in current pesticide risk assessments. We conducted a semi-field experiment to examine the single and interactive effects of the novel insecticide flupyradifurone (FPF) and nutritional stress on fitness proxies in the solitary bee Osmia bicornis. Individually marked bees were released into flight cages with monocultures of buckwheat, wild mustard or purple tansy, which were assigned to an insecticide treatment (FPF or control) in a crossed design. Nutritional stress, which was high in bees foraging on buckwheat, intermediate on wild mustard and low on purple tansy, modulated the impact of insecticide exposure. Within the first day after application of FPF, mortality of bees feeding on buckwheat was 29 times higher compared with control treatments, while mortality of FPF exposed and control bees was similar in the other two plant species. Moreover, we found negative synergistic impacts of FPF and nutritional stress on offspring production, flight activity, flight duration and flower visitation frequency. These results reveal that environmental policies and risk assessment schemes that ignore interactions among anthropogenic stressors will fail to adequately protect bees and the pollination services they provide.