Pollination services from wild Bombus sp. and inter-varietal pollination can help highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) growers achieve maximal yield
department or school: Science, Faculty of
department or school: Zoology, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Tuttle, Sasha
issued: 2022-12-22T09:04:40Z
issued: 2023
related degree: Master of Science - MSc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Insects are in decline worldwide, with Hymenoptera being especially affected. Pollinator decline is driven by conventional farming practices such as intensive insecticide and herbicide use that negatively affect pollinator health and limit the availability of floral resources. With agricultural intensification and habitat loss further driving pollinator decline, growers have begun to rely on managed honey bees (Apis mellifera) to meet the pollination needs of their crops. Honey bees, however, cannot pollinate certain crops as effectively as wild pollinators. Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), a widely grown crop in British Columbia (BC), Canada, is one such crop that benefits from pollination by wild Bombus species. BC blueberry growers have previously been found to face limited crop yields and revenue due to insufficient pollination, but it is unknown how pollination limitation is affected by blueberry varieties and management practices. Research on other methods for growers to maximize yield, such as inter-varietal block design is also limited. I conducted a two year study on highbush blueberry fields with varying management practices within the Lower Mainland of BC. I ran pollen limitation experiments along transects set at varying distances from the field’s edge and surveyed pollinators visiting blueberry flowers on these transects to determine which taxa contributed the most to pollination. I also ran a pilot study in which I evaluated the effects of inter-varietal pollination on two different blueberry varieties. Results indicated fruit set and weight deficits are strongly related to bumble bee visitation rather than honey bee visitation and that growers who used clover as a cover crop experienced higher visitation than growers who did not. It was also found that growers may further increase yield by considering inter-varietal pollination during block design, but the level of yield increase depends on the blueberry varieties involved. These findings in…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/83477
note: Pollination Services from Wild Bombus sp. and Inter-varietal Pollination Can Help Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) Growers Achieve Maximal Yield by Sasha Tuttle B.Sc., The University of the Fraser Valley, 2020 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Zoology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) December 2022 © Sasha Tuttle, 2022 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled: Pollination Services from Wild Bombus sp. and Inter-varietal Pollination Can Help Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) Growers Achieve Maximal Yield submitted by Sasha Tuttle in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Zoology Examining Committee: Dr. Claire Kremen, Professor, Institute for Resources Environment and Sustainability, and Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia Supervisor Dr. Amy Angert, Professor, Department of Botany, and Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Risa Sargent, Professor, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Wayne Maddison, Professor, Department of Botany, and Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia Additional Examiner iii Abstract Insects are in decline worldwide, with Hymenoptera being especially affected. Pollinator decline is driven by conventional farming practices such as intensive insecticide and herbicide use that negatively affect pollinator health and limit the availability of floral resources. With agricultural intensification and habitat loss further driving pollinator decline, growers have begun to rely on managed honey bees (Apis mellifera) to meet the pollination needs of their crops. Honey bees, however, cannot pollinate certain crops as…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2023-05
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0422776
language: eng
degree discipline: Zoology
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Kremen, Claire
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/83477