Standardized protocol for collecting community-level bee data

Abstract

A key component of assessing bee biodiversity patterns and supporting bee conservation is documenting bee communities. When integrated with additional ecological data, community-level data help reveal the relative impact of local- and landscape-scale factors on bee taxa. As such, these data can inform management decisions to support bee diversity and mitigate environmental drivers of decline. However, methods for sampling bee communities vary greatly across projects, making it difficult to compare existing datasets or design new, interoperable studies. Here, we provide a standardized protocol for collecting community-level bee biodiversity data and offer guidance on inventorying, surveying, and monitoring of bee communities. We also present case studies to illustrate how different components of the protocol could be implemented. Although we discuss the benefits of collecting physical specimens, we emphasize the importance of responsible collecting and highlight key strategies to minimize environmental impact while maximizing the value of the work in new projects. This protocol is part of a series developed in association with the U.S. National Native Bee Monitoring Network to standardize bee monitoring practices.