Following mass agricultural expansion and deforestation in the late 1800s and early 1900s, American black bear populations (Ursus americanus, hereafter black bear) were low across most of Virginia. The Department of Wildlife Resources (VADWR) and the United States Forest Service worked to rebuild wildlife habitat in the state, leading to recovery of bears. While some aspects of black bear hibernation and foraging ecology have been studied, there remain knowledge gaps on key aspects of black bear biology. Hibernation behavior, for example, is understudied with most knowledge stemming from post-hibernation emergence studies. We used a unique dataset with continuous monitoring of mother bears and their cubs from Virginia Tech's Black Bear Research Center in 2015-2016, to better understand hibernation ecology, mother-cub dynamics, and biological-foster cub dynamics. We found that increased black bear activity levels were driven by both higher temperature and photoperiod, but the onset of hibernation was primarily driven by only temperature. Temperature is projected to rise in VA and rising temperatures regionally could be responsible for increased active behaviors in bears, which could lead to increased human-black bear interactions on the landscape, especially during hibernation onset. We also found that mother bears spend similar amounts of time with biological and foster cubs. Biological cubs did not show more dominance behaviors toward fosters than biological siblings, which we also observed with foster, where they did not continuously display these behaviors towards biological cubs. These results are promising for orphan cub fostering programs in VA and other states and indicate that foster cub litter integration can be successful. Foraging ecology also is challenging to study in black bears because direct observation is generally not possible due to their cryptic nature, closed habitat, or potential danger in observing. We used a dataset from camera collars deployed on 15 bears (8 males, 7 females) in Bath County Virginia in 2018 and 2019 to better understand diet seasonality and to determine habitat and environmental drivers of black bear foraging patterns, particularly on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and invasive plant species. We identified 178 unique diet items to family, genus, or species in videos, much higher numbers than previously reported in the literature, and we found high diet overlap between sexes. Diet composition was primarily influenced by season with higher levels of consumption of herbaceous soft mast in spring, fruit and seed soft mast in summer, and hard mast in fall. Females exhibited more hunting events on deer fawns in spring than males, but males and females consumed similar numbers (28 vs. 24, respectively) via hunting and scavenging combined. Males consumed anthropogenic foods more often than females, particularly when closer to human settlements and males more commonly consumed invasive plant species in spring while females more often consumed insect in spring invasive species in summer. Our results highlight strong seasonally- and subtle sex-mediated differences in black bear diets. We provide information on drivers of diet choices by bears, as well as identify where foraging hotspots on species of interest occur, providing information useful to VADWR in managing increased human-wildlife interactions (and mitigating potential for negative interactions), predator-prey relations, and invasive species spread across the landscape. / Master of Science / American black bears were almost eliminated from Virginia following mass agricultural expansion and deforestation in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Department of Wildlife Resources (VADWR) and the United States Forest Service worked to rebuild wildlife habitat in the state, leading to recent recovery of bears in VA. However, there are still gaps in our knowledge of black bear ecology and gaining new knowledge will aid in better management of black bears across the state. We used two unique video data sets to study hibernation and foraging (or feeding) ecology to fill important knowledge gaps. To study hibernation behavior, we used a video data set of continuously monitored, temporarily captive mother bears and their cubs held at Virginia Tech's Black Bear Research Center in 2015-2016. We found that black bear activity was driven by both daily temperature and photoperiod (length of daylight), but onset of hibernation was mostly driven by temperature only. With Virginia projected to experience rising, and more variable, temperatures due to climate change, this may mean that bears will stay longer on the landscape in fall, even past the point where vegetation (food) has gone dormant, potentially leading to increased human-black bear interactions as bears seek human foods. We also examined mother-cub interactions and found mother bears did not spend more time with their biological cubs than their fosters (fosters are orphaned black bear cubs arising due to death of mothers) and biological cubs did not show more dominance behaviors (i.e., biting, chasing, or pinning to ground) toward fosters than biological siblings. These are positive results for VADWR's surrogate sow program across the state. Foraging ecology is difficult to study in black bears because direct observation is generally not possible due to their secretive nature, dense habitat, or potential danger in observing. Therefore, traditionally, many studies collect and examine scat (fecal) samples or stomach contents from harvested bears, but these methods may not find diet items that are quickly digested. We used a unique dataset from video camera collars placed on 15 bears in Bath County Virginia in 2018 and 2019. We found some important differences from the literature - our spring diets had higher proportions of deer and soft vegetation (leaves), however the unknown diet items in the literature were high, leading to incomplete or incorrect diet profiles. Diet composition was primarily influenced by season with higher levels of consumption of leafy soft mast in spring, fruit and seed soft mast in summer, and hard mast in fall. Males and females had high dietary overlap and we found that females had more hunting events on deer fawns in spring than males, but overall males and females consumed similar numbers (28 vs. 24, respectively) via hunting and scavenging combined. Males more often consumed human foods than females, while females more often consumed insect species than males. Also, males more commonly consumed invasive species in spring, while females did so in summer. Our results highlight differences in diet content caused by season and subtle differences in diets between sexes. We provide information on drivers of feeding choices bears make and we identify foraging hotspots for deer and invasive species, information useful to VADWR in managing potential human-wildlife interactions, predator-prey relations, and invasive species spread across the landscape.

Honey bees, Apis mellifera Linn., provide vital economic and ecological services via pollination while concurrently facing multiple interconnected stressors impacting their health. Many crops like apples, peaches, and cherries that add diversity and nutrition to our diet are wholly or partially dependent upon the pollination services of insects. Orchard crops are self-incompatible and commonly regarded as crops reliant on the pollination services of insects, and while previous studies have focused on the impact of bees to orchard crops during bloom, fewer studies have examined the reciprocal relationship of the orchards on honey bees, particularly across the entire foraging season. Here we investigated the foraging dynamics of honey bees in an orchard crop environment in Northern Virginia, United States. We decoded, mapped, and analyzed 3,710 waggle dances, which communicate the location of a valuable resource in the environment, for two full foraging seasons (April-October, 2018-2019), and, concurrent to the dance filming, collected pollen from returning foragers. We found that bees forage locally the majority of the time (< 2 km) throughout the season, with some long-range distances occurring in May after bloom (both 2018 and 2019) and in fall (2019). The shortest communicated median distances (0.50 km and 0.53 km), indicating abundant food availability, occurred during September in both years, paralleling the bloom of an important late season resource, goldenrod (Solidago). We determined, through plotting and analyzing the communicated forage locations and from the collected pollen from returning foragers, that honey bees forage more within apple orchards after the bloom (29.4% and 28.5% foraging) compared to during bloom (18.6% and 21.4% foraging) on the understory of clover and plantain. This post bloom foraging also exposes honey bees to the highest concentration of pesticides across the entire foraging season (2322.89 ppb pesticides versus 181.8 during bloom, 569.84 in late summer, and 246.24 in fall). Therefore, post bloom apple orchards supply an abundance of forage, but also the highest risk of pesticide exposure, which may have important implications for management decisions of bees in orchards. / Master of Science in Life Sciences / Honey bee hives have been declining significantly in the United States, driven by a multitude of issues and stressors including pesticide exposure, disease, pests such as varroa mites, and poor nutrition caused by natural land being converted into development or agriculture. Agricultural landscapes, in particular, are often monocultures are saturated with pesticides creating a potentially hazardous environment, yet reliant on bees to provide pollination for crops. Because of this interconnected relationship between bees and flowers and the effects of stressors agricultural systems cause have with pollinators, it is necessary to understand how honey bees forage in these environments and what potential health risks they face. We investigated honey bees foraging dynamics in an apple orchard in Northern Virginia, United States by observing honey bee waggle dance behavior, where bees literally waggle back and forth for a certain time and at a certain angle telling their nestmates where a resource is, and collecting pollen from returning forager bees to better understand when, where, and upon what honey bees forage throughout the foraging season, which is when flowers are available and the weather warm enough (April – October). We found that bees mostly forage locally near the hive throughout the season, indicating that sufficient amount of food was available even after short bloom time of the apple (April to mid-May). We determined, through plotting and analyzing the waggle dance locations, that honey bees forage more within apple orchards after the bloom on mostly clover and plantain. This abundance of post bloom foraging also exposes honey bees to the highest amounts of pesticides across the entire foraging season. Post bloom apple orchards supply an abundance of forage, but also the highest risk of pesticide exposure to honey bees.

<p dir="ltr">Early agriculture represents a critical change in human subsistence strategy in the Interior Eastern Woodlands of North America. Given that this change in diet is associated with an overall decline in nutrition and health, scholars have often wondered why such a transition would have occurred in the region. Since the foraging-farming transition is known to be a global phenomenon, numerous hypotheses have been proposed to explain this foraging-farming transition. These hypotheses include environmental hypotheses, sociocultural hypotheses, demographic hypotheses, risk-based hypotheses, co-evolutionary hypotheses, and aggrandizement hypotheses. Previous research in North America has focused on demographic hypotheses, risk-based hypotheses, and sociocultural hypotheses. One area that has not received attention in North America is the effect of climate change on the emergence of agriculture under the environmental hypotheses.</p><p dir="ltr">Although scholars previously thought the climate did not change during the foraging-farming transition, more recent research has suggested otherwise. Thus, the goal of this dissertation is to explore how climate change influenced the foraging-farming transition in the Interior Eastern Woodlands of North America. I combine paleoenvironmental reconstructions, cultural resource management (CRM) data, and multivariate statistical methods to examine the effect of climate change on the foraging-farming transition. Using advanced statistical methods, I found that increases in mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation are associated with the plant-dominated diets of the foraging-farming transition. Furthermore, these later occurring plant-dominated diets are associated with an increased prevalence of cultivars like sunflowers, maygrass, goosefoot, marshelder, and squash. Additionally, a comparison of the northern Interior Eastern Woodlands and the southern Interior Eastern Woodlands revealed different impacts of climate change on diet.</p><p dir="ltr">This study provides a methodological advancement in the field of anthropology. Specifically, the application of advanced statistical methods to explore the effect of climate change on the foraging-transition is novel. Additionally, the compilation and use of a large dataset in analyses demonstrates the usefulness of CRM data when exploring regional trends.</p>

We examined the short-term (1 - 4 years postharvest) effects of 7 silvicultural treatments on terrestrial salamander populations at 4 sites in southwest Virginia and West Virginia. The 3 silvicultural treatments with the most canopy removal (4-7 m2 basal area Shelterwood, Leavetree, Clearcut) had significantly fewer salamanders than the control (p < 0.10) postharvest. No differences were found among treatments in age class distribution, the percent of females that were gravid, or average clutch size. We tested the nighttime, surface-count census method for visibility and behavior-induced bias among silviculture treatments and estimated the proportion of a salamander population that is active on the surface in harvested and control habitats. Instantaneous rates of salamander activity ranged from 1.3 to 11.7% of the population for redback (Plethodon cinereus) and slimy salamanders (P. glutinosus). Timber harvest caused up to a 2-fold increase or decrease in activity rates. There was evidence for bias in the night census method, but differences were not consistent enough to suggest general bias corrections. We also tested whether poorly fed salamanders exhibited risk-sensitive foraging in a dry environment in a laboratory experiment. Poorly fed salamanders were observed out of their simulated burrows less than well fed salamanders suggesting salamanders, particularly females and small adults, are risk-averse. / Master of Science

The Rota bridled white-eye (Zosterops rotensis)(Aves, Passeriformes) has experienced a severe population decline and range restriction over the last four decades. Little is known about this species and factors involved in the decline and range restriction are unclear. This study examined the potential roles of habitat alteration, introduced black drongos (Dicrurus macrocercus), and introduced rats in the decline and gathered more information on the behavior and breeding biology of this species. New life history data were collected and Rota and Saipan bridled white-eyes were found to differ in nest site characteristics and some behaviors. The importance of habitat alteration was assessed by examining Rota bridled white-eye habitat relationships at the microhabitat, within-range, Sabana-wide, and island-wide levels. Rota bridled white-eyes show a preference for high elevation wet forest but what drives their distribution within their current range was unclear. However, the alteration of this forest type by supertyphoon Roy in 1988 was probably the major factor in the decline of Rota BWEs between 1982 and 1996. Black drongo and Rota bridled white-eye relationships were addressed using current and historical survey data. Black drongos were found to prey on Rota bridled white-eyes but they probably only played at most a partial role in the decline of the Rota bridled white-eye. Introduced rats densities were assessed in Rota bridled white-eye areas and on other areas of the island and no evidence for rat numbers limiting Rota bridled white-eyes to their current range was found. / Master of Science

En biologie évolutive, la variation phénotypique a longtemps été réduite au substrat sur lequel agissait la sélection naturelle. Toutefois, la constance intra-individuelle et le maintien intra-populationnel de certains comportements conduisirent au milieu des années 90 au développement du concept de personnalité animale, basé sur la caractérisation de traits tels que la néophobie, l’agressivité, les tendances exploratoires ou la prise de risque. De nombreuses études montrent que la personnalité est soumise à la sélection naturelle et est reliée à certaines stratégies biodémographiques, telles que la dispersion ou le comportement anti-prédateur.Les liens entre la personnalité animale et les stratégies d’appariement et d’approvisionnement, deux composantes fondamentales de la vie des organismes, ont pourtant été négligés jusqu’ici. Nous nous sommes donc attachés au cours de cette thèse à déterminer l’influence de la personnalité sur certains comportements sexuels et alimentaires à l’aide d’un organisme modèle en écologie comportementale : le Diamant mandarin (Taeniopygia guttata). Puis, à l’inverse, nous avons souligné le rôle des sélections naturelle et sexuelle dans le maintien des variations de personnalité.Nos principaux résultats indiquent que certains traits de personnalité mesurés sont inter-corrélés au niveau de notre population captive d’oiseaux, définissant un syndrome comportemental. De plus, la personnalité prédit de manière différentielle le succès d’approvisionnement entre les contextes de compétition par exploitation et par interférence. Ainsi, les individus proactifs sont dominants lors d’épisodes de compétition par interférence mais souffrent d’un plus faible succès d’approvisionnement lors de jeux producteur-chapardeur. Ces résultats soulèvent la possibilité que la sélection naturelle favorise différentes personnalités dans différents contextes, offrant un mécanisme d’explication du maintien des variations intra-populationnelles de personnalité. De plus, ils suggèrent que la personnalité contraint l’optimalité des comportements à travers les situations. Enfin, dans un contexte de choix du partenaire, nous avons montré que la personnalité des femelles utilisées dans des tests de préférence par association influence les mesures de la sélectivité, des scores de préférence et de leur répétabilité.L’étude conjointe de la personnalité animale et des stratégies d’appariement et d’approvisionnement constitue ainsi une voie prometteuse dans l’explication du maintien des variations de personnalité par sélections naturelle et sexuelle, ainsi que dans l’étude de l’influence de la personnalité sur les stratégies biodémographiques des organismes en contextes alimentaire et sexuel / In evolutionary biology, phenotypic variation has for a long time been considered as the raw material on which natural selection acts. However, research on the consistency of behaviour led to the development of the animal personality concept during the 1990s. This concept was based on the characterization of traits such as neophobia, aggressiveness, exploratory tendencies and risk-taking behaviour. Since then, several studies have shown that personality can evolve through natural selection and is related to many life-history traits, such as dispersal or anti-predator behaviour.Pairing strategies and foraging strategies are two fundamental components of an organism’s life, but their relationships with personality have so far been neglected. In this thesis, we determined the extent to which personality influences sexual and feeding behaviour, using the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) as a model organism. Our work highlights the role of natural and sexual selection on the maintenance of personality variation.Some personality traits are related to each other within our sample, defining a behavioural syndrome. Moreover, personality predicted feeding success in competitive situations, but differently for scramble and interference competition. Proactive individuals were dominant in interference competition but had lower feeding success in producer-scrounger games. Interestingly, these results suggest that natural selection could favour different personalities depending on the context, perhaps explaining the maintenance of personality variation within populations. Moreover, personality could constrain behavioural optimality across situations. Finally, in a mate-choice context, we found that female personality influences selectivity, preference and its repeatability during spatial association tests.The joint study of personality and pairing and foraging strategies thus represents a promising avenue of research for understanding the maintenance of personality variation through natural and sexual selection. Moreover, personality can considerably influence some life-history traits in sexual and foraging contexts

As formigas se adaptam as diferentes situações que encontram no seu ambiente em parte por apresentarem flexibilidade comportamental. Um exemplo é o uso de mais de uma estratégia durante a exploração de um recurso alimentar. No caso da Ponerinae Pachycondyla striata, as formigas podem forragear solitariamente ou fazer recrutamento por tandem running. Apesar desta espécie estar presente em diversas áreas verdes em ambiente urbano, pouco se sabe sobre o seu comportamento durante o forrageamento nessas áreas. Por isso, o objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar as estratégias de forrageamento e os comportamentos de P. striata em ambiente urbano. O estudo foi realizado em um jardim da Cidade Universitária (USP, campus Butantã). No local foram observadas 96 formigas de 12 colônias. Como iscas alimentares foram usadas proteína (atum) e carboidrato (maçã com mel) em duas quantidades (3g e 7g) e em duas distâncias do ninho (0,5 m e 4,0 m). Durante 90 minutos foram registrados: as estratégias de forrageamento; os comportamentos das forrageadoras; as interações com espécies competidoras; o tempo de trajeto entre o ninho e a isca. Verificou-se que o forrageamento solitário foi a principal estratégia, sendo utilizada por todas as forrageadoras e que a atividade solitária aumentava quando o alimento próximo ao ninho era proteína. O recrutamento foi realizado por 81% das forrageadoras, mas as formigas perderam o contato em 27% dos recrutamentos. As chances de uma forrageadora recrutar eram maiores em três situações: quando o alimento era proteína; estava perto do ninho; e a umidade do ar era alta (70% UR). Cerca de 72% das forrageadoras tiveram competição nas iscas, sendo a competição interespecífica mais frequente que a intraespecífica. Durante as interações com as competidoras, as forrageadoras apresentaram, principalmente, comportamento agressivo. Quanto ao tempo de trajeto, o forrageamento solitário era percorrido em menos tempo que o recrutamento, independente da distância. Por fim, verificou-se uma correlação negativa entre a ordem das viagens e o tempo do trajeto em ambas as distâncias e estratégias de forrageamento. Conclui-se que os dados coletados neste trabalho reforçam a prevalência do forrageamento solitário como principal estratégia da espécie e também trazem novas informações, como a tomada de decisão baseada no tipo do alimento, a variação na atividade de forrageamento devido a fatores abióticos, as interações competitivas no ambiente urbano e o aprendizado individual e social entre as forrageadoras / The ants adapt to different environmental contexts exhibiting behavioral flexibility. An example of behavioral flexibility is the use of more than one foraging strategy. In the case of Ponerinae Pachycondyla striata, the ants can forage solitarily or recruit and guide nestmates to a food sorce by tandem running. This species is found in various green areas in urban environment, but little is known about its foraging behaviour in this area. The aim of this research was to analyze the foraging strategies and the behaviors of P. striata in urban environment. The study was performed in a garden of the University City (USP campus Butantã). At this site we observed 96 ants of 12 colonies. As feeding baits were used protein (tuna) and carbohydrate (apple with honey) in two quantities (3g and 7g) and at two distances from the nest (0,5m and 4,0m). During 90 minutes we registered: the foraging strategies; the behaviors of the foragers; the interactions with competing species; and the travel time from the nest to the bait. It was found that the solitary foraging was the main strategy used by all the foragers. The solitary foraging activity was especially frequent when protein was close to the nest. The recruitment was performed by 81% of the foragers, but the ants lost contact in 27% of the recruitments. The frequency of recruitment increased in three foraging contexts: when the food was protein; was close to the nest; and with high air humidity (70% UR). About 72% of the foragers found competitors at the baits, and interspecific competition was more frequent than intraspecific competition. The foragers presented during the interactions with the competitors, mainly, aggressive behavior. Traveling time during solitary foraging foraging went through in less time that recruitment, regardless the distance. Lastly, it was verified a negative correlation between the traveling order and the traveling time at both distances and foraging strategies. Our data lead us to conclude that the solitary foraging is the main strategy of P. striata, adding new information as the decision making based on food characteristics, the variation in foraging activity due to abiotic factors and the competing interactions in urban environment and individual and social learning between ants

<p>Modern economic activities, like industry and agriculture, as well as household activities, generate an important amount of refuse. The way we collect, transport, and dispose it will determine the level of environmental contamination. May animals exploit refuse as a food source (i.e., anthropogenic food subsidy) and gulls are the most important group. Refuse subsidizes energetically gull populations, which impacts on their acquisition and allocation of resources, as well as on the environment, with ecological and evolutionary consequences are not well understood. In this dissertation we evaluated potential impacts of refuse on gulls by doing a literature review as well as empirical research on the Kelp Gull (<i>Larus dominicanus</i>) in the Rio de la Plata Estuary in South America. Direct and indirect impacts of refuse on gull species and the environment have been observed during the review process. We have detected positive impacts of refuse on body size, chick growth, fecundity, reproductive success, and population dynamics. However, negative impacts were also found focusing on fecundity, reproductive success, and population dynamics. Indirect negative impacts on other species, water bodies, and airport security were also found. Refuse produces numerous impacts on gulls at the individual, population, and species levels, with indirect negative consequences on ecosystems. There is a need to reduce the access of gulls to sources of refuse to mitigate the existing and potential conflicts with human activities and other species, especially those that are threatened and endangered. During our empirical research we found that refuse was ingested and assimilated by Kelp Gull chicks during the chick rearing period and that the ecological niche width increased with the age of the chick. We propose that parents incorporate isotopically unique food sources to nestling’s diet during their growth, increasing isotopic diversity of nestlings. Additionally, we found that refuse could affect foraging decisions of females during the pre-incubation period, which could positively affect future fecundity and negatively impact reproductive success. We found also that refuse consumption on fecundity and reproductive success of gulls is generally studied at the colony level, using conventional diet techniques, but not much has been done using stable isotopes at the individual level, making comparisons among studies and conclusions difficult to address. We encourage other researchers to continue incorporating the isotopic ecology perspective to study the effect of food subsidies on gulls. Additionally, we found that Kelp Gull on the coast of the Rio de la Plata Estuary ingest plastic debris. We conclude that plastic bags and plastic films might be the most important source of contaminants for the Kelp Gull on the coast of the estuary. Main findings of this dissertation suggests the need for an improvement of waste management practices and a regulation of plastic production and use in Uruguay to reduce plastic ingestion by gulls. Finally, next steps for research are provided in this important area of environmental science and natural resource management.</p>

<p>Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 1995, härtill 6 uppsatser.</p> / digitalisering@umu

Bumble bees (Bombus spp.: Apidae) are valuable pollinators of many crop and wildflower species. However, in some situations their potential is limited. Evaluation of, and management to improve bumble bee efficacy should include spatial information which is currently limited. Distance and direction determine the success of gene flow via pollen cross-over within and between plant populations at several scales. Studies of movement by bumble bees at large scales in semi-natural and intensively managed habitats are scarce. Few studies of bumble bee dispersal from the nest exist, particularly in relation to crops. At a small scale, directional rather than random movement between flowers has benefits for pollen flow. Results to date of directionality studies at small scales and their interpretation are inconsistent. The purpose of this thesis was to assess distances and directions moved by foraging bumble bees at a range of scales in two contrasting farm habitats in order to predict their pollination potential. A novel method was developed to mark automatically all the occupants of nests of bumble bees B. terrestris (L.) placed around a Lucerne seed crop Medicago sativa L. in New Zealand. Reobservation data from eight nests showed that of bumble bees which foraged within the crop, 81 % travelled ≤ 50 m and 56% ≤ 20 m from their nest. Results should be interpreted with extreme caution because fewer than 1 % of bumble bees marked at nests were reobserved in the crop. Because it was not established where the other 99% of the bumble bees went, foraging areas for nests could not be calculated as anticipated. Theories to explain the non-specificity of bumble bees to the crop include; resource depletion near nests, competition with honey bees in the crop, or an evolved strategy to disperse in order to minimise nest predation. Lucerne flowers contained a significantly lower concentration of sugar in nectar, and significantly fewer pollen grains than did those of purple loosestrife Lythrum salicaria L., a species on which bumble bees appeared to forage in preference Lucerne. The higher rewards offered by L. salicaria may have diverted bumble bees from the less-rewarding Lucerne crop. In a Norwegian meadow system, all foraging bouts by bumble bees B. lucorum (L.) within a patch of wood cranesbill flowers Geranium sylvaticum L. were random with respect to direction. This result is not consistent with predictions, based on optimal foraging theory, that movement should be directional to enable optimal pollen flow, and to avoid revisitation of just-emptied flowers by the pollinator. A medium-scale study of several bumble bee species moving between patches of northern wolfsbane Aconitum septentrionale Koelle in Norway revealed considerable loyalty by bumble bees to patches in which they were marked. In a different landscape-scale study (over 5 ha), several bumble bees exhibited a high degree of loyalty to areas in which they were marked (87% were reobserved ≤ 50 m from marking points). These restricted movement patterns are discussed in terms of potential pollen flow. Of 260 bumble bees marked, only five were recorded crossing between meadows, which could be a result of innate loyalty to small forage areas, an artefact of the sampling technique used, or forest boundaries acting as physical impediments to movement. In the future, spatial data of the type collected in this thesis will aid in the management of bumble bee populations to achieve both commercial and conservation goals. Spatial data can be applied to predict the optimal placement of artificially-reared nests, predict suitable isolation distances for pure seed crops, and aid in the positioning of supplementary forage sources and nest-site refuges.