DOI: 10.5061/dryad.b01m4dr
title: Data from: Pollination by wild bees yields larger strawberries than pollination by honey bees

description: 1. A diverse array of wild bee species may provide more effective
 pollination than the widely employed European honey bee (Apis mellifera
 L.). High species richness within crop pollinator assemblages has been
 linked to enhanced fruit and seed yields, but species richness is often
 confounded with abundance in studies of pollinator communities. 2. We
 investigated the effects of bee diversity and species identity on pollen
 deposition and crop yield in the strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) variety
 Jewel through a field experiment that independently manipulated the
 species richness and abundance of flower visitors. We used a new pollen
 deposition measurement technique to determine the pollen contribution of
 individual bees in an assemblage of flower visits. We compared the
 performance of wild bee species and managed honey bees, as pollinators of
 strawberry. We also calculated the influence of species richness, visit
 frequency, and visitor identity on fruit mass, using the fruit that
 developed from each sampled flower. 3. Species richness of flower visitors
 did not influence floral pollen loads or strawberry mass. Honey bees and
 wild bees deposited the same amount of pollen per visited flower. However,
 strawberries that developed from flowers visited by wild bees were heavier
 than flowers visited by honey bees. In addition, flowers visited by a
 combination of wild and honey bees produced strawberries that weighed less
 than flowers receiving purely wild bee visits. 4. Synthesis and
 applications: Our findings show that honey bee pollination results in
 lower yields than wild bee pollination in a strawberry crop. Consequently,
 if managed honey bees in strawberry fields displace wild pollinators,
 growers may obtain suboptimal yields. Management efforts aimed at the
 maintenance or enhancement of wild pollinator populations may therefore be
 a cost-effective way to increase both crop yield and biodiversity on
 strawberry farms.
description: Strawberry
 controlsStrawberry mass data for
 the hand cross-pollinated, open-pollinated, and bagged treatment
 flowers.JAE_PollenSupplemented_Bagged_Controls.csvNet pollen depositionThis dataset containins the net pollen deposition measurements for 29 bee species in sequences of visits to strawberry flowers.JAE_NetPollen_.csvPollen and strawberry yield by species richnessThis dataset contains the measurements of pollen deposition and strawberry mass for the bee species richness experiment.JAE_SpeciesRichness.csvPollen and strawberry yield by bee visit frequencyThis dataset contains the measurements of pollen deposition and strawberry mass for the bee abundance (visit frequency) experiments.JAE_Abundance_TotalPollen_FruitYield.csvTotal pollen and strawberry yield by bee generaThis dataset contains the measurements of pollen deposition and strawberry mass by bee genera across all experiments (Species richness and bee abundance).JAE_TotalPollen_FruitYield_AllGenera.csvREADMEThis file explains all of the variables in each of the datasets that accompany: MacInnis G, Forrest, J. 2019. Pollination by wild bees yields larger strawberries than pollination by honey bees