Influence of environmental covariates on pollinator community occupancy, detection, and richness across urban gardens in Richmond, Virginia (U.S.A.)

Pollination is an essential ecosystem service that supports reproduction and propagation of most of the world’s flowering plants. The dramatic decline in pollinators, especially insect pollinators, due to climate change and pesticide use threatens not only our food supply, but also the diversity of native plants. Urban areas, if well managed, can serve as corridors and reserves for pollinator species and benefit agricultural and natural ecosystems well beyond the urban environment. In this study, we assessed Mid-Atlantic (U.S.A.)-region urban garden plant-pollinator interactions, focusing on activity associated with two regionally-native plants: dense blazing star (Liatris spicata; Asteraceae) and clustered mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum; Lamiaceae). We conducted 350 visual surveys across 52 gardens and identified 14 taxa in 361 detection events, with 5 taxa dominating at 331 detections. We built multi-species occupancy models (MSOMs) in a Bayesian framework using site and survey c..., Data are the result of visual pollinator surveys conducted in the greater Richmond, VA area at 50 gardens (sites) from June 28 - July 27, 2021. At each garden, observations were conducted on Liatris spicata or Pycnanthemum muticum, or both. For a given plant type, 5 separate inflorescences on different plants (spatial replicates) were observed for 5 minutes. Pollinator visits were tallied and identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible. 20 gardens were surveyed on both plant types (but different days for each plant type), for a total of 10 spatial replicates, while 20 other gardens were surveyed only on P. muticum (5 spatial replicates) and 10 gardens were surveyed only on L. spicata (also 5 spatial replicates).
Potential explanatory variables (covariates) were measured, which can broadly be divided into two types. Site covariates did not vary over time and were consistent across all spatial replicates at a given site, whereas survey covariates could vary across spatial replicates..., , # Modeling the influence of environmental covariates on pollinator richness in Richmond, Virginia (U.S.A.) urban gardens

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Data are the result of visual pollinator surveys conducted in the greater Richmond, VA area at 50 gardens (sites) from June 28 - July 27, 2021. At each garden, observations were conducted on *Liatris spicata* or *Pycnanthemum muticum*, or both. For a given plant type, 5 separate inflorescences on different plants (spatial replicates) were observed for 5 minutes. Pollinator visits were tallied and identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible. 20 gardens were surveyed on both plant types (but different days for each plant type), for a total of 10 spatial replicates, while 20 other gardens were surveyed only on *P. muticum* (5 spatial replicates) and 10 gardens were surveyed only on *L. spicata* (also 5 spatial replicates).

Potential explanatory variables (covariates) were measured, which can...,