Floral traits of animal-pollinated Sevilleta plant species

Concern about pollinator populations is widespread, with bees
documented to be in decline due to factors including habitat loss,
disease, and pesticides. In addition, climate change may be an
important cause of bee population losses, but few studies have
examined bee abundance relationships with climate variables.
Importantly, bees may respond directly to climate or may exhibit
indirect responses to climate via changes in plant phenology or
community composition. This study collected floral trait data to
complement the Sevilleta LTER pollinator monitoring, plant
phenology, and plant biomass datasets, with the aim of examining
whether floral resource availability mediates bee responses to
climate. For 71 common, animal-pollinated flowering plant species,
we measured floral traits relevant to pollination in June–October
2018 and April–August 2019 within sites representing four ecosystem
types at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge: Plains grassland,
Chihuahuan Desert grassland, Chihuahuan Desert shrubland, and
piñon-juniper woodland. On a minimum of 5 individuals per plant
species, we recorded the total number of open flowers and the
corolla width of flowers, along with plant height and vegetative
cover. These data may be used in combination with the Sevilleta LTER
pollinator monitoring, phenology, and biomass datasets to examine
how bee and floral resource abundance, diversity, and phenology vary
across years and whether these changes correspond with one another,
as well as to consider relationships among climate, floral resource
abundance/diversity, and bee abundance/diversity.