NYC Pollinator Project: Monitoring for the Future of the Big Apple Yasmeena Barbari, Alyssa Cruz, James Magill, and Brian Haney Ph.D.
Applications of Data
Background: Urban environments have historically been viewed as entirely negative for any species inhabiting the area. Given that urban environments are rapidly growing across the world1, it is important to understand if and how wildlife can exist in these areas. One of the key groups of animals in almost every ecosystem are the pollinators. Pollinators are crucial for the fertilization and propagation of flowering plants, which are the dominant plant group in terrestrial ecosystems and thus directly or indirectly support all other terrestrial animal life. Decreases in the abundance and diversity of pollinators has been documented in various ecosystems around the world, likely due to a combination of pesticides, climate change, habitat loss, and invasive species2. Few of these observations, however, have been performed in an urban environment, so the wellbeing of urban pollinators is relatively unknown. This project aims to initiate a long-term study of the pollinator population in New York City, one of the largest and densest urban environments in the world. We created a pollinator abundance survey and collected data that will serve as the baseline for a longitudinal study of the NYC pollinator community. This data will be compared to future pollinator abundance data in order to track any changes in our pollinator population. We have also prepared the survey and training materials for distribution to the NYC community, with the hopes that people across the city will collect data and contribute to the important task of monitoring pollinator welfare in NYC.
Methods: • • • • •
Developed and piloted a 3-minute observational survey that records pollinator abundance and diversity, as well as ecological variables that may influence pollinator activity. Developed flowering plant and pollinator ID guides to help identify the organisms observed in the survey. Performed approximately 500 surveys from early to late July in various environments within NYC, totaling 25 hours of observational time. Analyzed survey data using Student’s t-tests and Type II ANOVAs in the statistical program R for preliminary results on pollinator abundance. Created instructional materials and video for community training.
Longitudinal Study:
Urban Vs. Rural:
Our project’s main goal is to provide a baseline dataset that can allow us to understand if/how pollinator abundance is changing over time. Our urban environment continues to grow and change in numerous ways, and it is important to know if these changes disrupt our pollinators. We could compare today’s data with data in 1, 5, or even 10 years to see if there is any change on the state of pollinator abundance and use these results to sound an alarm about the health of our pollinator community.
Understanding how the pollinator community responds and adapts to an urban environment could be helpful for conservation efforts. We compared the pollinator abundance and diversity between the city and Rockefeller State Park Preserve, approximately 20 miles north of the city. We found that the abundance of all pollinators was significantly lower in the urban environments compared to rural environments (t=3.19, df=22, p=0.004), however there were significantly more honeybees observed in the urban trials (t=5.75, df=22, p=2.5E-7).
Figure 1: Locations of pollinator observations thus far (with average pol. finds). Community distribution of the pollinator survey will generate wider applications of surveys across city. Figure 2a: Total pollinator visits per survey were significantly higher in rural areas than in urban areas.
Figure 2b: Honeybee visits per survey were significantly higher in urban areas.
Which Flowers are Most Visited?
Pollinators Across Urban Environments:
Our data can be used to determine which flower types are the most important to the pollinator community by comparing how many pollinating insects visit each plant species. We can also see how pollinators are being affected by invasive plant species, if they prefer to visit natives over invasives, and which invasive species pollinators have learned to utilize. These results can be used to recommend the plant species that are most beneficial for pollinator fitness to gardeners, landscapers, and parks. Surprisingly, we found that 2 of the 3 most visited flower species were nonnative, suggesting that invasive flowers may actually play an important role in this community.
Although NYC is one city, it is not a homogeneous ecosystem. There are differences in extent of urbanization, microclimate, land use, and noise, light, and air pollution across the city that may affect pollinator health. This data can help reveal which parts of the city have low pollinator abundance and why, informing future decisions about urban development that encourage pollinator coexistence. Our surveys found that light exposure (F=7.49, df=2, p<0.001) and landscape type (F=2.85, df=5, p=0.015) significantly influenced the abundance of pollinators.
Table 1: The three most and three least visited flower species from this study, and their native/invasive status in North America.
Figure 3a: Total pollinator visits per survey were significantly higher in full sun than in full shade.
Figure 3b: Total pollinator visits per survey were significantly higher in wooded and grassland areas than in roadside areas.
Works Cited: Acknowledgements: We would like to thank the Wave Hill Woodland Ecology Research Program, Barry Kogan, and Thomas Schindelman for their support and guidance.
1: United Nations World Urbanization Prospects 2018 Revision 2: Wagner, David L., et al. "Insect decline in the Anthropocene: Death by a thousand cuts." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118.2 (2021).