Vaccinium membranaceum and its bumble bee pollinators: how climate change may affect their joint survival

Abstract

Vaccinium membranaceum (thinleaf huckleberry) berries are an important food source for humans and wild animals. It relies on pollinators to produce its berries and bumble bee pollinators may be particularly important because of their ability to use vibration to extract hard-to-reach pollen. In this study, I assessed the impact of climate change on the location of the suitable niche of V. membranaceum and three of its bumble bee pollinators: Bombus mixtus, Bombus insularis, and Bombus melanopygus. Through generating environmental niche models, I assess the predicted gains and losses of the suitable niche of each species in future climate scenarios and the predicted gains and losses of suitable niche overlap between the plant and pollinator species in future climate scenarios. Each species had predicted shifts in suitable niche in each climate scenario and the amount of predicted suitable niche overlap between species decreased across time in some scenarios. The results of this study indicate that these species may be negatively impacted by climate change. Future studies that assess suitable niche using additional environmental variables and studies that assess dispersal ability and factors that influence geographic range limits will continue to illuminate the extent of climate change impact on these species.