Berry Brosi

Bee declines are of enormous societal relevance given the central role of bees as pollinators in both natural ecosystems as well as the human agricultural enterprise.  The goal of my research program is to understand the causes and implications of bee declines, for both native bees as well as managed honey bees.

Our work addresses topics such as the effects of land-use change on bee communities; the impacts of bee species losses on plant pollination in diverse natural communities; the conservation and landscape genetics of bees; and understanding and managing disease threats in bees.

We use a range of scientific approaches including comparative and manipulative field studies, controlled laboratory experiments, mathematical modeling, population genetics, stable isotope studies, and GIS and remote sensing. Our research is funded by the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Agriculture.

Selected Publication

Bewick, S., B.J. Brosi, and P.R. Armsworth. 2013. Competition causes secondary extinctions in plant-pollinator networks. Oikos 122: 1710–1719.

Briggs, H.M., I. Perfecto, and B.J. Brosi. 2013. The role of the agricultural matrix: coffee management and euglossine bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini) communities in southern Mexico. Environmental Entomology 42(6): 1210-1217.

Brosi BJ, Briggs HM (2013) Single pollinator species losses reduce floral fidelity and plant reproductive function. PNAS 110(32): 13044-13048.

Brosi BJ, Biber, EGN (2012) Citizen Involvement in the US Endangered Species Act. Science 37(6096): 802-803.

Brosi BJ (2009) The effects of forest fragmentation on euglossine bee communities (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini). Biological Conservation 142: 414-423.

Brosi BJ, Daily GC, Shih TM, Oviedo F, Durán G (2008) The effects of forest fragmentation on bee communities in tropical countryside. Journal of Applied Ecology 45(3): 773-783.