Concentrated Vulnerabilities in Bees: Diet Specialists Have Smaller Geographic Ranges with Charlie Thrift
At our monthly meeting, PhD student Charlie Thrift shared his recently published research on wild bee conservation.
Charlie studies at UC Santa Barbara under advisors Katja Seltmann of the Big-Bee Project and Hillary Young. His research combines museum specimens, fieldwork, and community science to better understand and protect wild bee populations.
During his presentation, Charlie discussed how bees with smaller geographic ranges or more specialized diets may be especially vulnerable to environmental change. His study examined 633 bee species across six families and found a connection between geographic range and diet breadth, helping identify species that may benefit most from targeted conservation efforts.
Watch the video below to learn more about Charlie’s research and presentation.