In the coastal salt marshes of Northern Europe, there is a conflict of conservation interest between commercial keepers managing domestic pollinators and conservationists protecting the wild Sea Aster Bee (Colletes halophilus), a threatened solitary bee species.
When managed bees are provided with supplementary sugar-water feeds by keepers, their populations can grow artificially large and outcompete the wild Sea Aster Bee.
Name the type of competition that occurs between managed domestic pollinators and the wild Sea Aster Bee.
Managed pollinators will outcompete the Sea Aster Bee if they:
Ecosystem managers investigated this ecological conflict. Table 1 summarizes some of their findings.
Table 1
| Managed pollinator | Difference in floral diet compared to Sea Aster Bee* | Difference in foraging height compared to Sea Aster Bee* |
|---|---|---|
| Red Mason Bee | 0.9 | 1.4 |
| Honeybee | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Buff-tailed Bumblebee | 0.0 | 2.6 |
* A score of 0.0 indicates that the floral diet or foraging height is identical to that of the Sea Aster Bee.
There must be a balance between the need for conservation of the threatened Sea Aster Bee and the economic or pollination needs of local agricultural managers.
Using all the information provided, suggest and explain three actions that the keepers or ecosystem managers could take to achieve this balance.
