Pollinator functional group responses to urban land cover in Merseyside, UK

Pollinators are declining globally, partly due to habitat loss and fragmentation - which may be exacerbated by urbanisation. Species differ in functional traits that can influence their ability to persist in cities, and understanding these differences may be key to effective urban insect conservation. This exploratory study examines how bee and hoverfly functional groups respond to urban land cover change and which land cover categories best support pollinator populations. Continuous predicted habitat suitability maps were created for each functional group to identify the most suitable urban land cover categories. The majority of pollinator functional groups showed moderate to high predicted suitability across diverse urban land-cover types, with the notable exceptions of leafcutter bees and hoverflies with phytophagous larvae. Dense urban fabric showed unexpectedly high predicted suitabilities for some functional groups, while green urban areas showed unexpectedly low predicted suitabilities for several groups, suggesting that conservation focus should shift beyond green spaces to encompass more diverse urban habitat types. We also recommend long-term standardised monitoring to better understand trends across functional groups and guide urban conservation strategies. Implications for insect conservation: Urban pollinator conservation strategies should expand beyond their focus on green spaces to include diverse habitat types such as industrial areas and heavily developed land. Management interventions should provide functional group-specific resources including supplementing nesting resources and varied floral resources to support diverse pollinator communities.