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Michael Simanonok, PhD

Michael Simanonok is a Biologist at the USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in Jamestown, North Dakota.

I'm broadly interested in how landscape patterns and processes influence community- and network-level structure and function. My work at Northern Prairie follows these themes using both managed and native bee species to address questions of land-use change in the Northern Great Plains. Current projects include 1) investigating how the quality and species composition of forage collected by bees changes with land use, 2) using pollen DNA data from rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) museum specimens to infer historical foraging and inform conservation efforts, and 3) exploring relationships between solitary bee nesting and floral resource variability across the landscape.

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D. Ecology & Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, 2018

  • M.S. Biological Sciences, Montana State University, 2013

  • B.S. Biology, University of North Texas, 2010

Science and Products

Landscape characterization of floral resources for pollinators in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States

Across agricultural areas of the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR), floral resources are primarily found on public grasslands, roadsides, and private grasslands used as pasture or enrolled in federal conservation programs. Little research has characterized the availability of flowers across the region or identified the primary stakeholders managing lands supporting pollinators. We explored spatial and
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Ecosystems, Earth Resources Observation and Science Center, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center , Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

A century of pollen foraging by the endangered rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis): Inferences from molecular sequencing of museum specimens

In 2017 the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) became the first bee listed under the Endangered Species Act in the continental United States due to population declines and an 87% reduction in the species’ distribution. Bombus affinis decline began in the 1990s, predating modern bee surveying initiatives, and obfuscating drivers of decline. While understood to be a highly generalist forager,
By
Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Forage and habitat for pollinators in the northern Great Plains—Implications for U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation programs

Managed and wild pollinators are critical components of agricultural and natural systems. Despite the well-known value of insect pollinators to U.S. agriculture, Apis mellifera (Linnaeus, 1758; honey bees) and wild bees currently face numerous stressors that have resulted in declining health. These declines have engendered support for pollinator conservation efforts across all levels of government
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Do the quality and quantity of honey bee-collected pollen vary across an agricultural land use gradient?

Pollen is the source of protein for most bee species, yet the quality and quantity of pollen is variable across landscapes and growing seasons. Understanding the role of landscapes in providing nutritious forage to bees is important for pollinator health, particularly in areas undergoing significant land-use change such as in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) region of the United States where grassl
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Ecosystems, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
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Photo of museum specimens of Bombus affinis.

Determining the dietary preferences and population genetics of an endangered bumble bee, Bombus affinis, by maximizing the use of museum specimens

Bombus affinis, the rusty patched bumble bee, was federally listed as an endangered species in 2017 and has been identified as one of the top priority species for recovery nationally. Shortly after listing the species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and other partners prioritized the research needed to prevent the extinction of B. affinis. Some of the top research needs that were identified...
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Ecosystems, Species Management Research Program, Wildlife Program (unpublished), Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
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Determining the dietary preferences and population genetics of an endangered bumble bee, Bombus affinis, by maximizing the use of museum specimens

Bombus affinis, the rusty patched bumble bee, was federally listed as an endangered species in 2017 and has been identified as one of the top priority species for recovery nationally. Shortly after listing the species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and other partners prioritized the research needed to prevent the extinction of B. affinis. Some of the top research needs that were identified...
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Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Pollen Metagenome

The rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) is a listed species under the Endangered Species Act of the United States. While understood to be a highly generalist forager, little is known on the role that limited floral resources or shifting floral community composition could have played in B. affinis decline. Determining which floral species provide suitable B. affinis forage could assist conser
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Eastern Ecological Science Center

Data release for: Does the quality and quantity of honey bee-collected pollen vary across an agricultural land-use gradient?

This dataset includes pollen sample weight in grams and percent crude protein collected by honey bees (Apis mellifera) across 38 apiaries in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota approximately weekly from June through September in 2015 and 2016. Additionally it includes the hectares of different land covers (corn, Zea mays, & soybeans, Glycine max, grasslands, b
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Ecosystems, Species Management Research Program, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

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