Spatial scale matters for biotic interactions in SDMs
Non-parasitic wild bees are central-place foragers that repeatedly return to their nest (Cresswell et al. 2000). Consequently, foraging habits are limited in range. Oligolectic bees nest close to their pollen plants (Gathmann & Tscharntke 2002) and the majority of resource consumption by smaller bees is within a few hundred meters of their nests (Zurbuchen et al. 2010; Hofmann et al. 2020) with larger average foraging ranges for larger-bodied bees, over 1 km (Greenleaf et al. 2007). Obligate cleptoparasitic bees lay their eggs on the pollen deposits of other bees (Litman 2019). They may search freely over large distances and are less limited in range, as they don’t have to return to their nest to collect nectar and pollen for their offspring (Litman 2019). Nevertheless, they can often be found close to the nests of their hosts, waiting for the host bee to leave and forage (Litman 2019). Our results support the recorded foraging distances and that parasites are found in proximity to their hosts, showing an optimal resolution of the interacting species as explanatory variable at 500 m for the cleptoparasitic bees and 500 m -1 km for the oligolectic and polylectic bees). In general, the relation between the spatial resolution of the analysis and the movement of the species is most likely dependent on the type of biotic interaction.