Abstract
In the present study we inventoried the diversity of eusocial bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in preserved and anthropized areas of a tropical dry forest in the Parque da Sapucaia (Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil). We tested the hypothesis that the diversity of bee species would: 1) be greater in the preserved areas, 2) respond positively to the structure of the vegetation and 3) decrease during the dry season. We sampled eusocial bee species in 18 plots of 10 x 10 m distributed throughout the park, being nine plots in anthropized areas and nine plots in areas with preserved vegetation. In total we recorded 382 individuals and eight species of eusocial bees. The most abundant species was Oxytrigona tataira (Smith) (N = 233) and the most common species was Trigona spinipes (Fabricius) recorded in 72.2% of the plots. As expected, we found that eusocial bee diversity (Shannon diversity) was higher in preserved plots than in anthropized plots. Tree species richness positively affected bee species richness and abundance, while tree abundance positively influenced the bee abundance and tree height positively affected the bee Shannon diversity, corroborating our expectations. On the other hand, we detected no differences in the diversity of eusocial bees between dry and rainy seasons. Our findings suggest that both natural (vegetation structure) and anthropogenic (habitat modification) factors are important predictors of the diversity of eusocial bee species in tropical dry forests.
Highlights
The modification of natural habitats is considered the main cause of the current loss of bee diversity (GonzálezVaro et al, 2013; Collado et al, 2019)
In the present study we inventoried the diversity of eusocial bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in preserved and anthropized areas of a tropical dry forest in the northern region of Minas Gerais, Brazil
The most common species were T. spinipes recorded in 72.2% of the plots and T. angustula recorded in 66.7% of plots
Summary
The modification of natural habitats is considered the main cause of the current loss of bee diversity (GonzálezVaro et al, 2013; Collado et al, 2019). Fragmentation of natural habitats and environmental changes in the remaining fragments can affect bee pollination processes (Taki et al, 2007; González-Varo et al, 2013) This is worrying because bees are the most important pollinators of several human food crops (Klein et al, 2007; Potts et al, 2010). These losses in pollination occur because the modification of natural habitats impoverishes local bee faunas (Nemésio & Silveira, 2010; Aguiar & Gaglianone, 2012), and affects species composition (Martins et al, 2013). The negative effects of anthropization on local bee communities tends to occur because the change in habitat characteristics leads to the
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