Abstract
In this study we investigated the group of floral resources that support bee populations from a bee assemblage in a savanna, and the way in which bee species use these food resources, with an emphasis on the breadth and overlap of trophic niches. The interactions between 75 species of bees and 62 species of plants visited to obtain floral resources were recorded on a Brazilian savanna site. The bee species explored a diverse set of plant species, but concentrated the collection of resources in a few plant species. The distribution of the samples over a long period favored a robust characterization of the food niche of the bee populations. Byrsonima sericea, Serjania faveolata, and Stigmaphyllon paralias were the plant species with the highest number of links with bees. In general, the trophic niche overlap was low, with 75% of pairs of bee species having a niche overlap (NO) less than 0.33. Only four pairs showed high overlap (NO>0.70) and all cases were related to the exploitation of floral resources provided by B. sericea, a key resource for the maintenance of the local bee fauna, an oil and pollen provider.
Highlights
Bee populations are at risk in several parts of the world
The interactions between 75 bee species of bees and 62 plant species were recorded on this cerrado site (Fig 1, Table 1, Supplementary material 1)
The guild of oil-collecting bees, here composed of the species included in the Centridini, Tetrapediini and Tapinotaspidini tribes, showed high diversity and many interactions with B. sericea and S. paralias (Malpighiaceae) (Supplementary material 1)
Summary
The removal of native vegetation to expand agricultural areas has been one of the factors with a significant contribution to the fragmentation and reduction of natural and semi-natural habitats. Deforestation reduces the diversity of plants used as food resources, nesting substrates, and sources of materials necessary for bee nesting (Freitas et al, 2009; Kevan, 2018). Knowledge about food plants used by bees is important to support habitat restoration programs and the conservation of bee populations, as well as to subsidize beekeeping (MaiaSilva et al, 2020). It is necessary to produce a scientific knowledge basis capable of subsidizing friendly agricultural practices to pollinators. Efforts must be made to identify the resources necessary for the persistence of bee populations in these habitats
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