Integrative Profiling of Bee Communities from Habitats of Tropical Southern Yunnan (China)

X W Liu,Q Y Dai,D Chesters,Z Q Niu,C D Zhu,P Beckschäfer,K Martin

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-05262-8

Abstract

Understanding and managing pollination service is hindered by taxonomic impediments and paucity of data, particularly in the tropics. Herein we apply integrative species delineation and taxonomy to test impacts of land use on the diversity of bee communities within Xishuangbanna (Yunnan, south China), a highly biodiverse tropical region which has undergone extensive land conversion to rubber plantation. 128 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTU) were inferred by an iterative and integrative approach. Bee activity differed significantly across land use samples, although community composition corresponded more to level of vegetation density, when accounting for spatial structure. Species diversity was high in young rubber plantations, although composition overlapped with other species-rich habitats (natural forest edge and river banks), and older plantations (>8 years) showed very low diversity under all measures. Community structures were similar between the natural forest interior and edge, although analysis indicated contrasting drivers of diversity, with clustering in the interior and overdispersion in the forest edge. Further, phylogenetic diversity and derived indices were underestimated when reference data were omitted from analysis. The description of bee communities herein permits more informed choices in land management with respect to ensuring continuation of essential services by bees.

Highlights

There are more than 20,000 described species of bees (Apoidea: Anthophila) in seven families[13, 14]
The current research addresses the lack of data on variation in bee communities and of available DNA references for bees in the tropics, by development of a framework of bee species diversity in key habitats of Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve (NRWNNR) (Fig. 1), a tropical landscape in Xishuangbanna, southern Yunnan, China
Phenetic and phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences to construct a set of key descriptors of the diversity of tropical bee communities, compare these to traditional approaches which have previously been used in evaluation of bee diversity and pollination service in Xishuangbanna[11], and assess how community structure differs through a gradient of land use intensity

Summary

Introduction

There are more than 20,000 described species of bees (Apoidea: Anthophila) in seven families[13, 14]. The current research addresses the lack of data on variation in bee communities and of available DNA references for bees in the tropics, by development of a framework of bee species diversity in key habitats of Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve (NRWNNR) (Fig. 1), a tropical landscape in Xishuangbanna, southern Yunnan, China. Phenetic and phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences to construct a set of key descriptors of the diversity of tropical bee communities, compare these to traditional approaches (based on morphological identification of specimens) which have previously been used in evaluation of bee diversity and pollination service in Xishuangbanna[11], and assess how community structure differs through a gradient of land use intensity

Methods

Results

Conclusion