Abstract
Apis species are a major component of pollinator faunas in their native and introduced habitats. A widespread concern is that non-native Apis mellifera may have negative effects on native pollinators and on plant reproduction. This is based on the assumptions that natural communities are at capacity, resource competition structures communities, native pollinators are more effective pollinators of native species, yet A. mellifera are superior competitors. The latter two assumptions are often true, but evidence from the Neotropics indicates that tropical communities are not tightly structured, and the foraging flexibilities of native bees maintain their populations. However, the less diverse and disharmonic biotas of islands may limit the buffering capacity of flexible behaviors. While few studies address these assumptions or the ecological and evolutionary consequences of A. mellifera to the flora and fauna of tropical islands, an accumulation of taxon-specific studies are suggesting that such effects run the spectrum from subtle and indirect to obvious and direct. A concerted research effort is needed to address the multitude of issues to develop strategies to ameliorate or enhance honey bee effects, or just let nature take its course.
Highlights
Native island biotas are depauperate compared to areas of similar size on continents, a phenomenon driven by immigration, extinction, isolation, area, habitat diversity, among other factors (MacArthur and Wilson, 1967; Whittaker et al, 2017)
I review the role of non-indigenous honey bees, Apis mellifera (HB) in these novel systems of tropical and subtropical islands, and what we can expect of HB interactions for the Caribbean and Puerto Rico in particular
The change from European honey bee (EHB) to Africanized Honey Bees (AHB) may have hidden consequences since AHB places greater emphasis on pollen foraging than EHB (Schneider et al, 2004); we have no means to determine whether a shift in pollinator services or any other interaction occurred since few studies of HB exist prior to the arrival of AHB
Summary
Native island biotas are depauperate compared to areas of similar size on continents, a phenomenon driven by immigration, extinction, isolation, area, habitat diversity, among other factors (MacArthur and Wilson, 1967; Whittaker et al, 2017). Island biotas tend to be phylogenetically and functionally disharmonic since some taxa are more likely than others to arrive, survive and reproduce on an island (Taylor et al, 2019; König et al, 2020). This often leaves functional gaps on islands, such as predators, or certain taxa such as ants and palms (Weigelt et al, 2015). I review the role of non-indigenous honey bees, Apis mellifera (HB) in these novel systems of tropical and subtropical islands, and what we can expect of HB interactions for the Caribbean and Puerto Rico in particular
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