Abstract
The potential of Euglossini bees, especially Euglossa, as biological indicators of organic vs nonorganic coffee farms was studied in Atenas and San Isidro, Alajuela, Costa Rica using 1.8-cineole as lure. Observations were made for three days at each of four farms and complemented with data from a year of observations. Orchid bees were in greater abundance in the organic farms (t-Student test). However, lower abundances suggest that an organic farm may be negatively affected by the proximity of non-organic farms, depending on its size and distance. Orchid bees may be indicators of organic coffee farms.
Highlights
Beginning in the 1970’s, Costa Rica and much of the world began a trend of seeing organic farming as a viable means of production and as a healthier alternative for both humans and the natural environment
There was a higher abundance of orchid bees in the organic Alpizar farm than in nearby non-organic farm on each day observations were made, considering both earlier and present findings (Fig. 1)
Because orchid bees are capable of traveling many kilometers in search of fragrances (Dressler 1982, Roubik and Hanson 2004), it is unlikely that this pattern is the result of differences in the locations of the organic and non-organic farms
Summary
Beginning in the 1970’s, Costa Rica and much of the world began a trend of seeing organic farming as a viable means of production and as a healthier alternative for both humans and the natural environment. Over the past few decades, the severity of the negative effects that modern agriculture has on e.g. water quality, soil health, and biodiversity has become clear. Due to these heavy environmental impacts, there is a need for change in the methods of modern agriculture (Vandermeer 1995). Orchid bees (Euglossa spp., Euglossini tribe) are proposed here as possible bio-indicators in some neotropical environments such as coffee farm lands since many of their characteristics match the criteria for a good bio-indicator; including wide range of habitat, abundance, and simplicity of monitoring (Noss 1990, Becker et al 1991). The object of this study was to investigate orchid bees’ potential as bio-indicators of organic vs non-organic coffee farms in Costa Rica. This study analyzes how farm size might affect these results, based on the hypothesis that the size of an organic farm, when it borders non-organic farms, affects the abundance of orchid bees that visit the farm
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