Abstract
The ecological niche models can be important for biogeographic patterns and processes and geometric morphometrics involves identifying changes that have occurred and comparing them to other specimens from different places and/or environmental conditions, assessing whether the environment is influencing such change. The present work aimed to verify the potential model of distribution for Apis mellifera and analyze if there is variation in the geometric morphometrics in wing venation in the Pantanal. We followed the hypothesis that there is variation in the geometric morphometrics of wings and that the geographically closest groups are more similar. For niche modeling, 44 geographical points and 19 bioclimatic variables were used. For morphometrics, twenty-two anatomical landmarks were plotted at the intersection of the veins. The X and Y coordinates were standardized through Procrustes superimposition, and PCA and MANOVA tests were performed. The predictive model indicated that the center of the Pantanal plain shows the greater probability of occurrence for the species. The most important bioclimatic variables were: average temperature in the rainiest quarter (84%) and average annual temperature (72%). Morphometric analyzes indicate that there was variation between the most distant geographic points. The slight variation between some closely located points in the Pantanal can be related to individual reflections of colonies from other points, since the species has great dispersion capacity. Thus, the distribution of A. mellifera in the Pantanal is possibly related to temperature also accompanied by human occupation and the geometric morphometrics of its wings reflecting aspects of dispersion and population dynamics in the Brazilian Pantanal.
Highlights
The natural world varies across space with a mosaic of habitat fragments, and for any given species, some of these fragments are suitable and others are not, with the range of physical conditions where species can persist being called the fundamental niche (Pianka, 1981)
The predictive model indicates that the center of the Pantanal plain, is the area with higher probability of A. mellifera presence
The main bioclimatic variables responsible for the A. mellifera model were: average temperature in the rainiest quarter (84%) and average annual temperature (72%) (Table 2)
Summary
The natural world varies across space with a mosaic of habitat fragments, and for any given species, some of these fragments are suitable and others are not, with the range of physical conditions where species can persist being called the fundamental niche (Pianka, 1981). The ecological niche is the last distributional unit for a species or subspecies (Grinnel, 1917) that unites populational distributions with their environment, with species distributions reflecting the range of physical conditions that support individual survival (Braunisch et al, 2008). In this context, the development of ecological niche models can help to investigate biogeographical patterns and processes, predicting the geographical distribution of species from sparse occurrence. Modeling plays an important role, as it addresses several issues such as the analysis of an exotic/invasive species (Peterson & Vieglais, 2001; Giovanelli et al, 2008) and implications for conservation (Guisan & Thuiller, 2005)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call