Floral biology and pollination in Brazil: history and possibilities

Abstract

Pollination research in Brazil virtually started with Fritz Muller, whose insights supported Darwin's evolutionary theory. Pollination systems of Brazilian plants were studied mainly by travelling researchers until early last century when native or resident geneticists began to use floral biology information to deal with crop acclimatization and breeding, later applying similar experiments and techniques to investigate native plants. Bee geneticists studied common pollinators of crops, such as coffee and Citrus, and even the introduction of feral African honeybees, despite their associated problems, stimulated pollination research. Geneticists attracted Dobzhansky to Brazil, where his research on tree distribution in the Brazilian Amazon represented a turning point for tropical pollination research by prompting the discovery of long-distance pollinating bees, thus bringing pollination back to mainstream evolutionary research. Tropical pollination studies stimulated the emergence of research groups in the Amazon and São Paulo states. In 1998, a seminal conference held in São Paulo called for the need to conserve pollinators and pollination systems. Subsequent research has been integrated under the Brazilian Pollinators Initiative, with research groups established throughout the country. A revived International Pollination Course, a National Pollination Symposium, and cooperative efforts to tackle complex interaction networks may direct future pollination research in Brazil.

Bees biodiversity, forage behavior and fruit production in gherkin crop (Cucumis anguria L.)

“…Although they were accidental species, the constancy index was important in the fruiting of the gherkin and was observed that in the collection of nectar and pollen, the native bees visited several flowers in the experimental area before flying out of the crop. This behavior may have promoted the transfer of genetic material from one plant to another characterizing it as a pollinator (Oliveira & Rech, 2018).…”

Revisión de las interacciones ecológicas de la mosca Cochliomyia hominivorax y evaluación de los posibles impactos ecológicos de su erradicación en Uruguay

“…An often unrecognized but crucial ecological role of some Calliphoridae is pollination (56)(57)(58)(59)(60)(61) . The NWS fly adults feed on flower nectar, which is vitally important for their survival, ovary maturation and reproductive success, due to which they could play a role as pollinators (60) .…”

Espécies vegetais utilizadas como pasto apícola por abelhas Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera, Apidae) em área de savana de Roraima, Brasil

“…Dentre as espécies de abelhas, provavelmente, a Apis mellifera L., seja a mais estudada, não só pelos produtos amplamente utilizados e conhecidos, como mel, pólen, cera, resinas e geleia real, mas principalmente pelos serviços prestados com a polinização cruzada, isto é, o transporte do pólen de uma flor a outra (CRANE, 1985;WOLOSKI & FREITAS, 2015;OLIVEIRA & RECH 2018). Apesar de existirem levantamentos sobre fontes de pólen e néctar utilizadas pelas abelhas A. mellifera na Amazônia, pouco se tem conhecimento sobre esse comportamento em Roraima, estado mais ao norte do país, com áreas de vegetação diversa variando entre florestas densas e savana (conhecidos localmente como lavrados), área de vegetação aberta que atravessa as fronteiras da Guiana e Venezuela (ARAÚJO et al, 2017).…”