Abstract:Nowadays, the northern part of the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil is largely destroyed and forest remnants rarely exceed 100 ha. In a 118 ha forest fragment within a state nature reserve of Pernambuco (Reserva Ecológica Gurjaú), we surveyed the orchid bee fauna (Apidae, Euglossini) using eight different scent baits to attract males. Once a month during one year, the bees were actively collected with entomological nets, from November 2002 to October 2003 by two collectors. We collected 2,908 orchid bee males bel… Show more
“…The most abundant species in both years was Euglossa cordata with 384 males (corresponding to 78.5% and 83.2% in 2015 and 2016, respectively), followed by Eulaema nigrita with 86 males (19.3% and 14.7% in 2015 and 2016, respectively) ( Table 1). Euglossa cordata and Eulaema nigrita were also the two-dominant species in the Santa Genebra forest in 2008 (Cordeiro et al, 2013) and in other Atlantic Forest fragments Gaglianone, 2008, 2012;Ramalho et al, 2009;Rocha-Filho and Garófalo, 2013;Oliveira et al, 2015). Both species are distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest (Garraffoni et al, 2017), and can be found in disturbed and fragmented areas as well as in open preserved areas (e.g., Viana and Kleinert, 2006;Ramalho et al, 2009;Aguiar and Gaglianone, 2012).…”
“…The most abundant species in both years was Euglossa cordata with 384 males (corresponding to 78.5% and 83.2% in 2015 and 2016, respectively), followed by Eulaema nigrita with 86 males (19.3% and 14.7% in 2015 and 2016, respectively) ( Table 1). Euglossa cordata and Eulaema nigrita were also the two-dominant species in the Santa Genebra forest in 2008 (Cordeiro et al, 2013) and in other Atlantic Forest fragments Gaglianone, 2008, 2012;Ramalho et al, 2009;Rocha-Filho and Garófalo, 2013;Oliveira et al, 2015). Both species are distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest (Garraffoni et al, 2017), and can be found in disturbed and fragmented areas as well as in open preserved areas (e.g., Viana and Kleinert, 2006;Ramalho et al, 2009;Aguiar and Gaglianone, 2012).…”
“…violacea on Site A. Euglossa cordata was the most common species on site D1-2 and was also quite abundant on site B, but not on site A (only one specimen collected). These results show that there is no clear pattern of dominance on the local assemblages, unlike what occurs in different areas of Atlantic forest where a single or a few common species dominate the local faunas (e.g., Aguiar & Gaglianone, 2012;Oliveira et al, 2015). Besides the alleged existence of heterogeneity among samples of euglossine bees taken from nearby sites (Armbruster, 1993), this study was carried out towards the range limits of most species, where the populations are regarded to be highly fragmented (reviewed in Gaston, 2009).…”
Seasonal fluctuations in the abundance of orchid bees have already been reported. The variations in population dynamics may be expected to occur in more predictable and pronounced manners in environments with a clear distinction between rainy and dry seasons, where climatic variables are regarded to be good predictors of populational patterns. The main goal of this paper is to investigate the seasonality of males of orchid bees in fragments of Seasonal Semideciduous Forest in southern Brazil. Data comprise bait samples from five one-year periods on four forest fragments. The seasonality of species abundance was tested with circular statistics. Results suggest two phenological patterns, one for Eufriesea violacea (Blanchard), Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier and Euglossa cordata (Linnaeus), whose abundances are concentrated in late spring and early-middle summer and another for Euglossa fimbriata Moure with a tendency to be collected in middle-late summer and early autumn. These patterns are discussed, as well the possible driven factors, (i) the species life cycle and nesting behavior, (ii) synchrony with resource, and (iii) climate. We can postulate an important impact of climate change in local euglossine assemblage due to the small populations and marked seasonality.
“…Moreover, most studies on "urban bees" in the tropics seem not to be carried out in heavily modified urban habitats, but on natural vegetation remnants or orchards surrounded by the urban matrix (e.g., Antonini et al 2013;Cândido et al 2018;Tangtorwongsakul et al 2018;Wayo et al 2020), in contrast to how studies are often conducted in temperate areas. Furthermore, many studies are faunal surveys of urban green areas (e.g., Nemésio and Silveira 2007;Gazola and Garófalo 2009;Nemésio and Silveira 2010;Aidar et al 2013;Viotti et al 2013;Oliveira et al 2015;Possamai et al 2017), not specifically assessing the effect of urbanization-related variables on bee communities. Therefore, more research specifically evaluating local and landscape characteristics needs to be conducted in tropical cities to understand the impacts of urbanization and to enhance the conservation value of cities for bees and other pollinators (Hernandez et al 2009).…”
Pollinators provide essential ecosystem services worldwide, but dependence on biotic pollination is higher in the tropics, where urbanization is expected to impact biodiversity more severely. Here, we present a global review on urban pollinator studies with emphasis on the tropics. From the 308 published studies that included information on pollinator groups, only ~25 % were conducted in tropical regions, while ~65 % were carried out in the non-tropical northern hemisphere. This overall trend was similar for all the major insect pollinator groups, but not for vertebrates, which were overall less studied in both tropical and non-tropical regions. The effects of urbanization on tropical pollinators are diverse and complex and likely depend on the extent and type of urbanization, as well as the pollinator taxa studied. For both insect and vertebrate pollinators, the existing studies suggest that tropical cities can support generalist species tolerant of human activity, but the lack of studies hampers other general conclusions. The underrepresentation of pollinator studies in tropical cities undermines the value of urban biodiversity conservation in the most biodiverse regions of the world and highlights a missing opportunity. Since promoting urban biodiversity benefits both nature and people, it could be especially relevant in the Global South, where economic and social inequalities are severe and pollinator conservation may contribute to sustainability goals. In this context, initiatives that foster more international collaborations and research in the tropics are essential for a better understanding of the effects of urbanization and the value of pollinators in urban areas. Such knowledge can provide the basis for better urban planning strategies that contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of pollination services in tropical cities.
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