Rainfall, temperature, and vegetation type influence nesting by the oil-collecting bee Centris ( Hemisiella ) tarsata in
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Original article
Rainfall, temperature, and vegetation type influence nesting by the oil-collecting bee Centris (Hemisiella ) tarsata in Brazilian restinga Danúbia Maria da COSTA1,2 , Michela Costa BATISTA3 , Amaury Soares de BRITO2,4 , Inácio de BARROS5 , Adenir Vieira TEODORO1,2 1
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Agroecologia, Universidade Estadual do Maranhão, Travessa Paulo VI, s/n-Cidade Universitária Paulo VI, São Luís, MA 65057-630, Brazil 2 Embrapa Tabuleiros Costeiros, Av. Beira-Mar 3250, Jardins, Caixa Postal 44, Aracaju, SE, Brazil 3 Programa de Pós-Graduação em Agricultura e Ambiente, Universidade Estadual do Maranhão, Centro de Estudos Superiores de Balsas, Praça Gonçalves Dias s/n Centro, Balsas, MA 65800-000, Brazil 4 Programa de Pós-Graduação em Agricultura e Biodiversidade, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Av. Marechal Rondon, s/n–Jd. Rosa Elze, São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil 5 Embrapa Gado de Leite, Rua Eugênio do Nascimeno, 610-Dom Bosco, 36038-330, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil Received 2 February 2019 – Revised 22 July 2019 – Accepted 5 September 2019
Abstract – Solitary bees are the main pollinators of native plant species and crops, therefore, understanding how they respond to the environment is essential to maintain ecosystem function and services. Here, we assessed how climatic conditions and vegetation type influence Centris tarsata nesting in Brazilian restinga. Evaluations were conducted using trap-nests placed in open areas, shrubby and secondary vegetations, and at understory and canopy in open areas and secondary vegetations. Overall, nesting was higher during the dry season, mostly in open areas at a height of 1.5 m. However, in shrubby and secondary vegetations, nesting seems to be favored by a specific rainfall and temperature range. Furthermore, the amount of brood cells, total number of adults, and nest length were higher in open areas compared to shrubby and secondary vegetations. Therefore, our results show that rainfall, temperature, and vegetation structure are determining factors in C. tarsata nesting in the Brazilian restinga. trap-nests / cavity-nesting bees / pollinators / climate conditions / Malpighiaceae
1. INTRODUCTION Mutualistic interactions between plants and pollinators play a fundamental role in the maintenance of ecosystem functions and services. Plants provide food resources such as pollen and nectar to pollinators, which in turn help fruit and seed formation through pollination services (Giannini et al. 2015). Bees are the most important and
Corresponding author: D. Costa, [email protected] Manuscript editor: James Nieh
effective pollinators. Furthermore, they are ecologically and functionally diverse, forage on a wide variety of floral forms and nest on a myriad of substrates (Klein et al. 2007). The number of bee species worldwide could be as high as 30.000 species (Michener 2007), from which 85% have a solitary habit (Silva et al. 2001; Buschini and Wolff 2006). Solitary bee species have specific habitat requirements such as pre-existing cavities for nesting
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