Nesting stingless bees in urban areas: a reevaluation after eight years

Authors

  • Karine Munck Vieira Laboratório de Ecologia comportamental e Bio Acústica. Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, MG, Brasil.
  • Paula Netto Universidade Federal de Viçosa
  • Danielle L.A.S. Amaral Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora
  • Sarah Silva Mendes Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora
  • Lívia Cabral Castro Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora
  • Fábio Prezoto Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v63i3.778

Keywords:

stingless bees, human constructions, species diversity, abundance, urban area.

Abstract

Studies of nesting ecology have proven to be extremely important for stingless bee conservation. These studies have rarely been conducted in urban landscapes, and even fewer have compared species diversity and abundances over time. We surveyed native stingless bee nests at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora campus in Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, from May 2008 to April 2009. We recorded the number of nests, nest height, species diversity, and nest substrate type (i.e., natural or artificial). We compared our results to those of a similar survey carried out in the same location eight years prior (2000/2001) in order to evaluate how urban expansion on campus has influenced the Meliponini bee community. Stingless bee abundance and richness were greater in the second survey. The use of natural substrates decreased, while the use of artificial substrates increased. This suggests that the increase in man-made structures on the UFJF campus has provided favorable sites for establishment of some stingless bee species.

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Author Biographies

Karine Munck Vieira, Laboratório de Ecologia comportamental e Bio Acústica. Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, MG, Brasil.

Departamento de Zoologia.

Paula Netto, Universidade Federal de Viçosa

Programa de Pós-graduação em Entomologia - UFV

Danielle L.A.S. Amaral, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Genética e Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora- MG, Brazil.

Sarah Silva Mendes, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora

Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia - UFJF

Lívia Cabral Castro, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora

Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental e Bioacustica - UFJF

Fábio Prezoto, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora

Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental e Bioacustica - UFJF

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Published

2016-10-25

How to Cite

Vieira, K. M., Netto, P., Amaral, D. L., Mendes, S. S., Castro, L. C., & Prezoto, F. (2016). Nesting stingless bees in urban areas: a reevaluation after eight years. Sociobiology, 63(3), 976–981. https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v63i3.778

Issue

Vol. 63 No. 3 (2016)

Section

Research Article - Bees

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