Impacts of urbanization on the brain of the stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula (Apidae, Meliponini)

• Grant number: 23/05891-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: August 01, 2023
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Animal Behavior
• Principal Investigator: Fábio Santos do Nascimento
• Grantee: Mariana Pupo Cassinelli
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The urbanization process has become increasingly significant in recent years, causing serious consequences on the environmental balance, such as the effects of heavy metals and air pollution. This process directly impacts the balance of the ecosystem. Some effects already observed are related to changes in the behavior and development of animals due to the neurotoxic potential of some contaminants related to the expansion of urban centers. In this sense, bees, essential living beings in ecosystem functioning, are suffering a relevant population decline, being largely affected by urbanization. The present work uses Tetragonisca angustula (jataí), a native stingless bee widely distributed in Brazil, easy to handle and important for the pollination of the national flora. Thus, we intend to investigate the impacts of urbanization on this species through analyzes on the development of colonies, brain volume and the concentration of metals with neurotoxic potential (Pb, Cu and Cd) in the brain and in its different neuropiles. For this, ten colonies of bees will be installed in urban areas and ten in preserved environments so that after six months of exposure, we will collect individuals for brain analysis. Monitoring of the twenty colonies will be carried out monthly throughout the year and six months will be allocated for the collection, measurements and weighing of individuals. This study has unprecedented proposals that may contribute to clarifying the anthropic effects on bees, serving as a model for future work in the area and for the elaboration of precise measures for the protection and conservation of bees.