Full text
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| Author(s): |
Vanderson Cristiano de Sousa
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Biociências |
| Defense date: | 21 mar. 2014 |
| Examining board members: |
Astrid de Matos Peixoto Kleinert;
Márcia Maria Corrêa Rêgo
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| Advisor: | Astrid de Matos Peixoto Kleinert |
| Abstract | |
Stingless bees act as important pollinators of native species in tropical and subtropical regions and have a great relevance to conservation units. The availability of nesting sites, according to substrates\' supply (cavities in trees and soil, for example), can determine the structure of stingless bees community. This study was conducted in the Parque Estadual das Fontes do Ipiranga (23º 39\' S, 46º 37\'W), situated in the middle of an intense urbanization in São Paulo city - SP. The study aimed to survey the nest of species of stingless bees in two areas with different vegetation types: areas of initial secondary successional stage (SI), with a lower density of individual trees, and areas of late secondary stage (ST), with a higher density of individual trees. The following hypotheses were formulated: 1) richness and diversity of stingless bees species will be higher in the ST areas; 2) in these areas as well, the increased availability of nesting sites (tree hollows) will entail in a higher density of stingless bees nests with a predominance of species that nest in trees; 3) in the SI areas, richness and relative abundance of stingless bees species that nest in the soil will be greater than the values for species that nest in trees, due to the low density of individual trees; 4) nests of species of the genus Melipona will only be found in the ST areas due to their preference to nest in hollows of trees with large CAPs (circumference at breast height). In total, 14 nests of 4 species were found, all of them belonging to the subtribe Trigonina. Paratrigona subnuda, which nests on the ground, presented the highest relative abundance of nests (n = 11, 78.57 %), with nests in both SI (n = 2) areas, as in ST areas (n = 9). The other species were represented by only one nest each: Trigona braueri (n = 1, 7.14 %) in SI, Scaptotrigona bipunctata (n = 1, 7.14 %) and Trigona spinipes (n = 1, 7.14 %), both in ST. The ST areas had the highest relative abundance of nests (n = 11, 78.57 %) and, contrary to what we had expected, in these areas, the number of underground nests was higher than of tree nests, whether they were supportive or cavities. Also contrary to our predictions, no nests of species of the genus Melipona were found. Diversity values were practically the same (low) for both stages (SI - H \' = 0.60; ST - H\' = 0.64). Richness and nest density were significantly higher in ST areas (SI - richness = 2, density = 1.43 nests/ha; ST - richness = 3, density = 5.24 nests/ha). The nest density for the entire study area (3.33 nests/ha) was higher than the average found in other surveys in natural areas (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 11/03569-9 - Richness, relative abundance and density of stingless bees nests (Apidae, Meliponini) in two distinct physiognomies at the Cientec-USP Park ("Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia"), São Paulo (23º38'S; 46º36'W) |
| Grantee: | Vanderson Cristiano de Sousa |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Master |