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Chemical Profile of Elements in the Stingless Bee Melipona scutellaris (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) from Sites with Distinct Anthropogenic Activities

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Abstract

Stingless bees are pollinators in forests and crops that, during foraging, may be exposed to several environmental xenobiotics, including metallic elements. This study evaluated the presence of magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), calcium (Ca), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), molybdenum (Mo), cadmium (Cd), barium (Ba), and lead (Pb) over the body surface of the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris visiting areas with different anthropogenic activity levels. The analyses were carried out using scanning electron microscopy with X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/XEDS) and all tested elements were identified. Lead was the most abundant element in all samples, whereas Mn had the lowest abundance. High amounts of Cu and Zn were detected in the areas with metallurgic industries. The presence of metals on the body surface of this stingless bee varied according to the level of human activities in the studied areas.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to bee keepers for providing the samples of Melipona scutellaris and to the Nucleus of Microscopy and Microanalysis from Universidade Federal de Viçosa for the technical assistance.

Funding

This research was supported by Brazilian research agencies Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (financial code 001), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa de Minas Gerais (02367–18, 00856–19), and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (303467/2018–5).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduation Program in Genetics, Biodiversity and Conservation, Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia-UESB, Rua José Moreira Sobrinho, s/n, Jequiezinho, BA, ZIP code 45208-091, Jequié, Brazil

    Sintia Emmanuelle Andrade de Santana, Paulo Barros de Abreu Júnior & Ana Maria Waldschmidt

  2. Department of General Biology, Universidade Federal de Viçosa-UFV, Avenida Peter Henry Rolfs, s/n, Campus Universitário, MG, ZIP code 36570-900, Viçosa, Brazil

    José Eduardo Serrão

  3. Center of Agricultural, Environmental and Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia–UFRB, Av. Rui Barbosa, 710, BA, ZIP code 44380-000, Cruz das Almas, Brazil

    Carlos Alfredo Lopes de Carvalho

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Conceptualization, methodology, resources, investigation, and writing original draft by Sintia Emmanuelle Andrade de Santana. Methodology, resources, validation, writing, and review/editing by José Eduardo Serrão. Investigation and resources by Carlos Alfredo Lopes de Carvalho. Formal analysis and data curation by Paulo Barros de Abreu Júnior. Definition, conceptualization, validation, writing, and review/editing by Ana Maria Waldschmidt. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Sintia Emmanuelle Andrade de Santana.

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de Santana, S.E.A., Serrão, J.E., de Carvalho, C.A.L. et al. Chemical Profile of Elements in the Stingless Bee Melipona scutellaris (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) from Sites with Distinct Anthropogenic Activities. Biol Trace Elem Res 201, 5431–5440 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-023-03586-3

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