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The orchid bee fauna in the Brazilian savanna: do forest formations contribute to higher species diversity?

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Abstract

The Neotropical savanna is characterized by a set of different phytophysiognomies occurring in a wide expanse of Brazilian lands. Based on the known higher diversity of orchid bees in forests rather than in savanna formations, we hypothesized that the occurrence of forest formations inside the Brazilian savanna increases the diversity of euglossine bees in that domain and that there are species more associated with these environments. To test this hypothesis, we sampled the euglossine fauna in eight forest and woody savanna remnants and analyzed their community structure. We sampled 1,010 males of 13 species of orchid bees. Bee abundance and species richness ranged from 30 to 341 individuals and from 4 to 12 species, respectively. The forest remnants showed the highest diversity indices and species richness. Our data suggest that some species of Euglossa are mainly associated with forest remnants. We concluded that environmental heterogeneity in the Neotropical savanna contributes to higher diversity of euglossine and that some species are more frequently found in forested habitats. Additionally, considering that some sampled species are typical of the Atlantic and Amazon forests, our data reinforce the hypothesis that forest environments inside the Brazilian savanna can be considered bio-corridors for orchid bees.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES-PROCAD 158/07) and to Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for the PQ scholarships to SC Augusto and MC Gaglianone. We would like to thank Dr. Ivan Schiavini for providing information about the study areas, the biologists Thiago T. Brescia and Guilherme C. Pires for the samplings made in Irara and Sucupira Cassu farm, Gabriel A. R. Melo for his help with the identification of euglossine species, and to anonymous reviewers that contributed to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, 28013-602, Brazil

    Guilherme C. Silveira & Maria C. Gaglianone

  2. Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Campus Umuarama, Bloco 2D, Uberlândia, MG, 38400-902, Brazil

    Rafael F. Freitas, Thiago H. A. Tosta, Laíce S. Rabelo & Solange C. Augusto

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  1. Guilherme C. Silveira
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  2. Rafael F. Freitas
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  3. Thiago H. A. Tosta
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  4. Laíce S. Rabelo
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  5. Maria C. Gaglianone
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  6. Solange C. Augusto
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Correspondence to Solange C. Augusto.

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Manuscript editor: James Nieh

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Silveira, G.C., Freitas, R.F., Tosta, T.H.A. et al. The orchid bee fauna in the Brazilian savanna: do forest formations contribute to higher species diversity?. Apidologie 46, 197–208 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-014-0314-1

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