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Diversity and habitat use by stingless bees (Apidae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

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Abstract

The present study discusses spatial variations in the community structure of stingless bees as well as associated ecological factors by comparing the nest densities in two stages of forest regeneration in a Brazilian Tropical Atlantic rainforest. The stingless bee nests were sampled in sixty-four 25 × 25 m plots (4 ha) in four replicates of two forest categories: (a) mature, or old growth, stage of forest regeneration and (b) early-stage forest regeneration. Tree cavities were the major nesting substrate, and 91 nests were found within the total sampling area of 32 ha (2.8 nests/ha), constructed by 12 stingless bee species. The four most abundant species showed no significant differences in terms their use of tree circumference at breast height (CBH) categories between 60 and 150 cm. The spatial distributions of the CBH categories were mainly random or uniform, and the principal difference between the forest stages was the density of their largest trees (CBH >110 cm). This structural difference in the vegetation contrasted with the small spatial variation (p > 0.05) of the stingless bee community structure (species composition, richness, and nest abundance). This unexpected spatial homogeneity could be related to similar and abundant availabilities of the largest nesting sites and to the existence of similar mechanisms controlling cavity use in both forest categories. The low nest-per-tree frequency (1 nest per 100 trees with CBH >60 cm), for instance, suggests that the availability of tree nesting sites is not limiting stingless bees. Alternatively, the stochasticity that permeates the temporal dynamics of highly diverse tree communities may also neutralize any latent competition between stingless bees.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Michelin for logistic support, CAPES for providing the doctoral grant to the first author, as well as CNPq (process numbers 481113/2004-5 and 478271/2008) and FAPESB (APR0114/2006) for financial support. We also thank the ECOPOL team at UFBA for their help with the fieldwork.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Ecologia da Polinização, ECOPOL, Instituto de Biologia, Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Campus Universitário de Ondina, Rua Barão do Jeremoabo s/n, Ondina, CEP 40170-115, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

    Marília Dantas E. Silva, Mauro Ramalho & Daniela Monteiro

  2. Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia Baiano, Campus Governador Mangabeira, Rua Waldemar Mascarenhas, s/n—Portão, CEP 44350000, Governador Mangabeira, Bahia, Brazil

    Marília Dantas E. Silva

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  1. Marília Dantas E. Silva
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  2. Mauro Ramalho
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  3. Daniela Monteiro
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Correspondence to Marília Dantas E. Silva.

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Manuscript editor: James Nieh

Diversité et utilisation de l’habitat par les abeilles sans aiguillon (Apidae) dans la forêt Atlantique brésilienne

Meliponini / site de nidification / arbre / densité

Diversität und Habitatnutzung bei stachellosen Bienen (Apidae) des brasilianischen atlantischen Waldes

Meliponini / Nistplätze / Baumsubstrate

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Silva, M.D.E., Ramalho, M. & Monteiro, D. Diversity and habitat use by stingless bees (Apidae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Apidologie 44, 699–707 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-013-0218-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-013-0218-5

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