Influência da estrutura da vegetação na comunidade de abelhas em florestas tropicais secas

Abstract

Bees are the main pollinators of the world and they need an environment that provides varied types of resources for foraging. Despite the great diversity of bees in Brazil, most regions have gaps about the knowledge of the existing fauna. Tropical dry forests are part of this context, as being one of the most endangered forest type, biologicallyimportant but poorly studied. It is not known the effects of the vegetal structure of these forests on bees community. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of some parameters of the vegetation structure on bee communities associated with Tropical Dry Forests. The following hypothesis were tested: (i) The composition of bee species is determined by the richness and abundance of trees; (ii) More heterogeneous environment and greater abundance of trees availability have greater richness and abundance of bees. Two samples were made in 2012, data were collected in Parque Estadual da Mata Seca and Parque Estadual da Lagoa do Cajueiro, in Northern Minas Gerais State. Four types of methods were used: entomological nets, honey solution,scent traps and pantraps. A total of 19907 bees distributed in 98 species were sampled. Meliponina and Apina were represented by ninety-five percent of the collected specimens (26 species). Species composition of bees is influences by tree species richness, whereas species richness and abundance of bees are not influenced neither by tree richness or abundance. Thus, human alterations in the ecosystem can lead toreplacement of species important for efficient pollination, and hence the maintenance of the environment.