Temporal changes in the diversity and abundance of stingless bee nests in an urbanized environment
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| Autores: | , , |
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| Formato: | artículo original |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de Publicación: | 2025 |
| Descrição: | Introduction: Increasing urbanization has endangered many species to an unknown extent. Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) are highly important pollinators of tropical plants. Some species are well adapted to urban areas and use man-made structures to build their nests. In Costa Rica, there are 59 stingless bee species, but no account of their urban richness and abundance has ever been made. Objective: To describe the composition and dynamics of the social bee community on the campus of the University of Costa Rica in San José over a six-year period. Methods: We systematically searched for stingless bee nests (active colonies) in trees, buildings, walls and other man-made infrastructure within a 31-hectare section of the campus in 2016 and 2022. We investigated species-specific nest heights and the host plant species chosen for nesting. Results: In total, 89 nests were identified, consisting of five species of five genera (Lestrimellita, Partamona, Scaptotrigona, Tetragonisca, and Trigona). From 2016 to 2022, the stingless bee abundance increased by 23.5%, but the species composition remained the same. Tree cavities were the most attractive nesting locations, and their use increased within the sampling period. Overall nest survival was >64% for the study period. Conclusion: All bee species utilized a variety of tree species, but strangler figs (Ficus spp., Moraceae) were the most important for nest construction. Nest height depended on the species and architecture. This work provides a framework for future studies on tropical social bee communities in urban areas and offers valuable information on their nesting biology in this habitat. |
| País: | Portal de Revistas UCR |
| Recursos: | Universidad de Costa Rica |
| Repositorio: | Portal de Revistas UCR |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:portal.ucr.ac.cr:article/64528 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/article/view/64528 |
| Palavra-chave: | Meliponini, Costa Rica, stingless bees, bee colony, trees, urbanization, Neotropics. Meliponini, Costa Rica, abejas sin agujón, colonia de abejas, árboles, urbanización, Neotrópico. |