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speciesLink is a large-scale biodiversity information portal that exists thanks to a broad collaborative network of people and institutions. CRIA’s involvement with the scientific community of Brazil and other countries is responsible for the significant results achieved, currently reaching more than 15 million primary biodiversity data records, 95% of which are associated with preserved specimens and about 25% with high-quality digital images. The network provides data on over 200,000 species, of which over 110,000 occur in Brazil. This article describes thematic networks within speciesLink, as well as some of the most useful tools developed. The importance and contributions of speciesLink are outlined, as are concerns about securing stable budgetary support for such biodiversity data e-infrastructures. Here we review the value of speciesLink as a major source of biodiversity information for research, education, informed decision-making, policy development, and bioeconomy. Resumo speciesLink é um portal de informações em larga escala sobre biodiversidade, que existe graças a uma ampla rede colaborativa de pessoas e instituições. O envolvimento do CRIA com a comunidade científica do Brasil e de outros países é responsável pelos resultados expressivos alcançados, atingindo atualmente mais de 15 milhões de registros de dados primários de biodiversidade, sendo 95% associados a espécimes preservados e cerca de 25% a imagens digitais de alta qualidade. A rede fornece dados sobre mais de 200.000 espécies, das quais mais de 110.000 ocorrem no Brasil. Este artigo descreve as redes temáticas do speciesLink, bem como algumas das ferramentas mais úteis desenvolvidas. A importância e as contribuições do speciesLink são destacadas, assim como as preocupações em garantir um apoio financeiro estável para e-infraestruturas de dados sobre biodiversidade. Aqui revisamos o valor do speciesLink como uma das principais fontes de informação sobre biodiversidade para pesquisa, educação, tomada de decisão, desenvolvimento de políticas e bioeconomia.

Bee flight capacity determines the area that a colony can exploit, and this knowledge is essential to formulate management and conservation strategies for each species. In this study, we evaluated the flight capacity ofMelipona seminigrausing radio frequency identification (RFID). Three questions were addressed: Do the RFID tags affect the flight ofM. seminigraworkers? What is the effect of the landscape on foraging activity? Does the time since the colony was re-established affect the flight range of foragers? Our results indicate that the RFID tag used does not affect the flight ability ofM. seminigra. Bees marked with nontoxic paint vs. RFID tags had the same return ratio and return time to the colony of origin. Flight capacity was affected by the landscape, because the return rate to the colonies was higher from the tested vegetated area than from the sterile area. The time elapsed since the bee colony re-establishment also affected the flight range because the return rate increased with time since the colony was relocated in the new site. We estimate thatM. seminigraworkers make foraging flights of approximately 1000 m from the colony and that the maximum flight range is 5000 m. Colonies of this species take more than 1 or 2 months to be able to fully exploit a landscape.

Edible fruit plants of tropical forests are important for the subsistence of traditional communities. Understanding the most important pollinators related to fruit and seed production of these plants is a necessary step to protect their pollination service and assure the food security of these communities. However, there are many important knowledge gaps related to floral biology and pollination in megadiverse tropical rainforests, such as the Amazon Forest, due mainly to the high number of plant species. Our study aims to indicate the main pollinators of edible plants (mainly fruits) of the Amazon forest. For this, we adopted a threefold strategy: we built a list of edible plant species, determined the pollination syndrome of each species, and performed a review on the scientific literature searching for their pollinator/visitors. The list of plant species was determined from two specialized publications on Amazon fruit plants, totaling 188 species. The pollination syndrome was determined for 161 species. The syndromes most frequently found among the analyzed species were melittophily (bee pollination), which was found in 101 of the analyzed plant species (54%) and cantharophily (beetle pollination; 26 species; 14%). We also found 238 pollinator/visitor taxa quoted for 52 (28%) plant species in previous publications, with 124 taxa belonging to Apidae family (bees; 52%), mainly from Meliponini tribe (58 taxa; 47%). Knowledge about pollinators is an important step to help on preserving their ecosystem services and maintaining the productivity of fruit trees in the Amazon., Graphical Abstract Graphical Abstract

Most studies analyze fragmentation due to habitat loss caused by anthropogenic activities and few of them analyzed fragmentation on naturally fragmented areas. In the Eastern Amazon, it is possible to find areas naturally open and surrounded by pristine forest. Understanding how species respond to isolation in these areas is an important challenge for decision-making processes aiming conservation and restoration. Using standardized methods of bee collection (entomological nets, bait trap, pan trap, and nest trap), the objective of this study was to analyze the composition and diversity of bees occurring on six isolated outcrops located in two protected areas within Amazon biome. More specifically, we tested 1) if the dissimilarity in bee species composition is explained by the isolation of outcrops and 2) if bee richness, abundance, and Shannon diversity can be explained by the outcrop size. We found 118 species, with the Meliponini and Euglossini (Hymenoptera: Apidae) tribes representing the highest number of species. The similarity in species composition across all outcrops is high and is not explained by the isolation. In addition, the richness, abundance, and Shannon diversity are not explained by outcrop size. Forest does not seem to be a barrier to bee movement, and although most species probably nest in the forests, they use the highly diverse plants of the outcrops as a complementary food source.

Aim The objective of this study is to estimate the current potential geographic distribution of Plebeia flavocincta and to evaluate the influence of climate on the dynamics of suitable habitat availability in the past and in the future. Location Northeast region of Brazil and dry forest areas. Methods The habitat suitability modeling was based on two algorithms, two global circulation models, and six different scenarios. We used this tool to estimate the areas of occurrence in the past (Last Interglacial and Last Glacial Maximum), in the present, and in the future (years 2050 and 2070). Results According to the models, P. flavocincta had great dynamics in the availability of suitable habitats with periods of retraction and expansion of these areas in the past. Our results suggest that this taxon may benefit in terms of climate suitability gain in Northeast Brazil in the future. In addition, we identified high‐altitude areas and the eastern coast as climatically stable. Conclusion The information provided can be used by decision makers to support actions toward protecting and sustainably managing this taxon. Protection measures for this taxon are particularly important because this insect contributes to the local flora and, although our results indicate that the climate may favor this taxon, other factors can negatively affect it, such as high levels of habitat loss due to anthropogenic activities., We analyzed the influence of climate on the dynamics of suitable areas and presented priority areas for the conservation of a stingless bee, an important pollinator in the endemic and threatened dry forest biome distributed across northeastern Brazil. Yellow areas represent locations indicated by all scenarios as suitable for the species considering (a) past, present, future and (b) present and future climate conditions.

Summary Despite the importance of climate-adjusted provenancing to mitigate the effects of climate change, climatic considerations alone are insufficient when restoring highly degraded sites. Here we employ a comprehensive landscape genomic approach to assist the restoration of moderately disturbed and highly degraded sites. Relying on genotyping-by-sequencing we identified thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms in two plant species of special interest for the restoration of iron-rich Amazon Savannas from the Eastern Amazon. We first used a subset of neutral loci to assess genetic structure and determine the genetic neighborhood size, and then combined uni-variate and multi-variate methods to identify genotype-environment and genotype-phenotype associations, representing local adaptations. We then mapped adaptive genetic variation and predicted adaptive genotypes for both restoration sites. Whereas local provenances where found optimal to restore the moderately disturbed site, a mixture of genotypes was the most promising strategy to recover a highly degraded mining site, to which local provenances were not adapted. We discuss how our results can help define site-adjusted provenancing strategies and argue that our methods can be more broadly applied to assist other restoration and rehabilitation initiatives.

Nature safeguards living organisms and the ecosystem functions and services delivered by them. Animal pollination is an important Ecosystem Service since it plays a key role for achieving the sustainable development goals by safeguarding worldwide food production. Thus, conservation of pollination services is a major priority for guaranteeing global food security in the long term. Here we evaluate the crop pollination services in Pará state (Eastern Amazon, Brazil) focusing on two questions: (1) What is the economic value of crop production and pollination service in Pará? (2) Which municipalities are most dependent on pollination services considering local economies? We found 36 crops produced in the state; 20 (55%) crops are dependent on animal pollinators. In 2016, crop production value (CPV) for Pará state was US$ 2.95 billion and total pollination service value (PSV) was US$ 983.2 million, corresponding to 33% of CPV in Pará. Highest PSV value crops were açaí palm (US$635.6 million), cocoa (US$187.6 million), soybean (US$98.4 million), and watermelon (US$26.1 million), accounting for 96% of Pará’s PSV. Two municipalities (Medicilândia and Igarapé Miri) presented more than 50% of their GDP based on pollination services. In general, we found low crop diversity in the municipalities of Pará, suggesting an economic rural vulnerability for the state, mainly supported by the high productions of soy and açaí. Pollinator conservation and ecological intensified farming practices are urgent for supporting sustainable development for the state. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s13744-020-00791-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

International audience; AbstractThe need for basic information on tropical crop pollinators remains a key priority. Here, we used a dataset on Brazilian bee-crop interactions to determine important bee species for crop pollination and discuss their management in Brazilian croplands. We developed an analytical approach to select key bee species and genera from datasets based on different criteria, selecting only interactions reported as effective pollination events. Data on pollination included 261 records of unique crop-pollinator interaction, 144 bee species, and 23 crops. Despite the importance of social species, solitary bees accounted for 56% of the observed interactions. Of the 14 most important species, eight are solitary and six are social. A few of the selected species are already reared in Brazil, e.g., honeybees and some stingless bees, but practical knowledge on their management for crop pollination is poorly disseminated among farmers, hindering such an application.

Fil: Dicks, Lynn V. University of Cambridge. Department of Zoology. Reino Unido. Fil: Breeze, Tom D. Reading University. School of Agriculture, Policy and Development. Centre for Agri-Environmental Research. Reino Unido. Fil: Ngo, Hien T. IPBES Secretariat. Alemania. Fil: Senapathi, Deepa. Reading University. School of Agriculture, Policy and Development. Centre for Agri-Environmental Research. Reino Unido. Fil: An, Jiandong. Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Institute of Apicultural Research. China. Fil: Aizen, Marcelo A. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Río Negro, Argentina. Fil: Basu, Parthiba. University of Calcutta. Department of Zoology. India. Fil: Buchori, Damayanti. IPB University. Center for Transdisciplinary and Sustainability Sciences. Indonesia. Fil: Galetto, Leonardo. Universidad de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Córdoba, Argentina. Fil: Garibaldi, Lucas A. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural. Río Negro, Argentina. Fil: Garibaldi, Lucas A. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural. Río Negro, Argentina. Fil: Gemmill-Herren, Barbara. World Agroforestry Centre. Kenia. Fil: Howlett, Brad G. The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited. Nueva Zelanda. Fil: Imperatriz-Fonseca, Vera L. University of Sao Paulo. Biosciences Institute. Brasil Fil: Johnson, Steven D. University of KwaZulu-Natal. School of Life Sciences. Centre for Functional Biodiversity. Sudáfrica. Fil: Kovács-Hostyánszki, Anikó. Centre for Ecological Research. Institute of Ecology and Botany. Hungría. Fil: Jung Kwon, Yong. Kyungpook National University. School of Applied Biosciences. Corea del Sur. Fil: Lattorff, H. Michael G. International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology. Kenia. Fil: Lungharwo, Thingreipi. Naga Women’s Union. India. Fil: Seymour, Colleen L. Kirstenbosch Research Centre. South African National Biodiversity Institute. Sudáfrica. Fil: Vanbergen, Adam J. University of Bourgogne Franche-Comté. Francia. Fil: Potts, Simon G. Reading University. School of Agriculture, Policy and Development.Centre for Agri-Environmental Research. Reino Unido. Pollinator decline has attracted global attention and substantial efforts are underway to respond through national pollinator strategies and action plans. These policy responses require clarity on what is driving pollinator decline and what risks it generates for society in different parts of the world. Using a formal expert elicitation process, we evaluated the relative regional and global importance of eight drivers of pollinator decline and ten consequent risks to human well-being. Our results indicate that global policy responses should focus on reducing pressure from changes in land cover and configuration, land management and pesticides, as these were considered very important drivers in most regions. We quantify how the importance of drivers and risks from pollinator decline, differ among regions. For example, losing access to managed pollinators was considered a serious risk only for people in North America, whereas yield instability in pollinator-dependent crops was classed as a serious or high risk in four regions but only a moderate risk in Europe and North America. Overall, perceived risks were substantially higher in the Global South. Despite extensive research on pollinator decline, our analysis reveals considerable scientific uncertainty about what this means for human society.

Este trabalho objetivou acompanhar o comportamento das abelhas africanizadas (Apis mellifera L.), utilizando sensores de rádio frequência – RFID em Belém, Pará, Brasil. A metodologia empregada baseou-se na fixação de rastreadores às abelhas, passando a ser observadas por ondas eletromagnéticas, por meio de um condutor de metal ou carbono que funciona com antena, trocando informações com o sistema através de seus EPCs (Eletronic Product Code). A avaliação comportamental dessas abelhas com o uso da tecnologia RFID poderá trazer informações de grande importância para um melhor entendimento da biologia comportamental do inseto e suas relações com o bioma amazônico, as quais também poderão ser utilizadas na potencialização da polinização e da produção de mel para a geração de renda aos apicultores da região da Amazônia Oriental.

Female mating frequency varies. Determining the causes of this variation is an active research area. We tested the hypothesis that in stingless bees, Meliponini, singlemating is due to the execution of queens that make a matched mating at the complementary sex determination locus and have diploid male offspring. We studied the Brazilian species Scaptotrigona depilis. We made up 70 test colonies so that 50% (single matched mating), 25% (double mating), 12.5% (quadruple mating), or 0% (single nonmatched mating) of the emerging brood were diploidmales.Queen execution following diploidmale emergence was equal and high in colonies producing 50% (77% executed) and 25% (75%) diploid males versus equal and low in colonies producing 12.5% (7%) and 0% (0%) diploid males. These results show that queens that mate with two males with similar paternity suffer an increased chance of being executed, which selects against double mating. However, double mating with unequal paternity (e.g., 25∶75), which occasionally occurs in S. depilis, is selectively neutral. Single mating and double mating with unequal paternity form one adaptive peak. The results show a second adaptive peak at quadruple mating. However, this is inaccessible via gradual evolutionary change in a selective landscape with reduced fitness at double mating.

Nearly half of all terrestrial tropical ecosystems around the globe comprise dry forests, characterised through elevated temperatures all year round, and short rainy seasons at irregular intervals. The consequent water deficit over several consecutive months limits the availability of floral resources to often very brief and unpredictable periods, which poses a challenge to the maintenance of perennial colonies in highly eusocial bees. Thus, only few highly eusocial bees occur permanently in tropical dry forests, among them some highly adapted species of stingless bees (Apidae, Meliponini). In the present review, we discuss the current knowledge on the adaptations to such extreme environments in Melipona subnitida, a stingless bee native to the Brazilian tropical dry forest. Key to the success of this species is not so much heat resistance of foragers, as it is the ability to maintain perennial colonies despite extended dearth periods. After several months of drought, M. subnitida colonies are capable of re-establishing fully functional colonies from nests containing only few dozens of workers. This surprising resilience is based on a quick reaction to precipitation-driven increase in floral resource availability, mainly owing to selective foraging at high-profit resources and an immediate up-regulation of brood production once food storage conditions improve.

The canga of the Serra dos Carajás, in Eastern Amazon, is home to a unique open plant community, harbouring several endemic and rare species. Although a complete flora survey has been recently published, scarce to no genetic information is available for most plant species of the ironstone outcrops of the Serra dos Carajás. In this scenario, DNA barcoding appears as a fast and effective approach to assess the genetic diversity of the Serra dos Carajás flora, considering the growing need for robust biodiversity conservation planning in such an area with industrial mining activities. Thus, after testing eight different DNA barcode markers (matK, rbcL, rpoB, rpoC1, atpF-atpH, psbK-psbI, trnH-psbA and ITS2), we chose rbcL and ITS2 as the most suitable markers for a broad application in the regional flora. Here we describe DNA barcodes for 1,130 specimens of 538 species, 323 genera and 115 families of vascular plants, with a total of 344 species being barcoded for the first time. In addition, we assessed the potential of using DNA metabarcoding of bulk samples for surveying plant diversity in the canga. Upon achieving the first comprehensive DNA barcoding effort directed to a complete flora in the Brazilian Amazon, we discuss the relevance of our results to guide future conservation measures in the Serra dos Carajás.

Bees play a key role in ecosystem services as the main pollinators of numerous flowering plants. Studying factors influencing their foraging behaviour is relevant not only to understand their biology, but also how populations might respond to changes in their habitat and to the climate. Here, we used radio-frequency identification tags to monitor the foraging behaviour of the neotropical stingless bee Melipona fasciculata with special interest in drifting patterns, i.e. when a forager drifts into a foreign nest. In addition, we collected meteorological data to study how abiotic factors affect bees’ lifespan and behaviour. Our results show that only 35 % of bees never drifted to another hive nearby, and that factors such as temperature, humidity and solar irradiation affected the foragers drifting rates and/or lifespan. Moreover, we tested whether drifting levels would decrease after marking the nest entrances with different patterns. Contrary to our predictions, there was an increase in the proportion of drifting, indicating that this could be a deliberate strategy rather than an orientation mistake. Overall, our results demonstrate how managed bee populations are affected by both nearby hives and climate factors, offering unprecedented insights on their biology and potential commercial application as crop pollinators.

Honey produced by native stingless bees in the Araucaria Forest region of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, specifically the municipality of Cambará do Sul, is highly valued for its characteristic white color, floral odor and taste. In this study, we investigated the botanical origin of white honey stored in colonies of five Meliponini species of the genera Melipona (n = 3) and Plebeia (n = 2). During the production period of white honey, from January to March, flowers were sampled fortnightly along pre-established trails to identify plants used by bees. For all sampled plant species, exsiccates and pollen reference slides were prepared. Honey samples from stingless bees were processed for extraction and preparation of pollen grains for identification of pollen types. In all analyzed honey samples, pollen grains of Clethra scabra (Clethraceae) were predominant (between 46-94%). Pollen grains from other botanical families, including Myrtaceae, Fabaceae and Melastomataceae were frequently identified in honey samples of the Melipona species, while Cunoniaceae was also found in samples of Plebeia species. In this study, we concluded that Clethra scabra is predominantly used by Meliponini bees in the production of white honey in the municipality of Cambará do Sul. Resumo: Na região da Floresta de Araucária do Rio Grande do Sul, especificamente no município de Cambará do Sul, as abelhas nativas sem ferrão produzem mel característico devido à sua cor branca e gosto apreciado. Neste estudo, investigamos a origem botânica do mel branco armazenado em colônias de cinco espécies de Meliponini dos gêneros Melipona (n = 3) e Plebeia (n = 2). Durante o período de produção do mel branco, de janeiro a março, as flores foram amostradas quinzenalmente ao longo de trilhas pré-estabelecidas, a fim de identificar as espécies utilizadas pelas abelhas. A partir de amostras de plantas foram preparadas exsicatas e lâminas de referência de pólen. As amostras de mel de abelhas sem ferrão foram processadas para extração e preparo dos grãos de pólen para a determinação dos tipos polínicos presentes. Em todas as amostras de méis branco analisadas os grãos de pólen de Clethra scabra (Clethraceae) predominaram (entre 46-94%). Grãos de pólen de outras espécies das famílias botânicas Myrtaceae, Fabaceae e Melastomataceae foram frequentemente identificados nas amostras de méis das espécies de Melipona, enquanto Cunoniaceae também o foi nas amostras das espécies de Plebeia. Neste estudo, nós concluímos que Clethra scabra é predominantemente utilizada pelas abelhas Meliponini na produção de méis branco no município de Cambará do Sul.

Honey pollen samples of Melipona seminigra pernigraMoure & Kerr 1950 sampled between 2017 and 2019 from experimental apiaries installed in campo rupestre on canga (CRC) vegetation of the Serra dos Carajás aimed to evaluated seasonal floral availability of undisturbed and mining-influenced areas. Around one hundred pollen types were identified mainly belonging to Fabaceae, Myrtaceae and Euphorbiaceae (31, 6 and 5 species, respectively). Mining area presented the highest pollen richness, almost twice those identified in the undisturbed areas. 80% of the pollen types are rare with concentrations ≤ 2,000 pollen grains/10 g, while the remaining were the most abundant, frequent and the primary bee sources. These latter correspond mostly to native plants species such as Tapirira guianensis Aubl., Protium spp., Aparisthmium cordatum (A.Juss.) Baill., Mimosa acutistipula var. ferrea Barneby, Periandra mediterranea (Vell.) Taub., Miconia spp., Pleroma carajasense K.Rocha, Myrcia splendens (Sw.) DC., Serjania spp. and Solanum crinitum Lam. All pollen types were identified during both seasons, but higher concentration values are related to the dry period (June-September). The statistical analysis of the pollen data indicated that there was no significant difference between undisturbed and mining-influenced areas, since primary bee sources of this study are widespread used in revegetation of mined areas. Resumo: O conteúdo polínico de amostras de mel coletadas nos anos de 2017 e 2019 de apiários experimentais de Melipona seminigra pernigraMoure & Kerr 1950, instalado dentro de uma vegetação de campo rupestre em um afloramento de canga na Serra dos Carajás, sudeste da Amazônia, foi analisado para entender a variabilidade local dos recursos florais em áreas naturais e perturbadas. Aproximadamente 100% dos tipos polínicos foram identificados e pertencem principalmente às famílias Fabaceae, Myrtaceae e Euphorbiaceae (31, 6 e 5 espécies, respectivamente). Áreas de mineração apresentaram a maior riqueza de pólen, quase o dobro daquelas identificadas em áreas perturbadas. 80% dos tipos de pólen são raros com concentrações ≤ 2.000 grãos de pólen/10g, enquanto que os restantes foram os mais abundantes, frequentes e fontes primárias para as abelhas. Este últimos correspondem principalmente a plantas nativas como Tapirira guianensis Aubl., Protium spp., Aparisthmium cordatum (A.Juss.) Baill., Mimosa acutistipula var. ferrea Barneby, Periandra mediterrânea (Vell.) Taub., Miconia spp., Pleroma carajasense K.Rocha, Myrcia splendens (Sw.) DC., Serjania spp. e Solanum crinitum Lam. Todos os tipos polínicos foram identificados durante ambas as estações, mas altas concentrações estão relacionadas ao período seco (junho-setembro). A análise estatística indicou que não houve diferença significativa nos dados de pólen de mel entre áreas naturais e áreas anteriormente degradadas, uma vez que as fontes primárias das abelhas deste estudo são amplamente utilizadas na revegetação de áreas mineradas.

Pollinator decline has attracted global attention, and substantial efforts are underway to respond, through national pollinator strategies and action plans. These policy responses require clarity on what is driving pollinator decline, and what risks it generates for society, in different parts of the world. Using a formal expert elicitation process, we evaluated relative regional and global importance of eight pressures driving pollinator decline, and ten consequent risks to human well-being. Our results indicate that global policy responses should focus on reducing pressure from changes in land cover and configuration, land management, and pesticides, as these were considered very important drivers in most regions. We quantify for the first time how the importance of drivers, and risks from pollinator decline, differ among regions. For example, losing access to managed pollinators was only considered a serious risk to people in North America, whereas yield instability in pollinator-dependent crops, classed as a serious or high risk in four regions, presented only moderate risk in Europe and North America. Overall, perceived risks were substantially higher in the Global South. Despite extensive, research on pollinator decline, our analysis reveals considerable scientific uncertainty about what this means for human society.

Nature&rsquo, s contributions to people (NCP) are increasingly being considered in decisions by policy-makers because of their relevance to the well-being of people. Learning the value of nature from the perception of communities can help to define priorities and to guide the development of public policies for environmental conservation. The objective of this study was to analyze the perception of the importance, benefits, and problems of NCP among residents of five rural communities, and their opinion about the protected areas of the municipality, considering their socioeconomic characteristics. The method consisted of conducting questionnaire-based, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with a sample of 214 randomly selected households in five rural communities of Parauapebas (Par&aacute, Eastern Amazon). We used appropriate statistical tests for data analysis. The main results show that the communities were highly homogeneous and that 52% of the households had low income (below a minimum wage of USD 250). A high proportion of respondents gave the highest importance to all categories of NCP (2/3 of respondents for material, 3/4 for non-material, and 4/5 for regulating NCP). The most commonly mentioned benefits of NCP referred to subsistence or livelihood and quality of life (40% of total mentions). Environmental degradation problems were the most cited (38% of total mentions). Almost all respondents stated that they had a positive opinion about the protected areas of the municipality, despite underusing them. This study is relevant because it analyses, for the first time, the perceptions of NCP among residents of rural communities in the Eastern Amazon, an essential aspect for decision-and public policy-making.

Worldwide, bees are the most important group of animal pollinators. The ecosystem service they provide is vital in natural areas and croplands, and the taxonomic and functional diversity associated with bees is vital in understanding ecosystem functioning ensuring biodiversity conservation, food security and human livelihoods. A dataset of bees from mountainous areas of Carajás National Forest (eastern Amazon) and Nova Lima (Atlantic Forest) is presented here. It is a compilation of sampling efforts from 1983 to 2018 through the accession of data stored in museum collections. In total, 222 and 144 bee species were recorded in Carajás and Nova Lima, respectively. This represents the most robust dataset of Brazilian bees including species traits (body size, flight range, distribution, crop pollination, sociality and nesting) of 328 species. This dataset contributes to advances in the knowledge of the functional trait ecology of wild bees and can benefit further studies that analyze the response of wild bees to land use and climate changes, and its effects on the provision of crop pollination services., Measurement(s)Trait • EcologyTechnology Type(s)digital curationFactor Type(s)siteSample Characteristic - OrganismHymenopteraSample Characteristic - Environmenttropical broadleaf forest biomeSample Characteristic - LocationBrazil Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.12053742

Bees play a key role in pollination of crops and in diverse ecosystems. There have been multiple reports in recent years illustrating bee population declines worldwide. The search for more accurate forecast models can aid both in the understanding of the regular behavior and the adverse situations that may occur with the bees. It also may lead to better management and utilization of bees as pollinators. We address an investigation with Recurrent Neural Networks in the task of forecasting bees’ level of activity taking into account previous values of level of activity and environmental data such as temperature, solar irradiance and barometric pressure. We also show how different input time windows, algorithms of attribute selection and correlation analysis can help improve the accuracy of our model.

Pollination may be severely affected by the decreasing size and increasing isolation of habitat patches. However, most studies that have considered the effects of these two variables on plant-pollinator interactions have been carried out in areas that have undergone anthropogenic fragmentation, and little is known about their effects in natural habitats. The Carajas National Forest and Campos Ferruginosos National Park are two protected areas in the eastern Amazon where one can find isolated ferruginous outcrops characterized by iron-rich soil and herbaceous-shrub vegetation surrounded by Amazon forest. These patches of canga provide an opportunity to analyze plant-pollinator interactions in naturally fragmented areas. Our objective was to test whether the size and isolation of naturally isolated outcrops located in Carajas affect plant-pollinator interactions by using pollination syndromes and interaction networks. We determined the pollination syndromes of 771 plant species that occurred in eleven canga patches and performed field work to analyze plant-pollinator networks in nine canga patches. The structure of the plant-pollinator networks was not affected by the size or isolation of the canga patches. Generalist species were present in all canga areas, indicating that they are important in maintaining the plant communities in isolated canga patches. The lack of significance related to the distance between canga patches suggests that the forest does not prevent pollinator movement between canga patches.

Determining bee flight capacity is crucial for developing management strategies for bee conservation and/or crop pollination and purposes. In this study, we determined the flight distance of the stingless bee Melipona fasciculata using the radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology. For this, we conducted two translocation experiments using workers equipped with RFID microsensors: (1) release of bees at seven distances between 100 and 3000 m from experimental colonies in Belém, Brazil, and (2) at six distances between 1500 and 10,000 m at Carajás National Forest Reserve. Return rates of workers were negatively correlated to release distance, with typical flight distances of 2 km, but a maximum homing distance of 10 km. Use of RFID tags revealed how past experiments may have greatly underestimated homing abilities of stingless bees. Made available in DSpace on 2020-04-18T00:55:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 NunesSilva2020ArticleRadiofrequencyIdentificationRF.pdf: 1323919 bytes, checksum: f4f9452df5cf30549fbdb12260b3821a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2020

Bees have the potential to be used as indicators of environmental quality. The parameters typically analyzed in this context include species diversity, colony condition and foraging behavior. Bees explore the area around their nests, whose size and location vary based on the flight ranges and nesting preferences of the respective species. The environment around the nest must contain appropriate resources, which are collected by bees during foraging. Therefore, the internal nest environment is connected to the external environment via foraging. Until early 2000, direct observations and/or video recording of the foraging activity of social bees were the predominant techniques for studying foraging behavior, and paint marks or labels were used to distinguish individuals. Although these techniques are still used, radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology has been used for bee monitoring and can automatically count the inbound and outbound movements of bees from the nest and perform individual recognition. Here, we review the applications of RFID technology in bee research and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of RFID compared with those of other techniques.

The reproductive biology of stingless bees is poorly understood, especially when compared to other groups of social bees with great ecological and economic importance. However, research on this topic has grown over the past few years, mostly driven by technological advances in molecular biology. Here, we aimed to review several recent developments in the research of stingless bee reproduction, including the mating systems of stingless bees, reproductive strategies of queens, inbreeding and diploid male production, as well as conflicts over male production. We also briefly explore topics that have not substantially advanced, highlighting the gaps that need to be further investigated. Understanding the reproductive biology of stingless bees can aid conservation efforts for these important pollinators and improve management practices that promote their sustainable economic use.

Anthropogenic climate change is one of the main current threats to biodiversity, and it has been linked to species decline. Bats deserve attention because they occupy different trophic niches and perform different functions in nature, acting as flower pollinators (nectarivores), seed dispersers (frugivores), and pest controllers (insectivores). The effects of climate change on the distribution of bat species occurring in the Carajas National Forest (Eastern Amazon, southeastern Para state, Brazil) was examined by modeling species distributions. A total of 83 species of bats providing the above mentioned services were analyzed for the years 2050 and 2070 to answer the following two questions: (i) Which species are potentially more sensitive to climate changes and will not be able to find suitable areas in Carajas in the future, and (ii) Which are the priority areas that protect the greatest number of species from climate change. Of the total species analyzed, 47 (57%) will potentially not find suitable areas in Carajas under the scenarios employed. Pollinators, seed dispersers, and more-generalist (omnivorous) bats will potentially be the most affected, suffering a 28–36% decrease in suitable area under the 2070 scenario, which may have implications for the plants with which those species interact. According to the scenarios employed, the Carajas National Forest, as well as other conservation units in Para, will not protect most species in the future. The most suitable areas are located mainly to the north and west of the state and under varying degrees of conservation: from well-preserved protected areas to areas degraded due to different anthropogenic impacts. This study emphasizes that the possible effect of climate change and the location of species protection areas need to be analyzed together to ensure that the areas that will act as potential climate refuges for species in the future are indeed protected.

International audience; AbstractIn the semiarid region of Northeastern Brazil, populations of native bees can be jeopardized by future climate change. The present study aims to analyze the impact of climate change on a native stingless bee (Melipona subnitida Ducke). This species is a locally important pollinator of wild and crop plants, also exploited for honey production by regional beekeepers. Using species distributional modeling, we assessed the effects of climate change on the geographic distribution of M. subnitida. We found a potential shift in future areas where species can find climatically suitable habitats toward the edges of the current pollinator distribution with a consequent central disconnection, which can threaten species dispersal and gene flow. We propose to reconnect the remaining suitable areas through conservation and restoration programs based on the distribution of the plant species that are used by this bee as source of pollen and nectar and propose also, other strategies that aim to increase the welfare of local people

The pollen content of honey samples collected in the years 2017 and 2019 from experimental apiaries of Melipona seminigra pernigra Moure & Kerr 1950 installed in campo rupestre on canga (CRC) vegetation of the Serra dos Carajás, southeastern Amazonia, was analyzed to understand the local variability of floral resources occurring on natural and disturbed areas. Around one hundred pollen types were identified mainly belonging to Fabaceae, Myrtaceae and Euphorbiaceae (31, 6 and 5 types, respectively). The N5 mine presented the highest pollen richness with 95 pollen types identified, almost twice of those identified in the other areas, including the better preserved ones. Eighty percent of the pollen types are rare with concentrations ≤ 2,000 pollen grains/10 g; the remaining types are the most abundant and frequent, and are considered the primary bee sources (PBS). PBS correspond mostly to native plants such as Tapirira guianensis Aubl., Protium spp., Aparisthmium cordatum (A.Juss.) Baill., Mimosa acutistipula var. ferrea Barneby, Periandra mediterrânea (Vell.) Taub., Miconia spp., Pleroma carajasense K.Rocha, Myrcia splendens (Sw.) DC., Serjania spp. and Solanum crinitum Lam. All pollen types were identified during both seasons, but higher pollen concentration are related to the dry period (June-September). The statistical analysis indicated that there was no significant difference in honey pollen data between the natural and disturbed areas since the plant species considered as PBS in this work are intensively used in revegetation of degraded area (RDA) processes by mining activities.

O capitulo avalia a contribuicao da natureza para a qualidade de vida das pessoas, incluindo a inter-relacao entre a biodiversidade, o funcionamento de ecossistemas e os servicos ecossistemicos. Alem da situacao atual, trabalha com a dinâmica e as tendencias futuras dos servicos ecossistemicos essenciais para o bem-estar humano (como saude, seguranca alimentar, seguranca hidrica, seguranca energetica). O texto aborda tambem a contribuicao do conhecimento e das praticas de populacoes indigenas e tradicionais para a conservacao da biodiversidade, para a diversificacao de especies (gerando novas especies), bem como para a distribuicao de especies e formacao de paisagens nos diversos biomas.

Habitat degradation and climate change are currently threatening wild pollinators, compromising their ability to provide pollination services to wild and cultivated plants. Landscape genomics offers powerful tools to assess the influence of landscape modifications on genetic diversity and functional connectivity, and to identify adaptations to local environmental conditions that could facilitate future bee survival. Here, we assessed range‐wide patterns of genetic structure, genetic diversity, gene flow, and local adaptation in the stingless bee Melipona subnitida, a tropical pollinator of key biological and economic importance inhabiting one of the driest and hottest regions of South America. Our results reveal four genetic clusters across the species’ full distribution range. All populations were found to be under a mutation–drift equilibrium, and genetic diversity was not influenced by the amount of reminiscent natural habitats. However, genetic relatedness was spatially autocorrelated and isolation by landscape resistance explained range‐wide relatedness patterns better than isolation by geographic distance, contradicting earlier findings for stingless bees. Specifically, gene flow was enhanced by increased thermal stability, higher forest cover, lower elevations, and less corrugated terrains. Finally, we detected genomic signatures of adaptation to temperature, precipitation, and forest cover, spatially distributed in latitudinal and altitudinal patterns. Taken together, our findings shed important light on the life history of M. subnitida and highlight the role of regions with large thermal fluctuations, deforested areas, and mountain ranges as dispersal barriers. Conservation actions such as restricting long‐distance colony transportation, preserving local adaptations, and improving the connectivity between highlands and lowlands are likely to assure future pollination services.

Ecological restoration is essential in rehabilitating degraded areas and safeguarding biodiversity, ecosystem services and human welfare. Using functional traits to plan restoration strategies has been suggested as they are the main ecological attributes that underlie ecosystem processes and services. However, few studies have translated ecological theory into actual restoration practices that can be easily used by different stakeholders. In this article, we applied a multiple-trait approach to select plant species for the restoration of degraded lands inside the Brazilian Amazon Forests. We selected 10 traits encompassing ease of management, geographical distribution and interactions with animals and other ecosystem services and scored these traits using 118 native species. Then, we ranked all species according to the total number of traits that they exhibited to obtain a list of 53 highly ranked species. In addition, we employed non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) to assess the variation in these traits across the entire group of species. Based on the results, we selected a subset of species that maximizes functional diversity (high variability). We performed a sparse linear discriminant analysis (SLDA) to highlight a minimum set of traits to effectively discriminate botanical families. The final list of species and their traits highlight the importance of preserving not only the historical reference of a focused ecosystem but also its functional diversity to restore the interaction with local fauna, enrich the food chain and guarantee ecosystem services for local communities.

Across the globe, wild bees are threatened by ongoing natural habitat loss, risking the maintenance of plant biodiversity and agricultural production. Despite the ecological and economic importance of wild bees and the fact that several species are now managed for pollination services worldwide, little is known about how land use and beekeeping practices jointly influence gene flow. Using stingless bees as a model system, containing wild and managed species that are presumed to be particularly susceptible to habitat degradation, here we examine the main drivers of tropical bee gene flow. We employ a novel landscape genetic approach to analyse data from 135 populations of 17 stingless bee species distributed across diverse tropical biomes within the Americas. Our work has important methodological implications, as we illustrate how a maximum-likelihood approach can be applied in a meta-analysis framework to account for multiple factors, and weight estimates by sample size. In contrast to previously held beliefs, gene flow was not related to body size or deforestation, and isolation by geographic distance (IBD) was significantly affected by management, with managed species exhibiting a weaker IBD than wild ones. Our study thus reveals the critical importance of beekeeping practices in shaping the patterns of genetic differentiation across bee species. Additionally, our results show that many stingless bee species maintain high gene flow across heterogeneous landscapes. We suggest that future efforts to preserve wild tropical bees should focus on regulating beekeeping practices to maintain natural gene flow and enhancing pollinator-friendly habitats, prioritizing species showing a limited dispersal ability.

Stingless bee males (Hymenoptera: Apidae) aggregate themselves for reproductive purposes. The knowledge of relatedness among the males attending the aggregations and the distance that they disperse from their natal nests to aggregations may provide important data to effectively conserve these bees. Here, we estimated these properties for Tetragonisca angustula (Latreille, 1811) males. Microsatellite molecular markers were used to genotype bees sampled from local nests and in mating swarms in order to identify the nests of origin of males and maternal genotypes of concerning queens. The distances from assigned nests to the mating swarms allowed us to estimate the distances travelled by males. A genetic relationship analysis was conducted to verify whether T. angustula males were closely related to nests where they aggregated. A pairwise relatedness analysis was also performed among all T. angustula males in each mating swarm. Our results demonstrated that T. angustula mating swarms received dozens to hundreds of males from several colonies (up to 70). Only two of the five mating swarms contained any males that were closely related to the bees from the new nests in construction. The relatedness among males was also extremely low. Yet, dispersal distance of T. angustula males ranged hundreds of meters up to 1.6 km, with evidence of reaching 2.25 km according to their flight radius obtained from their foraging area for locality. These data indicate a highly efficient mating system with minimal inbreeding in this bee species, with a great dispersal capability not previously found for stingless bee males.

Highly eusocial bees (honey bees and stingless bees) sustain their colonies through periods of resource scarcity by food stored within the nest. The protein supply necessary for successful brood production is ensured through adjustments of the colonies' pollen foraging according to the availability of this resource in the environment. In honey bees Apis mellifera, in addition, pollen foraging is regulated through the broods' demand for this resource. Here, we investigated the influence of the colony's pollen store level on pollen foraging and brood production in stingless bees (Melipona subnitida). When pollen was added to the nests, colonies increased their brood production and reduced their pollen foraging within 24 h. On the other hand, when pollen reserves were removed, colonies significantly reduced their brood production. In strong contrast to A. mellifera; however, M. subnitida did not significantly increase its pollen foraging activity under poor pollen store conditions. This difference concerning the regulation of pollen foraging may be due to differences regarding the mechanism of brood provisioning. Honey bees progressively feed young larvae and, consequently, require a constant pollen supply. Stingless bees, by contrast, mass-provision their brood cells and temporary absence of pollen storage will not immediately result in substantial brood loss.

Melipona subnitida (Hymenoptera: Apidae) is a stingless bee native to Caatinga biome in Brazil, well adapted to hot and dry climate of that region and has been traditionally explored for honey production. Here, we evaluate the genetic structure of 173 colonies of M. subnitida in northeast Brazil by partially sequenced mitochondrial genes cytochrome oxidase I (COI) to compare an introduced population isolated for 30 yr into the Island of Fernando de Noronha (IFN) with the continental populations. We identified high haplotype diversity (0.8220) with 14 haplotypes on the continental populations, being three new ones, compared with the database GenBank. The haplotype H4 was present at the center of network, occurring in four localities on mainland and fixed as a single haplotype on IFN. We propose that the island populations originally introduced carried one haplotype (H4), even though IFN population is suffering pressure by island effect through changes on morphology. Studies on island populations could be a model to understand the dynamics of isolated populations and sustainable management of this biome to preserve M. subnitida.

Bees are agents of nature that help provide about one third of the food we eat through a process called pollination. The primary aim of this work is to classify bee species and this was achieved by employing different feature vectors and machine learning algorithms for gathering foraging pattern data, with radio frequency electronic tags glued to the bees' thoraxes. Each time a bee entered or left the hive, the timestamp was stored. The data were analyzed in a time series format, in which the bees' activities were grouped into different categories. The Random Forest algorithm achieved the best results with the area under a ROC curve of 0.94 and 87.41% degree of accuracy, by grouping 12 bees and using 72 attributes.

Abelhas tem um papel muito importante na polinização de espécies vegetais. Por meio da polinização, as espécies vegetais trocam gametas e tem frutos em maior quantidade e em melhor qualidade. Conhecer o comportamento das abelhas é importante pois auxilia produtores a entender melhor as atividades das abelhas relacionadas com a polinização. Neste trabalho avaliamos como técnicas de aprendizado de máquina podem ser empregadas na tarefa de identificação de anomalias em comportamento de abelhas. Mais de 1200 abelhas de oito colmeias foram monitoradas com etiquetas eletrônicas (RFIDs) num período de 4 semanas. Mostramos como diferentes topologias de redes recorrentes podem auxiliar na tarefa de classificação de anomalia comportamental.

Anthropogenic-induced climate change has already altered the conditions to which species have adapted locally, and consequently, shifts of occurrence areas have been previously reported (Chen et al. 2011). Anticipating the results of climate change is urgent, and using these results efficiently to guide decision-making can help to build strategies to protect species from those changes. Therefore, our objective is to propose the use of climate change impact assessments, obtained through species distribution models (SDMs), to guide decision making. The emphasis will be on data that could help determine the potentially vulnerable species and the priority areas, which could act as climate refuges, as well as wildlife corridors. SDMs are based on species occurrence points, available mainly from biological collections and observations (Franklin 2010). When combined with geospatially explicit layers of abiotic or biotic data (e. g. temperature, precipitation, land use), which defines the ecological requirements of species under study, it can generate species distribution models. These models are projected in the form of maps indicating areas where the species can find the most suitable habitats and, therefore, where one can most likely find them. To support public policies decision, the generation of robust and reliable model is an important factor. A minimum number of six occurrence points is a mandatory requirement, with non-overlapping area as a filter criteria. Unfortunatelly, in Brasil, as well as in Latin America in general, this type of data is scarce. Thus, with SDMs, four types of decision making information data regarding priority species and areas could be obtained (Fig. 1). Size of potential occurrence areas: species that have a small area of occurrence are potentially vulnerable, since they present endemism, usually living in restricted environmental conditions. In this case, any small change in environmental conditions can result in the extinction of the impacted species. Thus, this region needs to be protected. Difference between current and future area: species presenting the most significant reduction in potential areas should be prioritized by decision-makers. This measurement could be used as an indication of vulnerability. Even species that have no predicted area reduction or an increase could be prioritized in management programs due to its role in the complex interaction networks of ecosystem services, such as pollinators, seed dispersers or disease control. These species could be more resilient to network interaction changes due climate, and possibly are better able to provide their services in the extreme unfavorable climate scenarios. Areas that maintain higher species diversity in future scenarios: their protection could be prioritized in restoration and conservation programs. Especially in cases involving multiple species, those areas could be considered as climate refuges by decision-makers. Additionally, for the reconstruction and use of SDM published in peer-reviewed journals, it is necessary that all pieces of information about models, its generation, ensemble methods, data cleaning and data quality criteria applied should be available. The availability of the four above mentioned types of information can help on decision-making strategies aiming the protection of priority species and areas. In conclusion, SDMs present essential information about the present and future impacts of projected climate change and their derived data could be preserved using a standard controlled vocabulary.

Isoetes are ancient quillworts members of the only genus of the order Isoetales. The genus is slow evolving but is resilient, and widespread worldwide. Two recently described species occur in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon, Isoetes serracarajensis and Isoetes cangae. They are found in the ironstone grasslands known as Canga. While I. serracarajensis is present mostly in seasonal water bodies, I. cangae is known to occur in a single permanent lake at the South mountain range. In this work, we undertake an extensive morphological, physiological and genetic characterization of both species to establish species boundaries and better understand the morphological and genetic features of these two species. Our results indicate that the morphological differentiation of the species is subtle and requires a quantitative assessment of morphological elements of the megaspore for diagnosis. We did not detect differences in microspore output, but morphological peculiarities may establish a reproductive barrier. Additionally, genetic analysis using DNA barcodes and whole chloroplast genomes indicate that although the plants are genetically very similar both approaches provide diagnostic characters. There was no indication of population structuring I. serracarajensis. These results set the basis for a deeper understanding of the evolution of the Isoetes genus.

Natural history collections are of extreme importance as they safeguard data from both spatial and temporal sources. Biological collections store the biodiversity information of the majority of the world´s ecosystems, including data from extinct and threatened species. Worldwide, interactions betweens species perform important functions that contribute to the maintenance of the environment. The use of biodiversity by human society generates the so called Ecosystems Services (Nature’s Contributions to People), which may act at a local or even a global scale, as is the case with crop pollination services. Bees are the most important pollinator group and are responsible for the pollination of approximately 80% of Angiosperms and 75% of the crops worldwide. Bee pollinator decline has raised concern globally, the loss and degradation of habitat being one of the causes, with detrimental impacts on food production and biodiversity. In this context, we suggest incorporating and providing spatially explicit plant-pollinator interaction data into natural history collections databases. Plant-pollinator interaction traits (morphological, biochemical, physiological, structural, phenological or behavioural characteristics of organisms that influence performance or fitness) can firstly be identified through pollination syndromes by using floral traits such as size, shape, color, odor and the reward. Bee body size (estimated usually by intertegular distance) and tongue length are important traits that can be used to evaluate bee-flower compatibility and also to estimate an average flight range for each bee species through the landscape. Since interaction is context dependent, data on functional traits could be associated with spatial references, such as geographic coordinates, altitude and land use where species were collected. Such information is usually available in data repositories delivered by collections. Thus, the association of species identification, functional traits and occurrences can act as an important tool for understanding local ecosystem processes, to forecast impacts based on land use and climate change and also for assisting decision making processes for nature conservation. Online databases must also be linked to a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), as is the case for data plubications, so that the work of providing the data can be properly acknowledged and cited in the literature.

Melipona subnitida (Apidae, Meliponini) is one of the few social bee species naturally occurring in the Brazilian tropical dry forest, where the vast majority of food plants are available during a short and unpredictable rainy season. It is a key species concerning the pollination of native plants as well as agricultural crops and has great potential for commercial honey production. However, severe habitat loss over the past century has caused a considerable decline of native bee populations, which demands effective conservation/restoration strategies to protect these important pollinators. In the present chapter, we discuss how melittopalynological studies may help to establish such conservation plans. In the first part, we outline the floral origin of pollen and nectar harvested by colonies of the stingless bee M. subnitida in the dry forest. The second part discusses the importance of knowledge on floral preferences and flowering schedules as solid bases for management plans that may contribute toward reconstruction of suitable habitats for this bee species.

Pollination services are increasingly threatened by the loss and modification of natural habitats, posing a risk to the maintenance of both native plant biodiversity and agricultural production. In order to safeguard pollination services, it is essential to examine the impacts of habitat degradation on the population dynamics of key pollinators and identify potential “rescue pollinators” capable of persisting in these human-altered landscapes. Using a landscape genetic approach, we assessed the impact of landscape structure on genetic differentiation in the widely-distributed tropical stingless bee Trigona spinipes (Apidae: Meliponini) across agricultural landscape mosaics composed of coffee plantations and Atlantic forest fragments in southeastern Brazil. We genotyped 115 bees at 16 specific and highly polymorphic microsatellite loci, developed using next-generation sequencing. Our results reveal that T. spinipes is capable of dispersing across remarkably long distances, as we did not find genetic differentiation across a 200 km range, nor fine-scale spatial genetic structure. Furthermore, gene flow was not affected by forest cover, land cover, or elevation, indicating that reproductive individuals are able to disperse well through agricultural landscapes and across altitudinal gradients. We also found evidence of a recent population expansion, suggesting that this opportunistic stingless bee is capable of colonizing degraded habitats. Our results thus suggest that T. spinipes can persist in heavily-altered landscapes and can be regarded as a rescue pollinator, potentially compensating for the decline of other native pollinators in degraded tropical landscapes.