Bee Life in the City: an Analysis of the Pollen Provisions of Centris (Centris) flavifrons (Centridini) in an Urban Area

Due to deforestation and fragmentation of ecosystems, the management of bee populations targeting pollination services is increasingly urgent. Because urban environments are stressful, the dietary knowledge in such areas can help to cope with this issue in the near future. Using palynological analysis the floral resources used by Centris flavifrons, an important pollinator of crops and native plants was studied in an urban area. Byrsonima sericea type, Solanum paniculatum type, Cestrum type, and Myrcia type 1 together accounted for more than 93% of pollen grains foraged by females. It is noteworthy that this bee population depends on few plant species both for pollen and for oil. Furthermore, females showed flexibility to replace the primary pollen source in different breeding seasons, as well as one female could provision different cells in the same nest with different predominant pollen types. It is highlighted the importance of wastelands for keeping bee populations in urban areas.

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Recurso polínico y ciclo estacional de Thygater aethiops (Hymenoptera: Apidae) en un ambiente urbano (Bogotá-Colombia)

Revista de Biología Tropical ◽

10.15517/rbt.v64i3.20909 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 64 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Mario Simon Pinilla-Gallego ◽

Valentina Nieto ◽

Guiomar Nates-Parra

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Floral Resources ◽

Foraging Activity ◽

Ulex Europaeus ◽

Pollen Loads ◽

Pollen Types ◽

Native Bee ◽

The City ◽

Dry And Rainy Seasons

Thygater aethiops is a native bee that can be found in parks and gardens in diverse urban areas such as those in the city of Bogotá (Colombia). However, little is known about its biology as well as ecological adaptations to urban areas. This study aimed to describe the seasonal cycle and daily foraging activities of T. aethiops, as well as identify the pollen resources used by this bee over a year in a population nesting in an aggregation in the “Parque Nacional Enrique Olaya Herrera” in Bogotá. Changes in the nest activity were monitored weekly by counting the number of active nests in the aggregation between December/2012 and February/2014. To determine the daily foraging activity, the numbers of bees entering their nests over a period of 10 minutes every hour between 8:00 and 14:00 h were recorded. Females with pollen loads entering to their nest were captured weekly, between September/2012 and August/2013, and their pollen loads analyzed. Three nesting peaks occurred after the precipitation peaks, but the number of active nests was not correlated with precipitation. The nesting activities stopped in a large number of the active nests (20-50 % of nests) after an anthropic disturbance was registered in the nesting area. Bees forage for nectar and pollen between 8:00 and 14:00 h, with a peak at 10:00 h. Daily foraging activity changed during the study period due to anthropic disturbance. There was not a significant relationship between air temperature and the number of females entering their nests. Foraging activities did not change between the dry and rainy seasons. A total of 26 pollen types were found in 169 pollen loads. Ulex europaeus (Fabaceae) and Solanum laxum (Solanaceae) were the most abundant plants represented on the pollen load across the study period. According to these results, T. aethiops would be considered a mesolectic species. The ability of T. aethiops to use different pollen resources both native and exotic, as well as to presumably recover its population after disturbances, are characteristics that may have allowed this bee to adapt to urban environments. Knowledge on the floral resources as well as other biological features of this bee species is important to promote its conservation in urban areas.

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Floração e morfologia floral de variedades de melancieira em Juazeiro-BA

Revista Verde de Agroecologia e Desenvolvimento Sustentável ◽

10.18378/rvads.v10i3.3431 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 72

Author(s):

P. M. Duarte ◽

K. M. M. de Siqueira ◽

N. C. da Silva ◽

G. B. S. Silva ◽

Í. L. S. Gomes

Keyword(s):

Sex Ratio ◽

Floral Morphology ◽

Pollen Grains ◽

Female Flower ◽

Floral Resources ◽

Pollination Services ◽

Design For All ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Male Flowers ◽

Female Flowers

A melancieira apresenta comumente flores masculinas e femininas na mesma planta, necessitando assim dos serviços de polinização para a transferência dos grãos de pólen e consequente produção de frutos. A atratividade aos polinizadores está na dependência dos recursos florais oferecidos como recompensa durante as visitas, e como consequência a planta é beneficiada com a polinização. O objetivo desse trabalho foi registrar aspectos relevantes da floração incluindo a razão sexual e a descrição da morfologia floral de variedades de melancieira. As variedades demelancieira utilizadas foram, Congo, Elisa, Crimson super e Charleston super, em cultivo orgânico, com irrigação por gotejamento. Foram avaliados quatro tratamentos e quatro repetições, utilizando o delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado. Para todas as variedades analisadas, foi registrada a emissão inicial de flores masculinas. Não foi registrada diferença significativa na emissão de flores femininas entre as variedades, porém para as flores masculinas a variedade Congo apresentou um maior número. Foi registrada diferença nas características da morfologia floral entre variedades e tipos florais em relação ao diâmetro e altura da flor. A presença de flores hermafroditas foi registrada com média de 1,45 (Crimson) a 0,15 flores por planta (Congo). A variedade Charleston apresentou a menor média de dias para a emissão da primeira flor feminina em relação a masculina (4,6±2,81) já a Congo apresentou a maior média (9,05±3,28). A menor razão sexual foi registrada para a variedade Elisa(1:13,32) e a maior para a Congo (1:24,05). Os menores períodos de floração foram registrados para as variedades Crimson e Elisa. Flowering and floral morphology of watermelon varieties in Juazeiro-BAAbstract- The watermelon commonly presents male and female flowers on the same plant, thus requiring the pollination services for the transfer of pollen grains and consequent production of fruits. The attractiveness to pollinators is dependent on the floral resources offered as a reward during visits and as a result the plant benefits from pollination. The objective of this study was to record important aspects of flowering including sex ratio and the description of floral morphology of varieties of watermelon. The varieties of watermelon were used, Congo, Elisa, super super Crimson and Charleston in organic farming, drip irrigation. Four treatments and four repetitions were performed using a completely randomized design. For all varieties analyzed, it was registered the initial issue of male flowers. It did not record significant difference in the issue of female flowers between varieties, but the male flowers to the Congo variety presented more. There was recorded differences in the characteristics of morphology flower varieties and types in relation to the height and flower diameter. The presence of hermaphrodite flowers was recorded with an average of 1.45 (Crimson) 0.15 flowers per plant (Congo). The Charleston variety had the lowest average number of days to issue the first female flower compared to males (4.6 ± 2.81) since the Congo had the highest average (9.05 ± 3.28). The lowest sex ratio was recorded for the variety Elisa (1: 13.32) and the highest for the Congo (1: 24.05). The smallest flowering periods were recorded for the Crimson and Elisa varieties.

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Community of diurnal birds of prey in an urban area in southeastern Brazil

Neotropical Biology and Conservation ◽

10.3897/neotropical.15.e52251 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 245-265

Author(s):

Rafael Martos-Martins ◽

Reginaldo J. Donatelli

Keyword(s):

Urban Area ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Seasonal Pattern ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Southeastern Brazil ◽

Birds Of Prey ◽

Future Studies ◽

Point Counts ◽

Time Period ◽

Specialist Species

As urban areas expand, some species of diurnal birds of prey occupy these habitats, and many establish viable populations. The objectives of this study were to: (1) survey the species of birds of prey in the urban area located in the interior of the São Paulo state, Brazil, (2) to verify the proportion of generalist and specialist species in terms of habitat and diet, (3) determine the period that the species are more active during the time period of the point counts, and (4) to evaluate if there is a pattern of seasonality. Samples were collected monthly between October 2014 and September 2016 using the point counts method (four points; 4 hr duration each). We analyzed species richness, habitat and diet, number of contacts and frequency of occurrence, period of greatest activity, and seasonality. We recorded 19 species of birds of prey through 2555 contacts. Most of the registered species (61%) were habitat and diet generalists, and the same percentage of species classified as uncommon or rare. In relation to the period of greatest activity, falconids were more active in the first hour while accipitrids and cathartids were more active in the fourth hour. In addition, we did not observe a seasonal pattern in this community, but Gampsonyx swainsonii showed a seasonal trend. We verified that the urban area of the municipality of Pirajuí has a significant diversity of birds of prey, including specialist species of habitat and diet. This information obtained evidence the importance of urban environments for birds of prey and showed the ability of these species to use this environment. From our results, we suggest that future studies should evaluate the effects of urban areas of different sizes and degrees of urbanization on bird of prey communities.

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The melissopalynological investigation in the Eastern Dry Zone of Karnataka, India

10.1101/2020.07.06.189274 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

D. Shishira ◽

A. R. Uthappa ◽

Veeresh Kumar ◽

Shringeshwara ◽

G. C. Kuberappa

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Moringa Oleifera ◽

Cocos Nucifera ◽

Pollen Grains ◽

Psidium Guajava ◽

Pongamia Pinnata ◽

Floral Resources ◽

Pollen Types ◽

Areca Catechu ◽

Dry Zone

AbstractMelissopalynology, the analysis of pollen grains present in honey, indicates about the pollen and nectar sources in a region utilized by bees, which is used to determine the bee floral resources and botanical origin of the honey. This study investigated the melissopalynological analysis of the honey samples from the Eastern Dry zone of Karnataka. 24 honey samples were examined based on pollen analyses, among them 14 samples were unifloral, rest were multifloral. The unifloral honey had pollens of Callistemon viminalis, Areca catechu, Citrus sp., Mallotus philippensis, Cocos nucifera, Eucalyptus sp., Ocimum sp., Moringa oleifera and Pongamia pinnata. Samples collected in October, November, December, and January were rich in pollens of Eucalyptus sp.. Similarly, samples collected in January, February and March had pollen of tree species viz., Swietenia mahagoni, Canthium parviflorum, Simarouba glauca, Eucalyptus sp., Moringa oleifera, Syzygium cumini, Tabebuia sp., Pongamia pinnata, Acanthaceae, Anacardium occidentale, Cocos nucifera, Areca catechu, Mallotus philippensis, Bauhinia variegata, Psidium guajava, Alangiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Ulmaceae, Capparis zeylanica, Convolvulaceae. GKVK-11 followed by GKVK-12 sample recorded the highest Shannon diversity and GKVK-9 followed by GKVK-7 sample recorded the least diversity. Based on the similar floral composition samples were classified into four clusters. The PCA revealed that most of the samples grouped into a single cluster, except 7, 19, 20, 21, and 22 which were placed away from the origin. The presence of pollen in the honey of a particular plant species during different months is related to the blooming of that particular plant species from which the bees forage. The flora of honey changes with the season. The diversity of pollen grains in honey varied with location to location. The present study provides scientific knowledge to the beekeepers by indicating important plants for the development of the regional apiculture, through the identification of pollen types.

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Melissopalynology Reveals the Foraging Preferences of the Stingless Bee Melipona seminigra pernigra Moure & Kerr 1950 (Apidae: Meliponini) in Cangas of Serra dos Carajás, Southeastern Amazonia

10.20944/preprints201910.0134.v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

José Tasso Felix Guimarães ◽

Luciano Costa ◽

Daniela Cristina Zappi ◽

Wilson Filgueira Batista Junior ◽

Karen da Silva Lopes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pollen Grains ◽

Floral Resources ◽

Campo Rupestre ◽

Foraging Preferences ◽

Disturbed Areas ◽

Pollen Content ◽

Degraded Area ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Pollen Types ◽

Local Variability

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.

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Floral Resource Partitioning between Centris (Heterocentris) analis (Fabricius, 1804) and Centris (Heterocentris) terminata Smith, 1874 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Centridini), in an Urban Fragment of the Atlantic Forest

Sociobiology ◽

10.13102/sociobiology.v64i3.1611 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 64 (3) ◽

pp. 292 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Reinanda Lima ◽

Maria Ferreira-Caliman ◽

Marcos Da Costa Dórea ◽

Caroline Tito Garcia ◽

Francisco De Assis Ribeiro Dos Santos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Forest ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Niche Breadth ◽

Niche Overlap ◽

Trophic Niche ◽

Food Sources ◽

Floral Resources ◽

Pollen Types ◽

Getulio Vargas ◽

Floral Resource

The knowledge on plant species used for the collection of floral resources is crucial to understanding interactions between plants and bees. The aim of the present study was to identify floral resources used by Centris analis and Centris terminata to provision brood cells and determine the niche breadth and overlap of these two species in a fragment of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. This study was conducted at the Universidade Federal da Bahia and Parque Zoobotânico Getúlio Vargas, both of which are located in urban areas of the city of Salvador in the state of Bahia. Twelve and eight pollen types were identified in C. analis and C. terminata nests, respectively. The most frequent pollen types were from species of Malpighiaceae and Fabaceae. A larger trophic niche breadth was found in the Parque Zoobotânico Getúlio Vargas for C. analis and in the Universidade Federal da Bahia for C. terminata. Pianka’s index demonstrated trophic niche overlap between C. analis and C. terminata, which was greater in the Parque Zoobotânico Getúlio Vargas. This study is the first to provide data on plants used as food sources by species of the genus Centris in a fragment of the Atlantic Forest situated within urban areas.

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Water and Energy Footprints of the Cities of the Future

Water Practice & Technology ◽

10.2166/wpt.2010.074 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Vladimir Novotny

Keyword(s):

Urban Area ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Urban Metabolism ◽

Paradigm Change ◽

Energy Materials ◽

Food Energy ◽

Sustainability Criteria ◽

Greenhouse Emissions ◽

Near Future ◽

The City

The framework for sustainability of urban areas is tied to the patterns of urban metabolism in which resources (water, food, energy, materials and chemicals) are delivered to an urban area, metabolized and changed to outputs. Under the current linear concept water, energy and other inputs generate waste and pollution. Furthermore, lack of conservation and waste within the city leads to shortages and, in the near future, to exhaustion of resources. There is a need to change the current linear urban metabolism to one that would reuse and recycle and in which used water and solids would become a resource. This would be a paradigm change of building and retrofitting the cities. The footprints are quantitative measures of sustainability and metabolism. Footprints covered in this article are water, energy/greenhouse emissions, and ecology. When the footprints are defined, development of sustainability criteria should follow. The footprints may be global, regional or local and can be hierarchically interconnected.

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Melittopalynological studies of Apis dorsata honey samples from Kolar District, Karnataka, India

Journal of Applied and Natural Science ◽

10.31018/jans.v13i2.2189 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 654-667

Author(s):

Gopal T.C.

Keyword(s):

Present Report ◽

Pollen Grains ◽

Psidium Guajava ◽

Floral Resources ◽

Cultivated Plants ◽

Honey Sample ◽

Apis Dorsata ◽

Plant Resources ◽

Pollen Types ◽

Nectar Source

Honeybees, while foraging for nectar on flowers, also gather some pollen which retains in the honey even after extraction. Pollen grains are the essential tools in the analysis of honey. The aim of the present report was to find the Apis dorsata honey floral resources in Kolar district state Karnataka. In the present study, the pollen content of 28 A. dorsata honey samples were collected from 5 different locations of Kolar district, Karnataka, India. Samples were subjected to Melittopalynological studies to identify their honey plant resources and colour, optic density and collection places were documented. A wide variety of pollen types represent their plant sources and their frequency classes were recognized in each honey sample. Among 28 honey samples analysed, 10 samples were identified as multifloral, 18 unifloral with predominant pollen types such as Syzygium cumini, Pongamia pinnata, Eucalyptus sp, Guizotia abyssinica, Psidium guajava and Coriandrum sativum, each count was found above 45%. Pollen spectra indicated a total of 56 pollen types belonging to 27 plant families. Fabaceae was represented as the largest family with 14 species contributing honey production. Among the habit, tree was dominant with 51.78%, followed by herbs (32.14%) and shrubs (16.07%). The economic importance of identified plants with apiculture importance was categorized as medicinal, ornamental, vegetable, timber and oil yielding, weeds, fruits and nuts. A. dorsata depends on wild trees and cultivated plants bloom throughout the year as pollen and nectar source. From the results, it is evident that there is a lot of potential in establishing beekeeping industries in the study area.

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Drones, Gulls and Urbanity: Interaction between New Technologies and Human Subsidized Species in Coastal Areas

Drones ◽

10.3390/drones5020030 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 30

Author(s):

Martín G. Frixione ◽

Christian Salvadeo

Keyword(s):

Urban Area ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Agonistic Behavior ◽

New Technologies ◽

Urban Expansion ◽

Vertical Movement ◽

Breeding Stage ◽

Urbanized Areas ◽

Free Interaction ◽

Near Future

The use of drones has expanded the boundaries of several activities, which is expected to be utilized intensively in the near future. Interactions between urbanity and naturalness have been increasing while urban expansion amplifies the proximity between urban and natural areas. In this scenario, the interactions between drones and fauna could be augmented. Therefore, the aim of this study was to depict and evaluate the responses of the opportunistic and territorial seagull Larus livens to a small-sized drone during the non-breeding stage in urban areas and natural surroundings. The results evidenced that gulls do not react to drone sounds, coloration, or distance between them and the drone take-off spot. Clearly, the take-off vertical movement triggers an agonistic behavior that is more frequent in groups conformed by two adults, evidencing some kind of territorial response against the device, expressed as characteristic mobbing behavior. Thus, adult settled gulls in touristic and non-urbanized areas displayed agonistic behavior more frequently against the drone. Despite the coastal urban area being a free interaction environment, it evidences a low risk between drone management and territorial seabirds.

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The Status of Livelihood Vulnerability and Its CopingCapacities of Urban Squatters in Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Nepal

Patan Pragya ◽

10.3126/pragya.v5i1.30433 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 19-32

Author(s):

Chhabi Ram Baral

Keyword(s):

Data Collection ◽

Urban Area ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Urban Poverty ◽

Rural Poverty ◽

Poor People ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative Methods ◽

The Status

Urban poverty is one of multidimensional issue in Nepal. Increasing immigration from the outer parts of Kathmandu due to rural poverty, unemployment and weak security of the lives and the properties are core causes pushing people into urban areas. In this context how squatter urban area people sustain their livelihoods is major concern. The objectives of the study are to find out livelihood assets and capacities squatters coping with their livelihood vulnerability in adverse situation. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are applied for data collection. It is found that squatters social security is weak, victimized by severe health problems earning is not regular with lack of physical facilities and overall livelihood is critical. This study helps to understand what the changes that have occurred in livelihood patterns and how poor people survive in urban area.

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