Evaluating bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) diversity using Malaise traps in coffee landscapes of Costa Rica

2013 ◽  
Vol 145 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.T. Ngo ◽  
J. Gibbs ◽  
T. Griswold ◽  
L. Packer

AbstractEven though Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica Linnaeus, Rubiaceae) can self-pollinate, bees are important pollinators, without which there is lower fruit quality and yield. We studied bee diversity in coffee agroecosystems in Costa Rica during two coffee flowering seasons (2005 and 2006). Malaise traps were used as a passive sampling method to collect bees during coffee blooms. We collected 1012 bee individuals from three different site types: nonagricultural fields and shaded and unshaded coffee farms. Unshaded coffee farms had significantly higher species richness (S) and number of bee individuals (n) than did the shaded coffee farms and nonagricultural sites. Overall bee diversity did not differ among site types but evenness (J′) was significantly lower in unshaded coffee farms. Using a more detailed community analysis, there was a significant association between functional groups and habitat type with more species and individuals of small-bodied ground-nesting bees (Lasioglossum (Dialictus) Robertson) associated with unshaded coffee farms. A large proportion (49%) of bees collected were of this subgenus, which was never before reported as common in coffee agroecosystems. Further studies should establish whether Dialictus is important in coffee pollination. We propose strategies involving conservation of native bees through simple habitat management for small-scale coffee farms that may improve crop quality and quantity.

2019 ◽  
Vol 221 ◽  
pp. 707-721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaughn Smith ◽  
Carlos Portillo-Quintero ◽  
Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa ◽  
Jose L. Hernandez-Stefanoni

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikkel Skovgaard Andersen ◽  
Lars Øbro Hansen ◽  
Zyad Al-Hamdani ◽  
Signe Schilling Hansen ◽  
Manfred Niederwieser ◽  
...  

<p>Bubbling reefs are submarine structures formed by aggregating carbonate resulting from leaking gases. The reef formations can form pillars rising several meters above the sea floor. They support a high diversity of benthic communities, and in the EU Habitat Directive they are specifically mentioned as a natural habitat type that require conservation.</p><p>Knowledge about the presence, locations and shape of bubbling reefs are usually obtained by geophysical surveying using multibeam echosounder (MBES), sidescan sonar and/or seismic acquisition systems, combined with ground truth verification. However, this traditional survey method is time consuming, especially for full coverage surveys in shallow water. Full coverage surveys are a requirement to capture the bubbling reefs due to their relatively small spatial extent. Besides, traditional geophysical vessel borne surveys have their limitations in shallow water due to low spatial coverage and vessel draft.</p><p>In recent years, airborne topobathymetric (green wavelength) lidar has emerged as a new possible surveying method in shallow water (e.g. Andersen et al., 2017). Compared to vessel borne MBES, full coverage lidar surveys can be conducted within hours instead of days/weeks, while also including full coverage in the shallow water and a seamless transition between land and water. Thus, topobathymetric lidar may be a good choice for carrying out full coverage surveys in large shallow water areas. However, the accuracy and the resolution of the collected dataset are important in these surveys, not least when mapping small scale features such as bubbling reefs.</p><p>In this study, we investigated the potential of mapping bubbling reefs in shallow water (<10 m) using topobathymetric lidar. The main objective was to assess the performance of airborne topobathymetric lidar to detect and resolve small scale objects, i.e. bubbling reefs, by comparison to MBES data. Both MBES and lidar data were acquired in spring 2019 in a designated Natura 2000 area close to Hirsholmene in the northern Kattegat region in Denmark. The comparison of the two datasets included a quantification of the accuracy, and an assessment of the performance for mapping bubbling reefs.</p><p> </p><p>Reference:</p><p>Andersen M.S., Gergely A., Al-Hamdani Z., Steinbacher F., Larsen L.R., Ernstsen V.B. (2017). Processing and performance of topobathymetric lidar data for geomorphometric and morphological classification in a high-energy tidal environment. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 21: 43-63, DOI: 10.5194/hess-21-43-2017.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1915) ◽  
pp. 20192096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Brown ◽  
Saul A. Cunningham

Understanding diversity in flower-visitor assemblages helps us improve pollination of crops and support better biodiversity conservation outcomes. Much recent research has focused on drivers of crop-visitor diversity operating over spatial scales from fields to landscapes, such as pesticide and habitat management, while drivers operating over larger scales of continents and biogeographic realms are virtually unknown. Flower and visitor traits influence attraction of pollinators to flowers, and evolve in the context of associations that can be ancient or recent. Plants that have been adopted into agriculture have been moved widely around the world and thereby exposed to new flower visitors. Remarkably little is known of the consequence of these historical patterns for present-day crop-visiting bee diversity. We analyse data from 317 studies of 27 crops worldwide and find that crops are visited by fewer bee genera outside their region of origin and outside their family's region of origin. Thus, recent human history and the deeper evolutionary history of crops and bees appear to be important determinants of flower-visitor diversity at large scales that constrain the levels of visitor diversity that can be influenced by field- and landscape-scale interventions.


2013 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 107
Author(s):  
Luis A. Vega Corrales ◽  
Carolina Marín Vindas ◽  
Oscar Pacheco Prieto ◽  
Gerardo Zúñiga Calero

Bivalve molluscs are sold without any sanitary control in Costa Rica, which represents a public health risk dueto the possible accumulation of pathogenic bacteria. Small scale bacterial depuration treatments were preliminarilyevaluated on Crassostrea gigas and Anadara spp. from the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, through the useof a recirculating system with UV irradiation. The levels of Escherichia coli in the water were determined usingthe MPN method. The MPN of E. coli and the presence of Salmonella spp., Vibrio parahaemolyticus and V. cholerae were determined in molluscs. Results confirm the effectiveness of the E. coli depuration system designin C. gigas and Anadara spp. The MPN of E. coli in the molluscs was reduced between 79% and 100% after 24h. None of the other types of bacteria were found in the samples analyzed. This is the first C. gigas depurationstudy in Costa Rica and the first report concerning UV depuration for bacterial indicators of fecal contaminationin Anadara spp. This research serves as a basis for the implementation and improvement of mollusc purification conditions in the country. It is recommended to monitor extraction and harvesting areas, as well as to implement the depuration of bivalve molluscs so that traditional producers can offer an innocuous product with added value.Los moluscos bivalvos son comercializados sin ningún control sanitario en Costa Rica; por tanto, representan un riesgo para la salud pública, debido a que pueden acumular bacterias patógenas. Se evaluaron preliminarmente tratamientos para la depuración bacteriana a pequeña escala de Crassostrea gigas y Anadara spp. en el Golfo de Nicoya, Costa Rica, utilizando un sistema recirculado e irradiado con luz UV. Los niveles de Escherichia coli en el agua se determinaron mediante el método del NMP. A los moluscos se les determinó el NMP de E. coli y la presencia de Salmonella spp., Vibrio parahaemolyticus y V. cholerae. Los resultados confirman la efectividad del diseño del sistema para la depuración de E. coli en C. gigas y Anadara spp. A las 24 h, el NMP de E. coli en los moluscos se redujo entre el 79% y el 100%. No se comprobó la presencia de las demás bacterias en las muestras analizadas. Este es el primer estudio sobre depuración de C. gigas en Costa Rica y el primer reporte de depuración con UV de indicadores bacterianos de contaminación fecal en Anadara spp. Este trabajo sirve de base para implementar y mejorar las condiciones de la depuración de moluscos en el país. Se recomienda monitorear las áreas de extracción y cultivo e implementar la depuración de los moluscos bivalvos para que los productores artesanales puedan ofrecer un producto inocuo y con valor agregado.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. e975
Author(s):  
Cristiane Krug ◽  
Juliana Hipólito ◽  
Karine Schoeninger ◽  
Matheus Montefusco ◽  
Flávia Batista Gomes ◽  
...  

Bees are the main pollinators of native and agricultural plants. Identifying and knowing these insects responsible for the environmental service of pollination is essential for the maintenance and management of pollination in agricultural systems, especially in a high diversity biome as the Amazon rainforest. Some crops in this region are dependent of benefited by wild pollinators, especially native plants like guarana. To address methodological aspects of monitoring bee diversity, samplings were carried out in an agricultural environment (guarana crop, Paullinia cupana) surrounded by Amazon natural habitat at Manaus, Amazonas State. We used three combined methods (two passive traps: Malaise and yellow pan-traps, and one active: hand nets) in different periods, with the same number of samplings (12 each). In total, 4,143 native bees belonging to 171 species were sampled; 117 species (1,926 individuals) were collected with Malaise trap, 15 (91 individuals) with pan-traps, and 114 (2,126 individuals) through active sampling. Only seven species were common to all methods, 60 species on two methods and 104 species were unique to one sampling method (50 with Malaise, two with pan-traps, and 52 with hand nets). We reinforce the need for complementary sampling to known bee diversity as the best strategy here was the joint use of active samples and Malaise traps. Recently the concern with Amazon preservation has aroused worldwide interest, a fact that shreds of evidence the need for studies of biodiversity and taxonomy in several areas, since very little is known of this vast region.


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